The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1921-01-14
SHOWS UP WHERE
NATIONS WEALTH
Is HELD BY FEW
Farmers Council Head Also
Points Out Where Just
Tax Is Due.

Asserting that a Federal tax upon
estates, that is, upon the capital value
OF property is essential to enable the
government promptly to compel the
Wealthiest classes who have profted
most from the war to pay their share
of the costs of the war, George. P.
Hampton, managing director of the
Farmers National Council, in a state
ment on how to pay the cost of the war
and current expenses of the govern
ment, says that 80 people own nearly
two per cent. of the national wealth.
In 1913" Mr.. Hampton states,
the eminent publicist, Mr.. Richard Spill
lane, to over 272 per cent of the ma
tional wealth or over sos, O0OOOOOOO,-
while the 80 richest Americans owned
property worth about $4,837, 100000, or
roughly two per cent. of the national
wealth. In 1913 the national wealth
was estimated to be $2500OO,0OO,OOO. 1t
is now estimated to be $5O0,O00,000,OO
Our $4,000 millionaires are probably
worth now about 6,OOOOOO0OO, and
the SO richest Americans about $685.
100000.
If We estimate the net return on this
property at only five per cent. the aver
age income of these $4,000 millionaires
is nearly 100000. Of course many of
them have invested largely in tax ex-
empt bonds and own a considerable
proportion of the forty billion dollars
OF such tax exempt bonds. While a
constitutional amendment would enable
the. government to tax the incomes of
these individuals, it will take some time
to adopt such an amendment A direct
tax, however, could be levied upon cap
ital values, and should be promptly
levied by Congress instead of seeking
some method of placing additional bur-
dens of taxation through a retail sales
tax, general sales tax, and other con-
sumption taxes upon the hundreds of
thousands of families who today are re-
ceiving several hundreds of dollars less
than they need to maintain the Amer
lean standard of living.
1T will be noted" Mr.. Hampton COM
ments, that the $4,000 millionaires are
worth nearly 10 times as much as our
total national debt, exclusive of l1ans
to the nations with which we were
associated during the war;
Discussing the causes and results of
this tremendous and dangerous concen-
tration of wealth, Mr.. Hampton says
America financed the war largely by
discounting the future, and the concen-
trated wealth of the country is now
making a concerted effort to evade its
financial responsibilities. and to make
the workers pay most of the war costs
through a retail sales tax and other
sales taxes, and similar consumption
taxes.
"A retail sales tax and other sales
taxes and all similar taxes on food,
clothing and shelter called consumption
taxes, must be paid chiefly by the work
ers on the farm, in factories, mines and
transportation, millions of whom are
getting less than the minimum wage
necessary to maintain a family on a
decent American standard"
Mr.. Hampton concludes: THE full
money cost of the war must be paid by
taxes on incomes, corporation profits,
estates and privilege. Such taxes will
yield $7O0O,0O0,0OO to $8,OOO,OOO,O0O a
year for many years without imposing
any hardships upon anyone. American
farmers who this year have lost mil
lions through the slump in farm prices
will fight to the end the plan of the
selfish privileged interests to saddle the
huge war debt upon our people for
years, and insist upon prompt ayment
of that debt by those who profted Sc
hugely by the war and by the nonopo-
lies built up in this country before and
during the war"