The New York herald., 1921-09-13
Sound Taxes or Cyclone Cellars.

Mr.. HARpIyG's Administration and
the Congress majority need give
themselves no concern over the un-
warranted charges of malignant par
tisanship that they have defaulted
on their election promises to save
| hundreds of millions of dollars for
the taxpayers. They hsv~ cut the
army and navy expenditures ~ more
than half billion dollars a year,
and the public knows 1t. They have
cut thousands OF men of the other
payrolls, and the public knows It..
They have stopped needless construc-
tion and put an end to wasteful
buying in all directions, and the pub
lie knows II.
Altogether they have hauled the
Governments ordinary spendings
down from some s5,6S7 900, 900 in the
fiscal year OF 1920 to an estimated
four billions for this fiscal year,
end the public knows 1t. All this
the Harding Administration and the
Republican Congress have done. al
though 1t Is proverbial that there Is
scarcely harder feat in any busi-
ness, public or private. than to get
expenses down once they have been
allowed to go up and stay Zip.
And the public knows that the
great bulk OF the four billions Of
spendings which still remain is made
up of war debt service, army aud
navy charges, Shipping Board def
cits and other obligations that are
hangovers from the war. Nor is the
public liable to doubt while the ma
tional broadaxe continues to chop
away at the expenditures that, limi-
tation of armaments or no iimita-
tion, the Administration heads. the
Budget Commission and the legisla-
tive appropriations are going to keep
on saving for the taxpayers other
hundreds OF millions of dollars.
Nobody is going to be able to fool
the American people about what has
been done, is being done and will be
done to cut OF national waste and
squander. But both Congress and
the Administration do need to take
heed Of the popular consequences
Of not getting at the work of new
tax system with the vigor and
despatch which have been put into
choking of the spenders.
1t may not be possible to reject all
the oppressive and dangerous tax
schedules at one stroke. 1t may not
be feasible to put into operation
sounder and safer measures all In q
lump. 1t may not be practicable to
let 60 the whole of the old revenues
that are In hand while the new reve-
nues are only in the bush. But 1t is
possible and practicable and, in the
judgment of THE New YORK HERALD,
1t Is urgent and it Is necessary to
make a start with scientific taxes
that will give American industry
chance for its life.
The American wage earners who
cannot find jobs IL they are out OF
employment. or IL they still hold
their jobs do not know how long they
will last: the small business concerns
which cannot make a dollar any
more than the great concerns can,
the country at large which is de-
pressed and alarmed over having the
productive machinery of the nation
deadlocked do not take any stock In
the soap box ranter that spouts about
shifting the tax load from the few to
the many. They know the whole
country carries the burden In what
ever terms the taxes are expressed.
They know the heaviest and the
deadliest tax Is the tax that, wher-
ever 1t is applied, takes away the
public's opportunity TO earn It's bread
and butter.
The American public, wanting to
go back to work. will be no more
tolerant of a Government control
which keeps the brakes frightened on
he country's economic wheels than
1t Is OF labor union crew that piles
ties on the track.
Let there be an early beginning OF
sane and sensible tax revision chiefly
on the basis OF a minute tax on each
o. the country's yoluminous trade
transactions. or let those who stand
n the way OF such national relief to
American business and employment
Civ thought to the political cyclone
cellars they will need to hunt.