The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-01-13
III.
WARS EAT UP THE TAXES
BY EDWARD G. LOWRY
cODyrisht. Western Newspaper Uai0n

III.
WARS EAT UP THE TAXES
When l set out TO discover for YOU
where the money you pay us federal
taxes goes l did not have far to look.
1t goes for wars, past, present anu
prospective. Last year little over 80
per cent Of the national income went
that way. In the report Of the secre-
tary of the treasury submitted to con-
gress In December 1920, he remarks
An analysis OF government expenditures
for the fiscal year 1920 on the basis OF
daily treasury statements, develops the
striking fact that Of the net ordinary dis
bursements of 64O30 10000 about " per
cent consisted Of expenditures under the
following heads:
Purchase Of obligations Of for
eign governments ............$ 42leOON
War department ............,.... llVV'D I
Navy department ,.......,."',, '35VOVW
shipping board ......,.,......,. 63l,@0V
Federal control OF transporta-
ton systems and payments
to the railroads under the
transportation act, 400 -.,..., i,osl1nOM
i 1ntereat 4the public qebt,... lgOpNQW
PENSIONS ....E S..d.:,.......5 '2l50ooO1
War-rlsk insurance ...,...,,.... 100000 /
X Purchase OF federal fatm-loan !
ii bonds ..................n..... 100000
Il Total NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Il Substantially all the expenditures
entering into this total, and large
share Of the expenditures on various
minor accounts, represent burdens al.
rectly trace0hle to the war, to past
wars or to preparedness for future
wars. These figures serve to indicate
the direction which sincere efforts to
reduce the cost of the government
must take.
Then found Mr.. Gilbert, the under.
secretary of the treasury, saying:
There has been much idle talk to the
effect that the excessive cost OF govern
Tnent ia due to ineflciency and eXtraya.
Sance In the executive departments
Without doubt there has been waste and
inefiiciency in the various government de-
partmeRts and establishments, and much
can be accomplished, and has already
( been accomplished" by the Introduction
e OF efiieiehD and economic methods Of nd
x miBnBation and the elminatio Of du-
q plication and unnecessary work. II might
4 so 700, COO or. tU0,O 10000 By careful and sci
X entihc reorganization OF the governments
u business
4 The figures show that over 70 per
Z cent slot7 ttbg3 total apnual eHpsnditiuus
4 OF the FgoS6rhmchS ate lrelated to war!
Out Of total expenditures during 1890 %
about, S. ~, fpbout ,5}4 BILLIONS nor
Z resented seNpendltufes daeStiyl traGeabg
y 10 the war, q past warst or 10 prepared
ness for future wars. OF this. about
$500. 90 went for the army and navy.
over S59lfO000 for the shipping board,
over sl,00o,0fQ,0o0 for the railroads. Another
sl,0o0,O000C0 for interest on the public debt,
Z almost S510,b00,OQ0 for purchase OF 0bliga-
lions OF foreign governments on account
Of their war expenditures, and the remain
der for pensions. war ysk allotFQents and
4 miscellaneous items related TO war; Au
analysis OF the expenditures Of the frsl
\ six months of the fiscal year 1921 gives
similar results, The. figures also show
that the total cost OF running what MAY
be termed the civil establishment proper,
that is to say, the various government
departments, boards and commissions and
the legislative establishment. have not
much exceeded $3.50 80 600 even in the all
normal war years
| sought details. II more than 90
per cent Of the entire disbursements
Of 1920 went for past and prospective
wars, how much had We been spend.
Ing to keep the world safe for domoc-
racy? We are all familiar with the
argument that the best way to prevent
war Is to be prepared for war
thought might find out Whether that
} was truey ] went back into the rec
4 ords. and found that year by year,
4 from 1884 to 1919 inclusive, the treas.
i ury department. had kept an account
: lOf the actual disbursements mot ap-
, preparations, mind you, but actual
/ money expended--of the War depart
: ment, the Navy department and for
Z pensions. When ] got all tho figures
Z before me. | couldn't ado them up.
2 In the bureau of internal revenue
+, they loaned me a machine and an
operator and so know and can tell
YOU that from 1884 to and through
1919 the War Department actually dis.
bursed $4,000 890,00S.65. In tile same
period the Navy Department spent
S6,907 ,360032S4; and pensioners Of
past wars got S5,634, 79,6e4.28.
AbnS 10 q bliNhA1iAlb lblul VI elJ,-
909,759,041.49 for the army and navy
alone, leaving out Of account the
$5,694,O79694,29 for pensions,
will let you decide whether any
part Of the twenty-nine billion dollars
spent for preparedness and for war
prevented our going to war or found
us prepared when we went to war.
The three items / have enumerated
are only ribs of the skeleton of the
cost Of war preparation and activity.
l have not been able to excavate any
q other detail figures, But It is known
that the war of 1912 cost about Sl33,
703,SS0.
The cost OF the Mexican war is esti
mated to have been s83,e05,B21.
The total costof the Civil war, talk.
ing the period from June 80, 1861, to
June 80, 1866, may be figured closely
at $3500,000,000.
The treasury in the winter of 1920
II estimated in a report sent TO con
gress through the secretary that the
cost Of the World war to us to that
date had been $24 l00,000,0OO, exclu.
sive Of our loans to the allies and
other foreign nations.
CO xyOU uan the oneN - s,.,.