The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-05-24

depreciation OF government securities held
by 20,000,000 of citizens, renewed unrest,
and what more | will not venture to pre-
dict. The amazing thing about this bonus
proposal IS that very few people in re-
sponsible positions ins Washington seem
to favor doing this detriment to the
body polite, and the equally striking
thing is that few of them have the courage
to say so and to offer effective opposi-
ton. | cannot believe that majority of I
the fine boys who periodically responded /
to the call of the country would ask this I
subsidy if they knew what is involved. I
And if | were mistaken, | should be /
greatly depressed over the fate of the |.
nation.
Fourth, The immediate need is for bus
| mess men and particularly for member
banks to cooperate with the officers of the
| federal reserve system and the treasury
| The problem is theirs quite as definitely |
as it is the officials. But there must be /
something more than the cooperation of /
| business men and bankers. There must /
| be cooperation from that part of the pub I
lie which is I'M position to save and
everyb must devote little more high |
| tension to hard work Some people are
not in position to save, but many can
save who are not saving
Fifth, Undoubtedly no new taxes
should be imposed if they can be avoided, |
But they may not be avoided if many
groups Of people continue to clamor for
appropriations And | unhesitatingly as
sert that the people and not executive
departments are in the main responsible |
| for increased demand on the treasury
and the enlargement of government ac
tivities The demand for. services comes
from them [ do not speak extravagantly
when | say that for seven years ] have
expended many times as much effort in
resisting demands from groups of people
for appropriations as / have in seeking
them.
Sixth. The excess profits tax is not all
evil 1t has good features. 1t is produc
tive of revenue 1t reaches some real
profteers But it tends to promote waste.
It works unequally and carriciously. 1t
depends upon mere accident of form of
corporate organization. 1t Furnishes con-
servative business and rewards and pro-
notes stock watering. Many of the cor
porations charged with pro6teering get
off very lightly because they are so gen
erously capitalized and the tax is now con
fined to a part of business 1t does not
apply to all business concerns and there
fore works uniustly The substitution of
fat rate on undistributed profits would
place incorporated and unncorporated
concerns more nearly on the same basis
Seventh. What we need NOWADAYS is
cool Judgment, regard for facts. and cour-
age to follow conclusions based on them
Let us have debate. criticism, and prog
ress by all means but let us have con
structive criticism and let MS have pro
grcssives who know where they are
beaded and are headed in the right dircc-
ton Economically and politically we
were in the war from the moment of the
first movement Of the German troops. We
were in it years before we entered it
formally in military fashion and we shall
he in it economically and politically for
many years after our last soldier is with
drawn from Europe How idle it is for
men to insist that this nation shall live
in isolation 1t cannot live apart from
the world 1t, is hopelessly entangled
with it. Nothing OF great Importance,
either Of an ecgn0mic. financial or mill
taIy nature can happen again anywhere
in the world without; producing serious
disturbances here Today there is for us
and many other peoples neither peace
nor war There is not only the unrest
| WHICH u Tue HttHIdl heritage OF W@f nut
the uncertainty and added difficulties
which exist because of our failure officially
To conclude ueaee The whole world waits
upon us and is afflicted with grave doubts
and hesitatons, Productive programs oI
all sorts are Fundamentally affected and
disturbed conditions furnish agitators fav
orable opportunities for conducting viciou.
propaganda. Obviously the existing state
If thinrr makes for ineffectiveness Of ma
tional life in every direction and the per
sistence and perhaps expansion Of present
burdens and sacrifices. Certainly our bur
dcns and problems would be sufficient,
difficult to meet if peace were secured ant
we could devote our energies exclusively t.
their adjustment,
Eighth, The federal reserve board an,
TIE treasury have sufficiently Difficult
tasks to discharge without the interior
ence OF partisans or unintelligent opposi
ton.
Ninth. Democracy is difficult enough
thing il the people have the facts an,
nothing but the facts presented to then
with the most impartial Interpretation
If we had the facts. aud nothing bu
the facts, there would still be differenc
of opinion and ample reason for the ex
istencc Of parties But it seems to m
that democracy is going to have YER
hard shedding if we are to have govern
ment by misrepresentation. Certainl
some Of our most widely read papers ar
giving MS not news but partisan impre,
sions of what they desire the news to bc
I wish it were possible for every news
paner to conceive itself as great publ
utility and to be committed to tho polio
Of seeking the facts and presenting thor
in the most impartial manner nossihl,
| wish also that our people would tolerat
only leaders who have the ability ard tn
inclination to get the facts. To interpre
them honestly, and courageouslv to pre-
| sent their conclusions 10 the peprle.
sl1now this standard would put very larg