The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-09-23

". .. That indicates a rate of I withdrawal from investment in money will be sought in vain outside the , operation of the income tax laws.
 '. This may not have been l foreseen when the law was enacted, l but the experience of the last three construction and the prostration of the mortgage market has afforded a demonstration of which there can be no question"
 Urgent and nationwide demand has now arisen for remedy and for relief from that serious situa- ton. The great majority of those who have testified on the subject be-
 fore the Senate Committee on Re
 construction and Production and be
 fore the Senate Committee on Re construction and Production and be fore local bodies advocate what? The
 freeing of mortgages for the con- struction of private dwellings from
 the state and federal income tax In other words, the evil of the present surtax tax, supposedly to be of concern only to the rich, is prov ing so serious and intolerab1e in it's effect upon the necessities of the
 masses. that the volume of taxfree | securities in which capital can take refuge is to be still further increas- ed. That means simply turning in a vicious circle.
 ing situation is true of every other situation, only in other cases the result is not so plainly discernable
 and not so directly felt by. the peo- faulty taxation has so largely brought about in stopping building, by dis ! couraging and laming enterprise and ! making money hard to obtain or not obtainable at all, it has accomplish 1 ed in a greater or lesser degree in every other field of industrial aetiv- 1 ity. And the cure is not the hap
 hazard removal of ALL taxation
 presses upon a particularly sensitive spot, as in the case of the housing
 situation but to bring about wisely
 remedial treatment for the whole economic body of the nation.
 I am convinced no remedy for the
 high cost of living, and the other abnormal conditions which are weigh ing upon the country, can be effec-
 and courageous revision of our exist
 ing taxation system.
 It is quite true that even with stric
 economy in Government expendi- ) lures, the burden of taxation mus : necessarily be considerable for years to come. But every one who has ever had to carry a heavy. load know : that the secret of carrying. it witt relative ease, lies the way in whicI 7 it is adjusted Our tax burden i
 grossly mal-adjusted.
 By re-arranging it we can vastl. , tighten the pressure of the load upol ? the backs of the people and partic s ular1y of the so-called middle class 5 es, on whom it now rests with es | pecia1 and most regrettab1e heavi ] ness because they are not in a posi- 9 ton, generally speaking, to nnak 9 their compensation keep pace witt = the mounting costs of living. An
 among the principal causes for thos 2 mounting costs is our family taxa 8 ton.
 f A good deal may be said for tn ? contention that the system of taxa t 'tion inaugurated in 1917 was in ac T cord with the prevailing sentiment o t the time and had to be given a tria- l The theory which underHes it ha = rightly a strong appeal.
 D W1el1 that system has now had 7, three years trial We have seen tn f theory applied in practice for a suffi 2 cient length Of time to test it ou S The result is writ large in effect
 hampering and troubling to the na h tion and burdensome to all but par h ticularly to those who were intend = ed to be the beneficiaries of that sys e tenn and that theory, i. e., the p1ai G people. The revenue measure c e 1917, re-enacted essentially unchang t ed for 1918 and 1919, stands disclos S ed as a breeder of grave harm, b - 1.-the inexorable test of actual expe1 =