The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-01-05

which II called Ire public business.
Query: Are they doing 1t eficiently
ana with sinEie-minded devotion %
your i~nterestsf
Perhaps the largest item I'M the high
cost on living III the high cost sof
government. And far and away the
largest Item in the high cost OF govern
ment Ii the high cost of armament;
preparation Tor war, About 80 per
cent of NIL government revenues, and
that means the money taken from Won
as taxes, goes to pay for wars, past,
present and future. %~I
Before I have concluded this series
Of articles expect to show you con
clusively that the impelling motive
that Induced President Harding to call
the present conference in Washington
to consider limitation of ornaments
vas financial. The pressing need OF
considering d proposal for a reduc-
tion or limitation by agreement of war
expenditure was not made entirely on.
the ground of morality or righteous
ness, but as q plan for cutting down
the operating expenses Of the govern,
ment. t%6Et
If. the United States government
were an Individual we would say that
it vas broke. for it's expenses exceed
it's income. % h
Your interest Is simply this: that
whatever decision is made you will
have to bay the bill. If today we
didn't have, these army and navy ex-
penses you would have to pay in taxes
less than 81. 0oo,Oo0,OOO a year instead
of $5,000;0O0 900. That mean we
would have about $4,000, 100000 more
a year to spend on our private needs
and pleasures. I frankly confess that
I would enjoy having four-ifths OF my
taxes knocked OF. Wouldn't you? =
Secretary Weeks Of the War de-
partment gave public warning a little
while ago that the government would
require Of us about $17,000,00O in
the next thirty months to meet cur
rent expenses and other obligations.
Persons who have given close study to
that possibility say that the need viii
be nearer $2osO00,OoO, than $17,OO0,-
OO0. The great bulk Of that ia for
past and prospective war expenditures.
For this, you and congress and the
Executive departments at washington
are responsible. You more than any
body else, for It IL your money that Is
being spent and you a stop it. In its
simplest terms the procedure is this:
You arm the money, congress takes 1t
away from you In the form Of taxes,
and then congress and the Executive
departments spend 1t.
A great part OF 1t is wasted. This is
established, conceded, confessed, and
acknowledged by congress-, which
authorizes the expenditures, and by
the executive officers of the govern
ment, who do the actual spending. 1t
Is your money that you have earned
in your business, on your farm, or by
the labor of your hands, that is being
expended and wasted at Washington.
Every cent that is extravagantly or
needlessly expended by the govern
ment you could have in your pocket to
meet the increased cost of food, lodg-
ing and clothing, doctors bills and
amusements, or to put away and saw
against a rainy day. If you only de-
manded determinedly and unitedly
that governmental extravaganza should
cease - I'D -.
=. I can tell you some of the conditions
Of governmental spending and how
your money is chucked about, and I
can tell you how you can stop it. The
power Is yours, and until you exer-
else it waste and extravaganza will
not StOD.