The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1921-12-22
By EDWARD G. LOWRY
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
III.
WARS EAT UP THE TAXES

III.
WARS EAT UP THE TAXES
When l 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 a little over 80
per cent of the national income went
that way. In the report of the secre-
| tary of the treasury submitted to con-
gress in 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 $6,403O00O00 about 30 per
cent consisted of expenditures under the
following heads:
Purchase of obligations of for
eign governments .............S 42l,OO00O0
| War department ................. Gil 100000
Navy department ................ 100000
Shipping board .................. 53l,Oo00OO
Federal control of transporta-
ton systems and payments
to the railroads under the
transportation act, 1920 ....... 1,0S7,000OO0
Interest on the public debit. 1920, 00000
Pensions ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 2l3.O00OO0
War-risk insurance ............. 100000
Purchase of federal farm-loan
bonds ..................... 100000
Total OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. IS 716, COO 900
Substantially all the expenditures
entering into this total, and a large
share of the expenditures on various
minor accounts, represent burdens d.
rectly traceable to 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 extrava-
gance in the executive departments.
Without doubt there has been waste and
inetficiency 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. 1t might
well be possible to save as much as
$50 10000 or I00,G00.0G0 by careful and sci
enttiC reorganization of the governments
business
The figures show that over 30 per
cent of the total annual expenditures
of the government are related to war.
out Of total expenditures during 1920 of
about s6,400,000000, about 81 billions rep
resented expenditures directly traceable
to the war, to past wars, or to prepared
for q hoI
s.. 100000 went for the army and navy,
over $J0o000Oo1 for the shipping board,
over sl,W0OO0OOO for the railroads, another
H.@1,o0o0Q0 for interest on the public debt,
almost $J000D,OU0 for purchase of obliga-
tons Of foreign governments on account
of their war expenditures, and the remain
der for pensions, war risk allotments and
miscellaneous items related to 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 $50. OO0 900 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 democ-
racy? 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 l went back into the rec
ords and found that year by year,
from 1884 to 1919 inclusive, the treas
ury department had kept an account
of the actual disbursements-not ap-
preparations, mind you, but actual
money expended-Of the War depart
ment, the Navy department and for
pensions. When l got all the figures
before me l couldn't add them up.
In the bureau of internal revenue
they loaned me a machine and an
operator, and so l know and can tell
you that from 1884 to and through
1919 the War Department actually dis
bursed $4,000, 800, OOS65. In the same
period the Navy Department spent
S6,9O7 1859, 032.S4; and pensioners of
past wars got $5,634, 079,69423.
That Is a laundering total of 500
900, 759,041.49 for the army and navy
alone, leaving out of account the
$5,634,079,69423 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 to war.
The three items l have enumerated
are only ribs of the skeleton of the
cost of war preparation and activity.
/ have not been able to excavate any
other detail figures. But it is known
that the war of 1912 cost about $133.-
7O3,SS0.
The cost of the Mexican war is esti-
mated to have been 1888, 605, 62l.
The total cost of the Civil war, tax
ing the period from June 80, 1861, to
June 80, 1856, may be figured closely
at S3,5O0,0O0,OO0.
The treasury in the winter of 1920
Fl estimated in report sent to con-
gress through the secretary that the
cost of the World war to us to that
date had been $24, 100000, 900, exclu-