Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-22
Governor Of Illinois Says
That Government Needs
Business Administration
Advocates Budget System In Municipal, State and
National affairs-Declares Taxes Have Strong
Bearing on Prevailing High Costs-Praises
Omaha as Beautiful and Progressive.

Frank O. Lowden, governor Of
Illinois, visited in Omaha yesterday,
as candidate for the republican
presidential nomination.
The governor arrived at 8 a. m
from Minneapolis, met prominent
local republicans in the morning at
Hotel Fontenelle,. delivered short
MONDAY address at the University
club, declined to be interviewed on
politics, asserted that Omaha is a
beautiful and progressive city, and
then departed on an afternoon train
for Denver.
81 appeal to you that there is no
business in Omaha that is so im-
portant as that of cndeavoring to
establish a stable government, which
we must have if we are to endure" !"
said Governor Lowden, addressing
a meeting yesterday noon at the
University club.
Taxation Must Be Practical.
The governor, who is being men,
toned i'll connection with the repub-
lican presidential nomination, was in
troduced by Norris Brown, former
United States senator, as originally
from Iowa.
The guest of honor asserted that
taxation has been considered large
ly from an academic standpoint, and
now it must be considered from the
everyday, practical point of view. He
stated that there is 4 prevailing
tendency in municipal, state and ma
tional governments to continue cer-
tain functions of government be-
yond their periods OF usefulness, be-
cause the persons who have their
hands on them manifest a human
trait of not being willing to let them
go into the discard, where they be-
long
The governor advocated the bud
get system of national, state and
municipal finances and he urged
every community in this country to
return to the o1d-fashioned notion
that it must assume the responsible
ty of conserving its own peace, in
stead. of calling upon the federal
government; that it should maintain
its own law and order and thus
vindicate its right to self-govern-
ment
Will Operate Forever.
"There are certain fundamental
laws which obtained before the war,
will obtain after the war and will
operate forever. 1t is still true that
you can not divide what you do not
produce and the safe way to reduce
the price of commodities is to pro-
duce more and consume less. The
admonition to live within your in
come applies to individual, state and
nation" he said.
"Who will doubt but that taxes
have affected the high cost of liv-
ing, due to the fact that taxes ulti-
mately have been passed on to the
consumer? There is no problem to-
day that does not bear some rela-
ton to taxation. Taxes are reach
ing the point where private initia-
tive IN business is being discouraged.
l don't care how rich a government
may be, there is a point beyond
which you can not go without en-
dangering its prosperity.
"It would be interesting to know
how many activities of the war are
being continued beyond their need,
because men who are in control of
them will not let them go. The time
has come and the necessity is here
for undermining the machinery of
our government, so that we won't
hear the reproach, That is the way
the government does business.
Direct Relation to Taxation.
"Who can doubt that the high cost
of living has an intimate bearing
upon the general question of un-
rest" the governor added. "And
so, as said moment ago, there is
no problem of domestic nature
which confronts the American peo-
pie today that has not a direct and
relation to the whole
question of taxation.
Il happened the other day to be
upon a train coming out Of Wash
ington. | met a member OF the ap-
preparations committee of the house
on that train. He told me that in
1916, a fact with which you are all
familiar, have no doubt, the appro-
priations totaled something like ST.
l00,000,000. That figure seemed enor-
nous at that time and it was COM
mented upon with more or less mis-
giving as to the future of the coun-
try.
"He also informed me that the re-
cent book of estimates has been sub
mitted to congress and that the total
for the next fiscal year is something
more than S4,800,000,000, or more
than four times as much as four
years ago. The war has been over
for Is months. 1t is apparent that
this practice that the American peo-