Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-02-26
SMOKERS MORE
THAN PAY COST
CIVIL EXPENSE
Interesting Facts Brought Out
to Show How Federal Tax
Money Is Used.
CAUSE OF TAX BURDENS
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN.

Department on cigars ana TOBACCO, more
than support the civil Government Of
this country, including all of it's sclen-
tifc research, its educational activities.
and Its public works, such as improving
rivers and harbors, retaining lands,
building roads, and the like. For the
average annual cost of all these govern
mental activities for the last ten years
was considerably less than the internal
revenue tax on cigars and tobacco yielded
in 1920.
This interesting fact is brought out by
DR.. E. B. Rosa of the Bureau of Stand
ards, who has set himself the important
task of finding out for the American
people just how the money they spend
for Federal taxes is used. He recently
set forth proof that out of every dollar
spent by the Federal Government in 1920,
SO cents was spent to pay for past wars
or to prepare for the wars of the future,
and only cents for all civil activities
He has now elaborated his study, set
ting forth many facts which illuminate
the current vague and voluminOus dis
cussion of governmental extravaganza
like seRrchlights In fog.
TAXPAYERS SHOULD
KNOW FACTS.
DR. Rosa specifically disavows a crid-
cal attitude toward any group of gov
enmental expenditures. He does not
pretend to discuss whether it is neces
sary to spend more than nine-tenths OF
Ill our Federal money on past ana fu-
ture wars. But he does believe that the
taxpayer should have the facts about
how this money is used. And lie points
out that not only the taxpayer but jour
nalists and legislators appear TO he la
mentally ignorant OF these facts. Daily
we hear and read much about the growth
OF Government expense. We are daily
told that Government expenses are in
creasing. Clerk hire, the Pay Of Gov
erCnent scientists. the cost Of main
| tanning bureaus are always mentioned
| as chief among the creatures Which de-
! YOUR our taxes. We are told that IN
these bureaus there is much duplication.
! waste and red tape. Every admluistra
/ ton comes in with promises Of retreuch-
| ments and reforms which VIII save the
public money by cutting down the ap-
Ipropriations for Government bureaus and
| this seems generally to refer TO the civil
Government primarily. Army. Navy
and pensions are seldom mentioned.
! Or. Rosa sets out to show just how
much this civil government costs HIS
| method has been to aBaly 70 tie cost Of
/ civil government for ten years, disre-
garding war costs. BY doing this he
succeeds IN showing that the cost OF
maintaining the civil government. In
Guiding all OF its scientific and engineer
ing work, has increased 10 actual dollars
and cents barely fast as the pcpula-
ton has increased and that this Increase
takes no account Of the falling value OF
the said dollars and cents.
This is the important point. II you
express the cost Of civil government in
terms OF actual commodities instead OF
dollars, far from increasing, It has de
creased more than 80 per cent. That Is
the purely civil activities OF the Govern,
ment cost, in bushels Of wheat for In
stance, more than 20 per cent less II
1920 than they did in 1910. As a result
during that period much OF this civil
Government activity has become far lea,
efficient Salaries have become so low
as the cost Of living has risen, that tht
bureas cannot hold their employees. espe
cially thor scientific men. The labor
turnover IS rapid. i would ruin any
private enterprise. It means that near
ly all OF the civil bureaus are under
manned and that nearly all Of them ar,
becoming merely training schools whict
men rapidly desert for more remuuera
tive places.
COST OF GOVERNMENT
LOWER, FIGURES SNOW.
Thus. the figures amply refute tn,
charge that the cost Of civil Government
has grently increased. On the contrary
It has greatly decreased. Our increased
tax burdens are made necessary by tn,
burdens which the war visited upon Us
and by the greatly increased Army and
Navy which we are now maintaining. II
civil Government were comp, ately abol
tshed It would havo saved you but pei
cent on your Federal taxes Ia 1920 aut
II Ru scientific and engineering work hat
been suspended II would have saved yor
but per cent. Disarmament is the only
thing that would cut Federal taxes henv.
lily.
DR. Rosa further shows that the ex-
penses Of Government, as usually sci
forth, are not accurate because they fail
to show the earnings Of the Government
The land office, the reclamation service
the bureau OF navigation, the forest
service and the postoffice all have re-
ceipts RS well as disbursements But iu
summarizing the expenses of govern
ment, It Is usual merely 10 add up the
total appropriations for the various
bureaus. Thus in pre- war days we used
to be scandalized by the term "A billion
dollar Congress" But, as n matter of
fact, the net cost Of the government to
the federal taxpayers before the war was
never ms much as seven hundred millions
In year.
DR. Rosa concludes his argument with
plea for the support Of the scientific
and engineering work Of the Government
In this part Of his argument he probably
comes closest to the real question at Is
sue That question is: What are legiti-
mate and necessary activities Of the Fed
eral Government.
Whether certain bureaus are expand
ing or contracting, 1t IL certainly true
that the activities OF tho Federal Gov
eminent, az a whole, ever since It's es
adjustment have been steadily growing.
while the Importance Of State and other
local governments has steadily dwindled.
The percentage of the population which
works for the Federal Government
| steadily grows. In a word, the United
States is said to be turning into a
bureaucracy, say the critics Of this ex-
pansion. For example. Senator Thomas
| of Colorado recently attracted attention
| BY a speech in the Senate in which he
cOnvincingly pointed out this tendency.
And these critics further point out that
! bureaucracy IS not democracy. It Is or
! posed to the principles for which this
| Government is supposed to stand. And
! the dangers of 1t have been strikingly
illustrated by several European coun'
tries, notably France.
UNITED STATES NOT
A BUREAUCRACY.
! In @ word, the many publiCists who
attack the activities Of the Federal Gov
eminent are probably motivated at bot
tom by this feeling that the Government
is degenerating into a bureaucracy, and
| by desire to check this degeneration.