Evening star., 1924-05-23
Americas Future and Problems
NO. TX.
League of Nations Farm Policy and Communist Propaganda
for Recognition Deemed Big Issues Now.

spoken our mind. 1t is a paramount
issue. The soviets have declared a
warfare upon our government, our
free institutions and, first of all, upon
our labor movement They have or
ganized a veritable net Of destruction
in our country. They have sought to
infest and poison our unions, our
civic organizations. our literary life,
our schools and churches and even
our sports.
History has no parallel for the in
famous plotting and scheming of the
so-called soviet government. It's
iniquitous work has already brought
to us effects which we shall not be
able to clear away for many years.
The tactics of boring from within"
which have been adopted as means
to the destruction of the unions have
been adopted in every other direction
and are applied with no less Vigor In
practically every organized Soelal
activity.
Taxation touches every person, di-
rectly or indirectly. We are not by
demnation OF the tax-reduction program
offered by Secretary Mellon. but we
are bending every effort in the direc-
ton Of a reduction for the wage earn
salaries. We are unable to see the
logic of taking so much from the tax
roll of the rich and so little from the
burden of the poor.
We realize fully the iniquity of tax
exempt securities and We understand
the penalty that must be paid as a
result of such enormous evastons OF
taxation as are made possible by Such
securities. Doubtless Secretary Mellon
is entirely sincere in his proposal to
reduce the excess profits and surtaxes
in order to keep investment away from
tax-exempt securities and lure 1t INTO
more useful fields.
But we cannot feel that is not with
out his zeal for the heavy taxpayers
and we feel that he views the small
| taxpayer in 4 rather academic light
as a taxpayins abstraction that needs
some attention, but not too much.
So there are issues OF tremendous
Importance on every hand. Some OF
them are so involved that even the
best informed are compelled to grope
more or less in the dark. What Is
needed, above all, is accurate infor1na-
tion, fairly and fully presented to the
public. The public needs facts. If il
| can get facts without the biased views
| of those who have personal or special
! interests to serve. the decision of the
| people will be right,
Never was there a time SO fraughi
| with both helpful and hurtful possibili-
! ties. Over the whole field there is the
| difficulty of getting truth. Progress to-
| day has a hard row to hoe. The very
ranks of progreSsivism and liberalism
| are poisoned and true liberalism must
| fight TO purge itself.
| X
| ] have an abiding faith, but / realize
fully that faith today must be accom-
| panied by fighting. Without fighting
for progress we shall have no progress
Indeed, without fighting for progress We
may easily enough endanger our whole
| fabric of civilization.
1 am not an alarmist and 1 am not
| afraid of the future for our country
| and our institutions. But neither am
| of the opinion that it is safe for any
freedom-loving, progressive American
to go to sleep on the job. Liberty never
demanded eternal vigilance more thar
| now.
| Copyright, 1924 in United States and Grea
| Britain by North American Newspaper
Alliance. All rights reserved.)