Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1921-01-13
DISARM.

The time has come when the masses
of the people must do little serious
thinking and use prod upon their
Indifferent and sometimes Ignorant
law makers at Washington. When
the munition manufacturers and prof.
iteers were trying to deceive the
people to make them fight with more
zest in the late war, they told them q
great many seductive lies. They were
fighting SO the liars and hypocrlts
told them ITO make the world safe Tor
democracy and in addition, we were
also told that we would enjoy the
great boone of no more wars" When
Hog Island was robbing the tax pay
ers of millions and the gentlemen VINO
were engaged in the construction OF
air ships were taking gold out OF the
treasury by the bushel, we were IN
formed that there would be world
peace, no more military expenses, and
that the universe would become a
neighborhood of brothers. Now we
are confronted with the proposition
of spending more money for arma-
ments than all the nations OF tae
earth did in one year prior to the war.
The people are overwhelmed with
debt that stagger under the load OF
taxation, and yet, Joe Daniels, the
Secretary of the Navy and Newt.
Baker of the War Department, are de-
manding of Congress nearly a billion
and quarter of dollars for arms next
year. Is it possible that the people
will submit to such robbery? | cam
not believe they will.
Read the followign editorial from
recent number of The Nation. 1t is
pertinent and full of very useful IN
formation. The representative or sem
ator who shall insist upon continuing
this burden upon the tax payers de-
serves to be eternally damned politi-
cally. The Secretary of the Treasury
who has helped to hammer cotton
down to Qne-fourth its real value has
announced that nothing can be done
in the way of giving compensation to
the soldiers who won the world war
and is joining in with the plant tools
of the military lords il demanding
that a law be enacted which will COM
pei the people to spend the products
of their toll for an enlargement of our
navy and the maintenance OF an UNI
necessary army. Ihe time has come
when such crime should cease. Dis
arm! attend to the business of Amer
ica-live by the golden Rule of God
aad America will prosper, and the
world will be benefited.
"At last sanity in things military
and naval seems to be returning. At
ter four years of preparedness mania
and war orgy the country is awaken
ing tothe mescable fact that the huge
sums it is spending for wars past and
future are bringing it to the very
verge of bankruptcy. Those numer-
Gus American business men who have
been about driven to despair in the
effort to pay the fourth. installment
of the income tax, on December Is,
and the thousands who have been ut
terly unable to pay it, are reduced to
these extremities chiefly because of
the demands of the army and navy
budgets. If all reforms are urged by
President-elect Harding for the mod
ernizing of the governments business
machinery were carried out, if eff
cheney by some magic were to be es-
tablished over night in all the depart
ments at Washington and every gov
eminent employee gave enc dollars
worth of service for every dollar re-
ceived, the net saving would be hard
ly noticeable in the budget which Sec
rotary Houston calls for, of four bill
lions. For the simple truth stands out
that according to an official publica-
ton more than 90 per cent of the gov
ernment's expenditures for the fiscal
year ending June 80 to July1, 1920,
went for pensions, the care of the dis
abled, the army and the navy.
So there is no worthwhile cut pos
sible save in the army and navy ex-
penditures, But what does the Wilson
administration advocate? Why, Sec.
rotary Daniels declares that it will be
ga crime" if we do not go on building
the greatest navy in the world pro-
vided we remain out of the League Of
Nations. If we enter it, the present
fleet Of 1000 vessels must be kept up
he insists. On Wednesday of las