Milford chronicle., 1920-12-24
UNCLE TED'S
BEDTIME STORIES
COLLECTING THE NATION's BILLS

tOhhEtiiNN iilE NAHUM y BILLS
The children were gathered around
the fire for the storytelling hour be-
fore bed time. Uncle Ted settled him
self in his easy chair. lighted his ci-
gar. and invited Jack to suggest a
topic for the evenings talk.
This morning at school," said
Jack, "one of the boys told the teach
er he had been reading what some
Congressman and Government officials
at Washington had been saying about
the need of taxes being kept just as
high as they are now. and that if they
are reduced at all the Treasury will
not have enough money to pay its
bills. He wanted to know why, now
that the war is over. it is necessary
to have such big government expen-
ses. The teacher said that one of the
reasons for the high taxes was the
need of paying interest every year on
Liberty Bonds. l wish you would tell
us. Uncle Ted. why it is that so much
of our tax money has to go for in
terest, and if there is not some way
of stopping those payments and cut
ting down taxes that much"
That is a pretty big question for
children of your age to understand"
replied Uncle Ted, surprised that Jack
should want to know how the Govern
ment raises and spends its money.
But the matter of taxation is one
that affects all of us very closely,
and the children in the schools should
have some idea, at least, of the reas-
ons for it. 1t is too big a subject for
me to tell you everything about it to-
night, so | will just talk to you about
the Liberty Bonds and why it is we
have to pay so much interest upon
them. Perhaps some other night
will tell you about other features of
our tax problem.
"0f course you remember that dur
ing the war there were five Liberty
loan drives. Everybody was urged to
buy bonds until it hurts Millions of
men, women, and children took their
money out of the saving banks and
bought Liberty Bonds with it. Some
of the bonds have been bought back
by the Treasury, but today almost
twenty billion dollars worth of them
are still in the hands of the people
who bought them or of other people
who purchased them from the original
owners. Each year the Treasury is
going to buy some of those bonds
with money appropriated by Congress |
and as the amount held by the people |
grows smaller of course the interest |
paid by the Government will grow |
less, but at the present time it is |
about $900,000,000 a year. That is a /
sum and requires almost |
a quarter of all the Governments tax /
money to pay, but there is a way that 4
It can be reduced more than half, and
hat is what l want to tell you about
so that you can explain it to the other
boys when you go to school tomorrow.
when Congress passed the laws di-
recting the Secretary of the Treas
Try to raise money by the sale of Lib
srty Bonds. a paragraph was includ-
ID saying that he could lend some of
he money to the allies to aid them
n carrying on the war with Germany.
The Secretary was told that these
oans must not exceed $4,000, 900 900.
ust about half of all the money the
leople paid into the Treasury for the
'onds. Beginning with April 25. 1917.
he Treasury turned over millions of .
ollars almost every day to the rep
esentatives of the allied governments
in Washington. Even as re-
emily as September % of this year
payment of $10,000,000, was made to
rance, and the Secretary says that
ther payments are to be made in the
Iture. Altogether the money the
nited States has loaned to foreign
overnments amounts to about $9,
"Now, when that money was receiv-
l by the allies they gave a receipt
# it, rallied a promissory note, stat
e that interest on the loan, at the
tie of 5 per cent every year, would
, paid until the loan was returned
the United States Treasury. OF
urse if that interest were actually
be paid it would amount to about
100000 a year and could be ap-
led by this Government toward the
yment of more than half the inter-
t which has to be turned over to
berty bond holders every year. At
st the interest was paid by the fore
4 governments when it became due,
d our Treasury received about S437,-
D 900 in that way, but in recent
,nths practically none of it has been
and on November Is,
20, there was due from that source
er $700,000,000. Moreover, there is
immediate prospect of the interest
yments being resumed or of the
ck interest being paid"
I know that when my father has
rrowed money at the bank he has
pay the interest on it promptly on
day it is due" said Jack 'Why is
that the United States cannot col
t the interest that is due it from
er governments?"
The reason is" explained Uncle
I, that the Secretary of the Treas
has made No effort to eollas. x
December IS, 1919, he wrote let
to the chairman of the tax COM
tee of the House of Representa-
IS stating that he did not want to