The sun., 1919-09-19

When the Germans stopped Tight
ing, ten months ago, the visionary
Administration in Washington prom
ised the American people that their
war tax load would be made much
lighter. But THE SUN reminded the
Government and the public that the
way to begin to lower taxes was to
stop squander.
The Government did not stop the
war squander or any squander. II
went ON operating munition plants at
costs of hundreds of millions of dollars
a month. 1t even went on building
munition plants when there wGs no
longer need anywhere on earth for
munitions. 1t went on pouring billions
OF dollars into ships. 1t went on pill
ing up hundreds of millions of dollars
of railway deficits. 1t went on carry
ing tens of thousands of useless Office
holders on the payrolls. 1t went on
splitting prodigious treasure into the
laps Of foreign Governments.
As late as last spring the Admins
tration was still insisting that taxes
could be brought down. 1t was still
announcing that the Government
finances were looking brighter and
brighter. But on April 5 THE SUN
answered that we should have bank
rupt Treasury. unless the new Con-
gress could save it
I As recently as last July-in the
first month Of the present fiscal year
ending June 80. 920-Secretary GLASS
predicted that in this fiscal year there
would be revenues enough to take
care of the national needs. But at
that time THE SUN replied that II the
Treasury had anything like enough
cash in this fiscal year of 1920 to pay
it's bills it would be cash raised by the
millions and tens of millions on the
Governments / o U's. And we de-
clared then and we repeat now that
"a Treasury fat with o q finan-
cling may be good enough for Secre-
tnry GLASS, but il Is not good enough
and never ought to be good enough
for the hard headed, self-respecting
American people"
Because OF the Government wallow.
ing in peace waste and squander for
months and months after the close
Of the war the Congress leaders are
compelled to announce this week that
they cannot now cut the war taxes
The wonder Is that they have moi
found 1t necessary to increase the
taxes; for there isn't department
In the United States Government to
day that isn't spending more money
than it ought to spend. There isn't O
department Of any consequence thai
isn't breeding deficits. There isn't q
department that isn't seeking from
Congress greater appropriations thar
1t ought to get. There isn't yet any
general administrative programme to
begin actually to save. 1t Is still
talk of retrenchment-talk.
Meanwhile the chickens of the
Kitchin revenue policy are coming
home to roost. KITCHENS idea of rev
enue raising was to clean out all the
Industries, all the businesses, all the
individuals that could be cleaned out
OF ready cash and liquid assets. Thi.
sort of taxation is always a drying
up process. AS the sources are thus
dried up the streams Of revenue be
gin to diminish. Even the tax rate:
In force to-day aren't going to pro
duce the revenues they could have
produced a year ago, because there
are no longer the net earnings, tn,
net profits and the net incomes there
we're n year ago to be taxed.
Any tax revision that is going t.
keep the Treasury in necessary funds
without stripping business and i'm
poverishing individuals. thus making
IN turn for destitute Government
must be a general revision, beginning
with the obliteration of the perniciou.
Kitchin policies.