The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-05-18
FIVE BILLION DOLLARS
ADDED TAX BURDEN
rpoADS ASK ADDITIONAL
NN $500, 100000 THIS YEAR.
MINERS GET BILLION.

=. nm 100000 is to be laid upon the
PU'. ,ldors of the American people
+ s wear by the United States gov
'ii-s ,or+ Increases in railroad
s.a;rbt rates. higher prices for coal,
.n1 taxation to raise the money nee
a as for the proposed soldier bonus
sre the three items which go to make
VI This additional $5.5OO,OO0,OOO
noons $50 for each person in the
Md Tto% States. The head of each
sorailT-tbe average American fami-
Ia t@i hoino four persons-will pay 5000.
The The railroads will get the bulk
Of this money, roughly $2,500,0O0,-
0oO It will take about $2,O0O,OOO,-
0O0 to pay the soldier bonus, and
t goV increased wages recently grant
"5 the coal miners, and passed al
~ the consumer, will amount to $rC
OOO,OOO,O00.
Railroads File Rate Increases.
The railroads of the country al
reaIv are preparing to take their
share The big trunk lines have Ill
ed with the interstate commerce com
mission new schedules of rate involv-
mo increases ranging from 80 per
cent in the eastern transportation
district to 81 per cent in the south
and "a per cent in the west. These
new schedules will add about 81 ,5OO,-
100000 to the domestic transporta-
ton bill.
Moreover, these new schedules
make no provision for the increase
in wages demanded by the brother
hoods and which are now pending
before the railroad labor board. II
these demands are granted-and the
workers are insistent and the gov
eminent faces not only serious I'M
rest but presidential campaign as
well-the wage item will add another
S1,0OOOOO,0OO to the railroad bill,
making it $4,000, 100000 in all.
Consumer Pays Every Dollar.
Every dollar of this huge amount
will enter directly into the cost Of
living, for it will be passed on to
the consumer and be reflected in
the prices of all commodities carried
by the railroads. 1t will mean even
higher prices for coal, clothing,
shoes, food, building materials, in
fact everything, for 80 per cent of
the things purchased by the Ameri-
can reaches his home via a freight
haul.
the interstate commerce commits
sion now has these new schedules
under consideration, and it is certain
they will be granted in part if not
altogether. The schedules, arrang-
ed by the biggest railroad men in
the country, are intended to put the
roads on a basis of six per cent net
return to relieve the present econo-
mic condition of the carriers. The
government has guaranteed the roads
a five and one-half per cent return
for the six months following March
/, when the transportation lines were
returned to their owners.
Billion Dollar Coal Bill.
The increased wages to be paid
the anthracite and bituminous coal
miners together with the additional
profits that will be pocketed by the
operators in passing the bill along
to the public, will amount to $1,000
100000. The bituminous miners al
ready have been granted a 81 per
cent increase, and, while the anthra-
cite miners demands have not yet
been settled, there is no reason to
suppose that the advance granted
them will be less than that given
their brother workers in the soft
coal fields. -,.
The Soldier Bonus.
The soldier bonus bill, if congress
eenacts it-and it must be remem-
oered that congress now mas its eye
on little else than election day in
No.oyember-will require at least ST.
0V0,OOO,O00, and it may run as high
as S8,OOO,000,000, although the larg-
er sum would be spread out over a
period Of several years. Every cent
OF this amount would have to be
raised by additional taxation, for the
governments annual expense now is
SSSS,OO0,O00,000, and it has but &c.
UOOOOO,OO0 income to meet this out