Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1921-08-17

istration would forget its tenderness
for special privilege. There is no
reason why taxes should not promote
production,"' says Keller. There are
rules zOf taxation just as we'll estab
ished as the laws OF mathematics.
But instead OF calling in competent
experts, the ways and means commit
tee beeks the advice of multi-mil
liOnaire cabinet officer (Mellon)
whose suggestions seem to be based
upon prediction promises to the
war profiteerS instead of scientific
economic principles. We could light
en- the load on industry and relieve the
workers and farmers of this country
of about $3.50 per year for the aver;
age family if the Administration
would. quit coddling millonaires and
monOpolists and seriously consider
the taxation of inheritances and land
values" This last proposal is the
essence of Keller's tax program. He
wants to repeal all the nuisance tax
es which are paid by the people and
replace them with stihly graduated
tax on inheritances which will raise
$750, 100000 annually. He wants to
raise one billion more by one per
cent tax on land values. This tax
allows each individual an exemption
of $4,000 and entirely eliminates all
improvements. The bill defines i'm
provements as "anything that is the
application of labor to land" and,
under this definition, practically no
farmers would pay taxes. The bulk
of the billion dollars raised by this
tax would come, from the Golfers Of
the great corporations which hold iron
ore, coal, oil, timber, water, power
and other natural resources out of
use and retain idle lands for specu-
lative purposes. The Keller program
undoubtedly would relieve the small
taxpayer and break up these great
'monopolistic holdings. This ex-
plains why the bill is so bitterly op-
posed by Fordney, Longworth. and
other defenders of special privilege.
Borah Demands Disarmament
Senator Borah also strayed off the
Republican reservation last week and
warned his colleagues that they must
lower taxes by drastic reduction in
our military program. Borah demand
ed that the army be cut to 100000
men, wanted idle officers taken off the
payroll, scored the maintenance of
an American army along the Rhine
which is costing us 100000 month
and denounced as folly the Admins
tration's intention of building 16 bat
tleships at the cost of forty million
dollars each just after recent tests
demonstrated that the "dreadnaughts'
of the sea are easy prey to airplane
bombers. Borah voiced what every
intelligent congressman knows to be
60 ~ nv
prise SO per cent of the governments
entire cost and there can be no mat
erial reduction in taxes unless we cut
down the size of the army and aban-
don our ambitious naval building pro-
Harding Administration opposes.
Harding scolded Congress in a spe-
cial message because it reduced the
army to 10000 men and Secretaries
Weeks and DENLY are constantly max
ing jingoistic speeches which sound
like those emanating from Potsdam
before the war.
"~', Expect Little From Conference.
Our American jingoes give the
hoaryf old excuse that jingoes of 9TH
er countries have given/from time i'm
| overwhelmingly that it is not safe
| for us to disarm while other nations
are arming. Then we set the pace so
other nations will have the same ex-
cuse. The Administration is attemp-
ting to excuse itself on the ground
that it really is interested in disarm-
ament and has called an internatiOn-
al conference to discuss this ques-
ton. Those who know what is 60
ing on behind the scenes are not ser
iously impressed by this argument.
The general view here is that the dis
armament conference is mere cam
outage behind which a new league of
nations will be organized-or rather
a league of international bankers, for
that will more truly describe it's pur-
pose. This is made fairly evident by