The Washington herald., 1920-07-03
{ Considerable Space Given
10 Financial Achieve
ments, Agricultural In
terests, Labor and Indus
try and Suffrage.

oAii SuAlidkSs
rent expenditures from current re-
ceipts, Notwithstanding the new and
unnecessary burdens thrown upon
.ne treasury by the delay. obstruc-
non non ana extravagance OF a Repub-
ican Congress.
Inc nonpartisan Federal reserve
authorities have been wholly free
OF political interference or motive;
ano, In their own time and their
own way, have used courageousIy.
tnousn cautiously. the instruments
st their disposal to prevent undue
expansion of credit in the country.
As result Of these sound Treas
ufy ana Federal reserve policies the
inevitable war imitation has been
heid down to a minimum. and the
cost OF living has been prevented
from increasing here in proportion
to the increase In other bellireren,
countries and in neutral Countries
which are in close contact with the
worlds commerce and exchanges.
After . year and a half of feht-
Ing In Europe and despite another
year and q half of Republican OBJ
struction at home, the credit of the
government of the United States
stands unimpaired. the Federal re-
! serve note is the unit of value
throughout all the world and the
United States is the one great coun-
try In the world which maintains a
free gold market.
We condemn the attempt of the
Republican party to deprive the
American people Of their legitimate
IN a..
an achievement without parallel in
the financial history of this or any
other country, in this or any other
war. And in particular we condemn
the pernicious attempt Of the Re
publican party to create discomfort
among the holders Of the bonds of
the government of the United
States and to drag our public
finance and our banking and cur
rency system back into the arena
of party politics.
Tax Revision.
We condemn the failure of the
present Congress to respond to the
oft-repeated demand of the Presi-
dent and the Secretaries Of the
Treasury to revise the existing tax
laws. The continuance in force in
peace times of taxes devised under
| pressure OF imperative necessity to
produce a revenue for war purposes
is indefensible and can only result
in lasting injury to the people. The
Republican Congress persistently
failed, through sheer political cow
ardice to make a single move toward
a readjustment of tax laws which
ii denounced before the last election
and was afraid to revise before the
| next election.
We advocate tax reform and a
searching revision of the war reve-
! nue. acts to fit peace conditions so
not be withdrawn from productive
enterprise and diverted to wasteful
or nonproductive expenditures.
We demand prompt action by the
next Congress for a complete survey
OF existing taxes and their modifica-
tions and simplifcation with a view
to secure greater equity and justice
in tax burden and improvement In
administration.
Public Economy.
] Claiming to have effected great
I economies in government expendi-
lures, the Republican party cannot
show the reduction of 81 in taxation
| as a corellary of this false pretense.
In contrast, the last Democratic
Congress enacted legislation reduc-
ing taxes from $4,000. .000, 900, design
ed to be raised, to $4,000. 900, 900 for
the first year after the armistice.
and to $4,000. 600. 900 thereafter. and
| there the total is left undiminished ed
by our political adverssries. Two
years after armistice day a Repub-
lican Congress provides for expend-
ing the stupendous sum Of $500
| 0,327.3o.
Affecting great paper economies
| by reducing departmental estimates
| of sums which would not have been
| spent in any event, and by reduc-
ing formal appropriations. the Re-
publican statement of expenditures
omits the pregnant fact that Con-
| gress authorized the use of sl,500,-
! 100000 in the hands of various de-
partments and bureaus, which 9TH
| erwise would have been covered
| into the Treasury. and which should
| be added to the Republican total of
| expenditures.
High Cost OF Living.
. Inc HlBn cost OF living and the
depreciation of bond values in this
! country are primarily due to war
! itself, to the necessary government
| tai expenditures for the destructive
purposes of war, to private extrava-
gancc, to the world shortage of
! capital, to the imitation of foreign
! currencies and credits and in a large
degree to constituencies profiteer-
Ing.
The Republican party is RESPONSE
BILE for the failure to restore peace
and peace conditions in Europe,
which is a principal cause of post
armistice imitation the world over.
| 1t has denied the demand of the
President for necessary legislation
Ito deal with secondary and local
| causes. The sound policies pursued
! by the Treasury and the Federal
| reserve system have limited in this
| country, though they could not pre-
vent the imitation which was world
wide. Elected upon specific prom
ises to curtail public expenditures
and to bring the country back to q
status Of effective economy. the Re-
publican party in Congress wasted
timc and energy for more than a
year in vain and extravagant in
! vestigations costing the taxpayers
great sums of money, while reveal
| ing nothing beyond the incapacity
of Republican politicians to cope
with the nrohlau,s