The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-16

weakened already by the perspective of elections next September, FUurth,-The efforts and suffering of France for five years made it imperative for our Government to settle first of all the question of pescei first let readjustment of the country and of the people take place, and not ask new sacrifices of the people before they had found themselves again.
 These things are at present out of the way, Next Fall we shall have a new parliament. and with four years ahead of them they will be able to work.
 The taxation problem has been af- fected by the political problem which ] have just explained.
 Besides the problem is not exactly IS eJsy as it was in this country
 You were able to put up compara- lively heavy taxation from the start, because you were in an economic sit uation in 1917 which permitted it.. because you have the advantage of a great number of large incomes which can bear 0 large share of the total ! taxation; finally, because, after all, ! heavy taxation here Is only tenpor- ary. and therefore Its imperfections are less burdeusome, because relief is In si-ht within a few years. With us, owing to the share in the war which has been our lot, the ex- cepuOual taxes which have to be rais- | ed will have to be paid by us for a ! very lols period of time. Therefore, | 10 enable our people to accept them, we must be very careful in the enact mCnt of the new fiscal laws and base them on a scientific survey of our re- i sources.
 Besides, we have only very few large single incomes; taxation to yield something must reach the small peO- pie. That makes the problem more difficult because you must make everybody admit that he Is taxed justly.
 I suppose you remember all the talk at the beginning of this year about reconstruction in this country and many industrial and commercial leaders here believing they were ruin ed. If this moral hesitation was permissible here. don't you think that we, in France, were wise to let things settle down before tH4ing to solve all our problems at once? We had is per cent. of our male l population away; 90 per cent of our factories were diverted to the produc- ton of war stuff.
 Now. the first thing for taxation is not taxes. Our Government problem is to get taxable income. Taxing it afterwards is easy. provided the po- litical situation is straiEhtened out. and this, as I have shown you, will happen next Fall
 ! Therefore. the real question comes ! to this. will there be a big enough | taxable income in France. or in oth- ! CT words. are French people working? Now. to this question I very em- ThaticaI3y and positively answer, YES. They want to work and they are working. It has been one of the most remarkable things in France to see. the day of demobNization,-ev erybCdy going back to his old job. In , certain cases we have noticed a cer- tain staleness in the productivity of the workmen and employees, but the
 good will remains and the efficiency of the returned soldiers is already very near normal.
 Do you realize that to date we have 90 per cent of our destroyed rail- roads reconstructed. and that our
 
 and east of France are so per cent. rest tored2
 That all our automobile factories that had been turning out shells, ar 'illery tractors. and so on. are all in full swing again constructing cars with plenty of purchasers in sight. and that deliveries are already begin ming?
 That our spinning and woolen in dustries are ahead of our supply of raw materials. and that many factor ics in the devastated rerious are al ready reopened2 Some have still oil paper ceilings. and canvas walls, and odd machinery, but they work. I remember the emotion it caused me when I saw a few months ago the first bill drawn by q manufacturer of Lille on his customers against the delivery of his first goods. Now I am blase about 1t, because so many ! have resumed: but I would wish that 1 more people would see these efforts and these manifestations of will to ! work, because they picture better the l real France than any efforts might i make.
 | There Is aninteresting comparison | to illustrate the French way of doing ! things.
 | You reco1Ient that ct the beginning ] of 1915 France was short of shells ! and of artillery. Tn 1918 we had an { enormous supply for ourselves and { were even able to furnish our Ameri- ! can friends with all the war ma | terial they needed and could not ob- | tain at home.
 Now, I am unable to find that at a
 certain date a certain move changed
 the situation. The improvement came by itself as the result of the In 1 dividuaI efforts of the French peo- . ple Today f. is more or less the
 same. We are supposed to have been
 unable to do anything yet to solve the