Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1919-02-27
A SELFISH AMERICAN.

Of Congress from Texas, about to re-
tire voluntarily from public life, spoke
recently in the House as follows;
/ am a selfish American believe
in my country and want to promote
it's prosperity and its glory. | say with
the poet: This is my own, my native
land "
And all Of this international, social
istic, maudin sentiment that is being
propagated over the world is childish
and academic 1t is the spawn of those
philosophers who learn human nature
on the fifth story and not of those who
have learned il from the flesh and blood
men. The point want to inquire about
is this Who knows where we are
going to get all the money to respond
to all of those cahlegrams and all of
those schemes and chmerical PROPOSE
tions for the uplift of mankind Every
cabinet minister is busy with pencil
and pad of paper showing how he could
spend hundreds of mi lions of dollars to
raise mankind to a state of bliss, and
the head of every department and every
committee is working overtime devising
ways and means to spend sums of mon
ey. which, less than a decade ago, were
regarded as colossal expenditures.
Where are all these billions and bill
lions coming from? Now let me tell
you. understand every eleventh man
in the United States pays an income
tax. am reliably informed that that
is practically the entire source of our
income, looking to the future. We will
have no more whisky tax; we will have
no great tariff tax of consequence, for
it has dropped to $3.50. 600, 900 in the
last fiscal year. am told you are going
to get It by the income tax That is
where you will get the money to build
this navy, Now. my fyiends, there are
many hard headed business men here,
and | submit to you gentlemen you
must do your own thinking about this
question: Where are you going to get
the billions to do these numerous things?
| believe we have a per capita crcula-
ton of about $50 That would make
total of 50, 800, 600, 600 But what is 49,
500, 0O0, 600. considering the activities of
the present government of the United
States? Are you going to take every
dollar there is in the United States out
of the pockets of the people every six
months? Why, you ought at least to
allow it TO go back into their pockets
again and let them feel it three or four
times before you take it away again.
Now, here is the result. As long as
these incomes hold out, you are going
to have every sort of paternalistic sug.
gestion. You are going TO have social
istic doctrines and government owner
ship preached from every rostrum You
are going to have attic philosophers tell
ing the people that they ought to be
supported by the government; but is
that all you are going to do? Oh, no.
The day is coming, and it is not going
to be long in coming at the rate we are
travelling, when you will milk the in
comes Of the United States dry. Every
man with the brain and the Drawn and
the will to work II TO Ia hours a day to
build a fortune will be thrown out OF
business, and you will destroy the mi
tiative of the American spirit which has
builded up this great nation of a hun
dred million people, the weathiest in
the world Gentlemen do not earn in.
comes merely to have them taken from
them by some dreamer of information
ahsm to build houses for some lazy fell |
lows who will not work enough and save
enough 10 build their own house Have
carel You have used up largely the
accumulated wealth of Europe by alb /
sorbing their securities. You have
placed a colossal mortgage upon the fu-
ture of the destiny and the property of
the people Of the United States. You
have done that, and you have spent the
money, but you can not keep on writ .
ing these first, second. third, fourth and
fifth mortgages against the property of
this country The people Of the Unit .
ed States might as well face the ques-
tion.
After all these academic speeches
over the world it requires rs much lab
or now to produce steak and pork chops
and eggs and food generally and cloth
ing generally as it did before this war
began. So when you get right back to
the proposition. we might Just tell the .
folks that these appropriations have
got to stop, or that you are going to
stop business. because you will make it
worthless to the man who engages in i
business.