The Washington herald., 1920-10-13
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.


ity and progress History shows
that wrong economics, however
well intentioned, have been more
fruitful of harm to the people than
almost any other single act of gov
ernment.
can only hope that those who
will read these articles will credit
me with the intention and purpose
, of speaking to the best of my con-
science and judgment from the
point of view of the general well
fare of the entire country, and not
of the particular welfare of the
!, well-to-do.
But. in any event, the question Is
not what are the motives from
which my arguments and conclu-
sions spring, but whether those ar
guments are sound and those con-
clusions justified.
!, Truth Usually Hurts.
, Most of the causes contributory
to the existing era of economic dis
,turbance and high prices, such as
the effects of the devastation of war
: and of diminished production dur
ing the conflict, the workings OF
: monetary initiation. the natural
= psychic reaction following the war.
, the errors of post bellum diplomacy.
5 are so manifest and have been so
/ Frequently and eXhaustively dis
e cussed, that they are well under
stood by the people. But the IN
r fiuences of faulty taxation are more
subtle. less easily discernsd ana are
generally avoided by the public
= speaker as topic OF discussloh'
p because to elucidate them means to
ha oh - =
Inouncing some unpopular truths.
What | propose to say will not
. strike a popular note, in certain re-
spects. That is additional reason
: why it should be said.
y, Those who differ from me are
free to express their opinions and
controvert mine. 1t is through the
meeting of conflicting views in the
form of public opinion that truth
lis sought and asCertained in a de-
mocracy.
Easy for Rich to Dodge.
To those who take the view tina,
criticism of our existing surtaN
schedule is necessarily the "squeai
of a rich man, l would point out
that the rich man, considered mere
, lv as such, has little to squea
! about on the score of the income
tax: for all he needs to do is to IN
vest his available capital in tax
exempt securities-bonds of states
and their subdivisions, of which
vast amounts are offering for
his choice, and then all income OF
excess profit taxation ceases to
e trouble him. By so doing he may
s obtain a considerably greater yielt
t than he could hope for by investing
e his money in taxable securities oil
= in his business, subject to the pres
ent scale of surtaXes.
= No quarrel can be found with the
o purpose of Congress to draw pre-
= ponderantly upon the well-to-do IL
a nIacing the weight of direct taxa
= Ition incident to and resulting from
I the war. 1t is right to seek to ad
lust that burden as near as may bt
4 according to capacity to bear 1t.
. But even in doing things from
n entirely praiseworthy motives. II =
:, we'll to remember the old Frencl
r saving that""virtue has been knowr
, lat times to be more dangerous thar
!. vice, because it does not feel itsel
: subject to tempering restraints"
: Taxation Plan Condemned.
= Our existing taxation measures II
various important respects fly il
common sense and equity. The,
are cumbersome. vexatious and al
most incredibly complex. The!
c bear the imprint of class and sec
tional discrimination. They penal
u ize thrift and industry, and leav'
q the wastrel and shirker untouched
They discourage. disturb and i'm
d pede business, and place the Ameri
= can business man at disadvan
,r tage as against his European com
" petitor. At a time when Americ;
r is aiming to become a world cen
re ter they deter foreign capital fron
4. coming here. They throw Upon tn
"a lgovernment an administrative tas
of such vastness and intricacy, tha
the departments concerned simpl!
cannot cope with it. They tend t
curtail production. They are
strong contributing factor in bring
e ing about the prevailing high leve
of priees-a grave and serious evi
s. which can and must be nitigated,
IN grievous burden particularly upol
lie those men and women who live O
le modern salaries. and who are al
the more entitled to sympathy an
\. redress, as they have borne thei
es troubles with great patience and
ty noteworthy absence of importunat
e. agitation.
Four Disturbing Factors.
The four factors which, NOR
than any others. have brought abou
in this country the era OF economi
te disturbance ard high prices are,
my judgment:
he First. The urgency of the world
( demand for our raw materials an
manufactured articles during an
ri since the war.
,d Second, Imitation of credit an
"A currency.
Id Third. Governmental and privat
"a eNtravagance.
bel Fourth. Faulty taxation.
All other contributory factors al
either of lesser effect than Is FIRE
quently attributed to them, c
spring more or less directly fror
t. the causes above mentioned
IN The worlds demand for our ms
IS terials and services is bound I
er slacken in due course. The cure fc
Id imitation is a slow and difficu
process. The epidemic of extravs