The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-02-11

Many OF D1Se agencies nave beefN
active for q number of years, but they
are keeping up their personnel in antici-
patton of work in the future. We could
save 5000. 000,o 900 a year, in my Judgment,
by doing away with useless bureaus and
duplication of activities.
Some of the Implications are ridicu-
lous and absurd. For instance, the gov
eminent seeks to protect the wild animals
in the national parks. II a brown kadiak
bear has twin cubs, one brown and one
black, as often happens. and one SHOULD
shoot the brown cub he must make his
settlement with one department, but II
he shoots its full brother. the black cub.
he must settle with another department.
If yon were TO shoot "A fox in Alaska your
settlement would be with the Department
of Agriculture. while If you trapped the
same fox you must make your settlement
with the Department of Commerce.
The government issued last year
through its several bureaus and depart
ments 10 cookbooks. The last one that
was issued was published by the board
of vocational education. This Is a board
organized by the congress for the purpose
of rehabilitating crippled soldiers of the
World war, to prevent, as far as possible,
their becoming derelfcts in life. II
may be of interest to state that while the
government has been issuing l6 c%ookbool5s
and consuming vast quantities Of print
paper In these and similar useless publ
cations, 1900 country town newspapers
have suspended in the last three months
because they could not secure print paper.
Mr.. Reavis and a great many others
have sensed the feeling in the coun-
try and in congress that the time has
come to put an end to all this sort
Of thing. He gives reasons for his
belief
One of the reasons is that the people
demand tina their taxation be reduced.
For many years we have been collecting
the revenues of this government through
systems of Indirect taxation. The reve-
nues have been collected through a pro-
tective tariff and by excise taxation on
intoxicating liquors. Indirect taxation of
this kind prevents the people from realiz-
ing fully just who Is paying the expenses
of the government There was n time
when the expenses of the government
amounted to only 70 cents per capita per
year. Today the annual per capita ex-
pense exceeds $40. This tremendous ex-
pense has made 1t necessary to resort to
direct taxation, and the people have sud
denly become painfully aware of who
pays the expenses of the government.
/ am very certain that the elimination
of Implications and overlapping in the de-
partments will result in the saving OF
millions of dollars. There is no reason
why il should not be done.
There Is every reason, In the presence
OF the strife and turmoil that prevail in
this country and of the unrest occasioned
by the high cost of the necessaries of life.
that the government should be put upon
a sane, efficient and economical basis.
Whoever by public clamor or other
zeal can induce congress and the
executive departments to organize the
routine business of the national gov
'nment will have performed a great
s1Ilolic service. Note that | say Tor
.anize'' and not "~reorganize,' for in
no proper sense has the federal bust.
ness ever been organized.