Alma record., 1921-12-15
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
WARS EAT UP THE TAXES

Oopynght. western Newspaper Union
WARS EAT UP THE TAXES
When | set out to discover for you
where the money YOU pay as federal
taxes goes | did not have far TO look.
1t goes for wars, past, present and
prospective. Last year little over 30
per cent Of the national income went
that way. In the report of the secre-
tary of the treasury submitted TO con
greSs i'm December, 1920. he remarks
An analysis Of government expenditures
for the fiscal year 1920. on the basis Of
daily treasury statements, develops the
striking fact that OF the net ordinary dis
bursements of 81, CC0,00O about 80 per
cent consisted OF expenditures under the
following heads:
Purchase of obligations of for
eign governments .............S i2l,ocoocO
War department ................. 16ll 10000
Navy department ................ 100000
Shipping board .................. 63l,Oo0O)o
Federal control Of transporta-
tion systems and payments
to the railroads under the
transportation act, 1920 ....... 1,031.0c000o
Interest on the public debit. lV-0,o0p0vo
Pensions Observation-Disclosures. 100000
War-risk insurance ............. 100000
Purchase OF federal farm-loan
bonds ..4........................ 10000 cO0
Total ........................... 7l6,oooOOO
Substantially all the expenditures
entering into this total, and a large
share of the expenditures on various
minor accounts. represent burdens di-
rectly traceable 10 the war, TO past
wars or TO preparedness for future
wars. These figures serve to indicate
the direction which sincere efforts to
reduce the cost Of. the government
must take.
Then | found Mr.. Gilbert, the under
secretary of the treasury, saying:
There has been much idle talk TO the
effect that the excessive cost OF govern
ment is due TO ineficiency and eNtrava-
gance in the executive departments
Without doubt there has been waste and
inefficiency in the various government de-
partments and establishments, and much
can be accomplished. and has already
been accomplished, by the introduction
OF efficient and economic methods of ad-
ministration and the elimination OF du-
plication and unnecessary work II might
we'll be possible TO save as much as
s50,o00Oo0 or slO0OOO.o00 by careful and sci
entihc reorganization Of the governments
business
The figures show that over % per
cent OF the total annual expenditures
OF the government are related TO war.
out Of total expenditures during 1920 of
about S5,4000OO. GO. about ~ billions rep
resented expenditures directly traceable
TO the war to past wars. or to prepared
ness for future wars OF this. about
g. 800 10000 went for the army and navy.
over S5ploo0.oo0 for the shipping board,
over Sl.oo000o.tc0 for the railroads another
SLeN,ooo.oo0 for interest on the public debt.
almost &fooooo0O for purchase of obliga-
lions of foreign governments on account
Of their war expenditures. and the remain
der for pensions war risk allotmcnts and
miscellaneous items related 10 war. An
analysis Of the expenditures, OF the first
six months of the fiscal year 1921 gives
similar results The figures also show
that the total cost of running what may
be termed the civil establishment proper.
that is To SAY. the various government
departments. boards and commissions and
the legislative establishment have not
much exceeded S250oc0,dD0 even in the alb
normal war years
sought details. If more than 90
per cent of the entire disbursements
Of 1920 went for past and prospective
wars, how much had we been spend
ing to keep The world safe for dcmoc
racyi We are all familiar with the
argument that the best way TO prevent
war is to be prepared for war. ]
thought | might find out whether that
was true. | went back into the rec
ords and found that year by year
from 1894 to 1919 inclusive, the treas
ury department had kept an account
of the actual disbursements-nO ap-
propriations, mind you, but actual
money expended-of the War depart
ment, the Navy department and for
pensions. When / got all the figures
before me l couldn't add them up
In the bureau of internal revenue
they loaned me machine and an
operator, and so know and can tell
you that from 1884 TO and through
1919 the War Department actually dis
bursed S23,O02, 800 00S.65. In the same
period the Navy Department spent
S6,907 1863, ,032.S4; and pensioners Of
past wars got $5,634 ,079,694.23.
That is a laundering total Of 500
tUJ, tDJO1l.fO lOT the ARMY anu navy
alone, leaving out of account the
$5,634 079, ,694.23 for pensions.
/ will let YOU decide whether any
part of the twenty-nine billion dollars
spent for preparedness and for war
prevented our going to war or found
US prepared when we went 10 war.
The three items / have enumerated
are only ribs of the. skeleton of the
cost of war preparation and activity.
l have not been able TO eXcavate any
other detail figures. But it is known
that the war Of 1912 cost about S133,.
7O3. $50.
The cost OF the Mexican war Is esti.
mated to have been S63, ,605,62
The total cost of the Civil war. TAX.
ing the period from June 80. 1861, to
June so, 1866, may be figured closely
at S3,500OOO, 600.
The treasury in the winter of 1920
81 estimated in report sent TO con.
gress through the secretary that the