The Topeka state journal., 1921-11-07
MAKING THE RICH PAY.

The senates second vote on the
sales tax indicates a continuation of
the effort to soak the rich" The
pending tax bill, as it stands, will keep
the clamps on business and enterprise.
Opponents of this form of taxation
point out that the sales tax has been
sugar-coated and euphemized by its
advocates, but it is in fact a tax on
consumption and has no other mean
ing" The fact is that nobody ever has
claimed anything else for it.
Opponents of the tax also call at
tention to the fact that Wall street ia
vors it. This is in line with the course
pursued by demagogues for many
years. They act on the assumption
that anything favored by successful
business men is opposed to the inter
ests of the ''peepul."
Senator Edge of New Jersey in a
recent address to the American Man
ufacturers' Export association, said
that as a member of the party in con-
troll, he would not take time to picture
the many difficulties he and his fell
lows met in Washington, in getting
definite constructive verdicts in legis-
lation, but that he wished his hearers
to realize that congress represented
every thought, every idea. of forty
eight states in the Union, every local
condition, every selfish interest, and
working under rules which permitted
unlimited debate, it was difficult real
ly to produce, in a businesslike way,
a final verdict to which business men
were entitled.
His own views of taxation were for
repeal of the excess profits tax in its
entirety; lowering of the income tax
as far down as it was possible to do it
and still be assured of necessary reve-
nue.; for a repeal of the war excise
and nuisance taxes; not to raise the
corporation tax from 10 to Is per cent,
which to some corporations might be
worse than the excess profits tax; and
to put in place of all this abandoned
and complicated machinery the sales
tax.
The trouble that we face in con-
gress," he said, "is the accusation that
the party in control is trying to relieve
the wealthy at the expense of the So
termed poorer classes. It is a semi
denagogic argument, that, in order to
get at the so-called rich, we must con-
tinue the OPPRESSION of the so-called
poor. Today there are approximately
100000 men unemployed in this
country. There must be a reason.
My view of the reason is simply
this: that you cannot, thru legislation,
compel any man to start an enter
prise. He will go into the develop
ment of any particular activity, what
ever it may be, when he IeeIs that
there is a reasonable chance for a rea-
sonable profit on the risk he takes.
But If he be in that bracket which
gives 10 per cent to the government if
the enterprise be successful, and If
not, he himself must bear all the loss,
it is reasonable to assume that we can
not restart activity in this country
with unemployment of millions of
men following.
by charging a little more income
taxes, he goes and buys tax-exempt
bonds and locks his drawer and goes
to Europe and enjoys himself, and
says: When America gets sane
again, will open my drawer and
start to serve America If you think
you are serving the poor man who is
out of a job in this way, you can
plainly see that you are not
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