New-York tribune., 1921-10-28
The Harmful Super I AK
Agricultural Bloc Making Selfish Use of Balance of Popcr-
Present Revenue Bill Deccipes the People

sisting that other states pay their ex-
penses are rapidly becoming paupers.
I believe if this idea were driven
home the honest and intelligent farm
ers of the country would understand
and would send representatives who
would represent their honor and their
intelligence and not such selfish ideas.
Senator Smoot has presented a per-
fectly workable and simple plan which
would do away with the irritating and
useless super-tax. Of course it is i'm
possible to get the ordinary Senator tc
consider such a plan, but if the ques-
tloE were submitted to the people and
properly explained the people would
demand it.
Every citizen who has to file an income
tax return knows what nuisance it
IS. Every one can see for himself how
unwise tax it Is which makes payment
this year depend upon the business of
last year. Millions of dollars are be-
ing spent every year in fees to lawyers
for advice on technical questions that
arise under law Billions Of dollars
are in dispute between the citizens and
the government. Bills have been in
troduced in Congress to provide for
hard cases where taxes have been in
CURED but where subsequent losses
have made the payment impossible.
f. 1t this country is ever to be happy
and contented again we must all sup
port President Harding and General
Dawes. We must insist that CONGRESS-
cut down appropriations to the last dol
lar and that taxes be made simple and
widely distributed so that every citizen
will know that he is paying. Then
public opinion will demand economy.
Retarding Production
The present revenue bill and the
present system of taxation deceive the
people by making the bulk of them
think they are not paying taxes. As a
matter of fact, no matter how the
money gets into the hands of the gov
eminent, once it is there it is taken
away from the fund that can be divided
among the citizens. By heavy taxa
tion you deprive the rich man of his
ability to save and to furnish capital
for new industries. Necessarily, there
fore, production will not increase az
rapidly as population, and, to use the
familiar expression, wages and the
standard Of living must come down."
In the long run consumption will be
substantially in the same proportion 8
1T is now; the people that work with
their hands will get and consume So
per cent of the consumable things pro-
duced. If you took from the very small
rich class everything that they consume
and divided it equally it would not be
drop in the bucket for the enormously
greater working class.
But the rich class is inevitably the |
saving class, and it is upon this class
that the production Of machinery de- |
pends. If you destroy the saving habit /
you will destroy the industries Of the |
country.
So let us all get together and reason |
with our friend the farmer, the man
upon whom we depend for the necessi- |
ties OF life; and let US make the trades
union people understand that they are
only auxiliary workers upon other
peoples products, and that we can get |
along without them, though to do so
would inconvenience US seriously But |
we cannot get along without che farmer
ROBERT NJ. THOMPSON.
Southampton, L. l., Oct. 25, 1921.