Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-10-24
President Cooidge's Address
CONTINUED from Page One,

al debt and reduce the national or.
penditures. Since June 20. 1921. the
national government has reduced ire
yeariy expenditures about 81 600 :
Vu,uU. 1t has paid off about two
ana tnree quarters billions of dollars
OF its debt and reduced its annual
interest by over $130,O0O,OOO. 1t is
esendted mat the taxpayers of this
country by these actions, have been
Teneved each day by about $1,000, 900.
new items of cost the budget Of next
year can be considerably less than
the appropriations of the present
year. In 1910 the per capita tax was
nearly $54. in 1924 1t was under S:O
and by 1926 1t should be under S27.
Inat means that 80 far as the ma
tional government is concerned the
burden OF taxes has been cut in two.
"A policy of economy has as its
sole object the benefit of all the
people. Just prior to elections q
great deal OF talk is made about the
taxes OF the poor and the rich. 1t
can fairly be said that the national
government does not tax the earn
lngs o. the poor family. Earnings
OF :z'Gn are entirely exempt, and
| on $J,VO they would pay but S37. 80.
the poor are obliged to pay direct
taxes to the national government.
All tax then about taking direct
taxes OH the rich and leaving them
on the poor Is simply misleading.
put every student Is well aware that
the public in general, which il most
~ maze up OF people OF moderate
means, do and must indirectly pay
the expenses of the government.
| The great corporations, the
banks, the railroads.&c. the great
lhcones-do and must collect their
money from the people. All our
| FOOD, clothing, shelter and fuel pays
q tax to the government and the
people who earn the wages of
the nation do and must pay
, these taxes when they buy these
| necessaries This simple fact deter
| mines what must be a sound policy
| or taxation. 1t should be a rate
| which will produce the largest
| amount Of taxation from large in
/ comes. and by doing the utmost to
| stimulate enterprise and business af-
| ford the wage earncrs ample en-
ployment with good pay, in order
| that they may better bear the burden
OF indirect taxation. When the rate
IL too high, large incomes disappear.
j leaving all the burdens of taxes on
the wage earners and peopl. of small
| means; getting all we can out Of the
rich by making the rates moderate
and stimulating business to provide
work and increase the earnings of
! the poor seems to me to he the COM
mon sense method of taxation.
The Tariff
! "A very material part Of our
| revenue comes from the tariff, which
IS now running at the rate OF about
| So3o.oOO,OOO per year. This Isl not
withstanding the fact that we have
| the lowest tariff which the Republi-
can Party has enacted since 1890
and that 1t is even lower than the
| Democratic tariff of 1894. Nearly 81
| percent or our imports are on the
free list. while the average duty on
all imports is less than IS percent.
! Under 1t. In spite of prophesies to
! the contrary. our foreign trade has
greatly increased. 1t has been con-
stantly asserted that what the farmer
| buys Is protected and what he sells
! Is not protected. Almost everything
that is used in the business of farm
! ing as matter of fact Is on the free
| list. while almost everything that the
| farmer raises is protected. Without
| such protection many of these farm
products would be destroyed by for
7 eign competition. When we turn to
! our industrial life. we find that the
wages both in rate and buying power
| Of the American workman are more
! than twice that of the best paid
| foreign labor. Compared to 1923 the
! advance in the wages Of union labor
Is % percent. while in the ordinary
] \in nctc ic hA,
J cent. American industry cannot ex-
| ist. American wages cannot be paid.
the American standard of living can
| not be maintained. without a pro-
| teCtive tariff.
Under this policy OF peace. econ-
/ omy. reduction OF taxes. and protec-
| ton, the business of the country has
very generally revived and brought
| us into an era of more than average
prosperity. Agriculture, however,
not only suffered first. and in many
respects most. but has been the last
to recover. In spite of the fact that
| prices for the great staples of wheat,
corn and animal products are now
at Il much more encouraging level,
nevertheless the farmer has not been
able to restore in one season the
losses he has encountered in the four
preceding seasons. Agriculture must
be placed on a permanently profit
able basis where il can enjoy eco
nomic equality with other industry.
"Much discussion has been made
! regarding the government policy of
denation. There has been much de-
bate whether raising discount rates
by the federal reserve board up to
seIen percent was the reason for the
| collapse in farm values. | do not
wish to consider that question. But
l should like to have it made plain
that this action took place before
this administration came into power,
and whatever damage there was, had
been already done. 1t was the policy
of the present administration con-
stantly to favor the reduction of dis
| count rates. This has been done.
until they now range from three per-
cent to four and one half percent.
This administration has constantly
sought to prevent further deflation
BY encouraging all kinds of business
in order to restore prices of agri-
cultural products. to point where
they should show a fair profit. The
general business depression had
reached it's lowest depths in the
spring OF 1921. and since that time
there has been a. gradual recovery
| which has now spread to agricul-
tural products. II mistake was
made, it was not made by this ad-
ministration. The government is
now proceeding in the opposite di-
reCtion.
An Economic Question
advantage must be taken of the
present period of relief to provide. by
the adoption of sound business meth
DDS and sound legislation. against the