East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1920-10-27
BY c. p. STRAIN.


The near approach OF the Noyembe
election forces upon the attention o
all thoughtful citizens a consideration
OF our public affairs.
Officials are about to be chosen fol
periods OF two. four and six years. and
these officials will exercise a tremend.
Gus Influence over our lives and for.
tunes.
II Is directly through public officers
that governments function, and every
thing that each and all OF us possess
may be taken by government for pub
lie use. Only recently the govern
ments OF the world called into their
armies some fifty million men and
levied upon the fortunes and incomes
OF nearly the whole OF civilization for
the equipment and maintenance OF
those armies.
Ten million OF the men then called
to arms we're lost in the war and an
other ten million or so. were more or
less incapactated for lie.
200 Billion Debt.
An aggregate public debt OF two
nuUuA was BiiEu uR
against future generations and billions
upon billions Of dollars in damage was
inflicted upon the private property Of
the world including property OF neu-
tral nations.
Even here In this land Of liberty
where the rights OF the individual are
made lnviolate In times OF peace un-
der guarantee OF the federal constitu-
ton, the strong arm of the law under
national necessity reached out through
the draft and picked up millions OF our
own young manhood and set them
down In the training camps. subse-
duently to be transported to the bat
tie fronts OF Europe, all regardless Of
their consent or approval.
The same authority which con-
scripted the young manhood OF this
country into a mighty, conquering mil
itary force during 1si7-1sls, laid a
heavy hand In the form OF taxation
and bonded debt upon the current in
comes and the future wealth OF the ma
ton.
our government begins right at
home and extends up through the
county, the state and the United
States, and there Is exacted through It
all a toll Of taxation which in normal
times reaches a total In excess of any
private business, and in time of war
has no limit except the aggregate
credit and income OF the whole peo-
pie.
The power thus TO dispose Of our
lives and fortunes is lodged in the Of
fices about to be filled in November by
officials then to be chosen by our
selves. As q means of expressing the
financial relation of government to
this community II may be stated that
last year there was levied 2I27,000 to
run the eleven incorporated towns Of
the county, while our school districts
levied $3ss,000, and there was levied
within the county for all local and
state purposes total of Sl.2Ss,000.
The levies eing made this year are still
higher than those OF last year.
The federal government at Wash
ington levied and collected last year
nearly five billion dollars. and Una
tllla county's share OF this five billion
Is not less than sl,250,0O0. Five bill
lion dollars is enough to pay for, at
normal prices. all OF the wheat that
Is grown In Amerca for a period Of ten
years. Eighty per cent of this is due
to war.
Not only does government have the
power to exact OF the individual his
life and property, but 1t has the power
to impose conditions profoundly af-
fectng the morals of the people and
the distribution OF property among