The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-03-13
THIS FROM A WoRKINGMAN

Henry Ford. the worlds greatest manufacturer and
largest individual employer OF Workmen, has peen alter-
n9felv criticised or praised for his expression OF OPINION
on MANY public questions but he has never subjected HIM
self to the i~mputation of being q poor business man" lie
is the living example of a workman who by ms own eI-
forts has risen from the ranks to great rIcheS. Ills WealCn
is so great that it can be assumed he would not stOOp 70
support a tax measure merely to add q tribe to ms per
sonal income. Therefore, an interview with Nr. F0fd on
the tax question, obtained by Samuel Growther for pub
LEGATION in Golfers Weekly, is OF great interest TO the
American public. MI. Ford says:
Every cent the Government spends, just as every
cent we as citizens spend, has to come from somewhere.
ANY administration or any set OF legislators that advocate
high taxes ought to be run out Of office, because what
they are really advocating is the high cost OF living !.
eve have to pay some taxes, but the greater part OF
what we pay ought to go for productive purposes-t0f
good roads, for schools, for better health and all those
things which make life easier. But we ought to pay as
we 60 and not attempt to have things we cannon aHoro
to have.
1--WE could afford to have a great deal more than we
now have and pay out less money. That we can dQ by.
wasting less than we now waste. But there is nothing
more dangerous to the prosperity OF the country than put
ting heavy taxes on those who seem to have more money
High taxes on the rich do not take burdens off the
poor. They put burdens on the poor. AS far as our COM
pany is concerned, we can 60 on about as we are now,
whether the sur-tax is 20 or SO per cent. We can make
some improvements, but we cannot do the great things
we should do had we more money.
From a purely selfish standpoint, it does not make
the least difference to me whether the Government taxes
me 1 per cent or SO per cent. l do not know exactly, but
I imagine that I could live just as [ live now on l pes cent
Of my income. I am not in business to make money as
money, but to do many things which | believe are OF pub
lie benefit, and I believe I can put my money to better
public use than the Government can.
"Take the Ford car as an illustration. With the high
surtaxes advocated as q benefit to the poor man or the
man Of moderate means, I doubt if ever we should have
reached a point where W. could have produced a car IN
der $500, and that only by paying very low wages.
'"The men who tell the country that the high incomes
must be cut down are not working for the benefit Of the
masses. What they are really saying is something like
this: You worbmen and farmers have got all you ought
H. 10 ~ L1 -Lnn -2nh+ -ny LrnT9 0OuTO IN Thfc aO11O II
try must be run for the benefit of politicians
Il am interested in seeing everybody getting a better
living with less effort. am against anything which stops
the country where it is.
Zone Of the great troubles with Europe is that the
people exist for the government. Taxes take up what
surplus ought TO be used for lettering conditions"