Evening star., 1920-07-02

ors of America the admiration of
their fellow countrymen. Guided by
the genius of such commanders as
Gen John ]. Pershing, the armed
force of America constituted de-
cisive factor in the victory and
brought new uster to the flag.
We commend the patriotic men and
women who sustained the efforts of
their government in the crucial hours
of the war and contributed to the
brilliant administrative success achieved
under the broad -visioned leadership Of
the President.
Financial Achievements.
A review of the record Of the demo-
cratic party during the administra-
ton of Woodrow Wilson presents a
chapter of substantial achievements
unsurpassed in the history of the re-
public. For fifty years before the
advent of this administration period
ical commissions had impeded the in
dustrial progress Of the American
people and caused inestimable loss
and distress. By the enactment OF
TEN, which bred panics, was replaced
by a new system, which insured con-
fidence. 1t was an Indispensable fac
tor in winning the war. and today
it is the hope and inspiration of busi-
ness. Indeed, one vital danger against
which the American people should
keep constantly on guard is the COM
mitment of this system to partisan
enemies who struggled against its
adoption and vainly attempted to re-
tain in the hands of speculative
bankers a monopoly of the currency
and credits of the nation. Already
there are we'll defined indications of
an assault upon the vital principles
of the system in the event Of repub-
lican success in the elections in No
vember.
Under democratic leadership the
American people successfully financed
their stupendous part in the greatest
war of all time. The Treasury wisely
insisted. during the war, upon meeting
an adequate portion of the war expendi-
ture from current taxes and the bulk of
the balance from popular loans, and.
during the first full fiscal year after
fighting stopped, upon meeting current
expenditures from current receipts not
withstanding the new and unnecessary
burdens thrown upon the Treasury by
the delay, obstruction and extravaganza
of a republican Congress.
The nonpartiSan federal reserve au-
thoriIes have been wholly free of politi-
cal interference or motive; and. in their
own time and their own way. have used
coura geously, though cautiously, the in
struments at their disposal to prevent
undue expansion Of credit in the coun-
try. AS a result of these sound Treas
ury and federal reserve policies the in
evitable war imitation has been held
down to a minimum, and the cost OF liv-
ing has been prevented from increas-
ing here in proportion to the increase in
other belligerent countries and in neu-
trail countries. which are in close con-
tact with the worlds commerce and ex-
changes.
After a year and a half of fighting
in Europe and despite another year
at home. the credit of the government
of the United States stands unimpair-
ed. the federal reserve note is the unit
of value throughout all the world
and the United States is the one great
country in the world which maintains
free gold market.
We condemn the attempt of the
republican party to deprive the
American people of their legitimate
pride in the financing of the war-an
achievement without parallel in the
financial history of this or any other
And in particular we condemn the
pernicious attempt of the republican
party to create discomfort among the
holders of the bonds of the govern
ment of the United States and to drag
our public finance and our banking
arena of party politics.
Tax Revision.
We condemn the failure of the
present Congress to respond to the
demand of the President
and the Secretaries of the Treasury
to revise the existing tax laws. The
in force in peace times
of taxes devised under pressure of
imperative necessity to produce a
revenue for war purposes is inde-
fensible and can only result in lasting
injury to the people. The republican
Congress persistently failed, through
sheer political cowardice, to make a
single move toward a readjustment of
tax laws which it denounced before
the last election and was afraid to
revise before the next election
We advocate tax reform and
searching revision of the war rev.
enue acts to At peace conditions so
that the wealth of the nation may
not be withdrawn from productive
and diverted to wasteful
or non-productive expenditure.
We demand prompt action by the
next Congress for a complete survey
of existing taxes and their modifica-