Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-01-13
NINETY-TW0 PER
CENT OF U.S.. GOVT
EXPENSES FOR WAR

! Washington, Jan. 1.-THE Federal
treasury, according to figures recent
! ly announced in the senate, is now
7 more than a billion dollars in the
! hole, and will be more than two bill
! lions by next June. Within two
years, seven and one half billions OF
war obligation must be met. How
to solve this problem is being point
! ed out to congressman, and the first
big slice of relief must come in
/ eduction of the costs of the army
| and navy. With forty big battle
| ships just starting off on a naval
promenade to spend millions of dol
! lars in racing around the ocean, and
| firing Off big guns, congressman are
beginning to feel that a stop must
! be put to the cost of this war game.
I Senator Capper of Kansas is advo-
eating positive action Of this kind.
In Cappers Weekly, published at
Topeka, last week, the following
! statements regarding the govern
ment Indebtedness and place for the
! pruning knife, are given:
Deducting all taxes collected,
| Uncle Sam will be short $1,299,-
9S1,765 of enough funds to meet his
| running expenses by January Is Of
| the new year.
He will be more than billion dol
| lars behind by June so, 1921.
The Government must get this
money either by more taxes or by
econ nomizing. Each billion Of new
taxes amounts to $40 a head for
every man, woman and child in the
! United States. :,
! The report Of the Secretary of the
Treasury shows that within the 2h
years ending May, 1928, ~ billion
| dollars of government war obliga-
tions come due. Victory bonds to
| the amount of more than Ia bill
| lion dollars mature on May 20, 1923.
On January 1, 1923, 500 million
dollars in War Savings certificates
are due and payable.
1t is pointed out that if all the re-
forms urged by President-elect
Harding for undermining the ma
chinery of the Government are car
ried out, the net saving will hardly
be noticeable compared with these
enormous sums. And this is the
reason: Ninety-two per cent of all
the Governments expenditures are
for war expenses. The remaining s
cents out of every dollar is appro-
| priated for education and all other
governmental activities.
The country is waking up to the
crushing burden of militarism. In
it's fight against it, the American
Union Against Militarism is not SO
lonesome as it used to be, so tar as
the vested interests are concerned.
! The big bankers and manufacturers
are convinced if business or prosper
ity is to have any show at all, ii
taxes are ever to be reduced to rea-
sonable proportions. there will have
j; to be a let-up in this war business,
and they are burying Congress with
suggestions.
The War Department is asking
Congress to grant it 615 million dol
lars in excess of the existing appro-
priations made for it for the coming
fiscal year. This department mas
! been spending money not authorized
by Congress and wants huge de-
! iciency appropriations.
Then there are the advocates OF
universal military training. ms
| week major general of the A. r.
| r. Major General Joseph T. Dick
! man, courageously let hlmesH De
! quoted by the Associated Press as
onnosed to universal military train
ing at this particular time because
the results obtained would not war.
rant the estimated annual cost OF
900 million dollars.
Aside from the thousands OF un-
necessary employees now i'll the GOV.
ernment's service, person out OF
every 159 inhabitants now being
empioyed by the Government, and
tI,o raluction Of other wastes. the
hip cuts must be made in war bills.
Everything must be cut. to the
bone.
Economy at Washington has be-
come compulsory.