The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-09
THE TREASURY sURPLUsES.

THE TREASURY SURPLUSES.
 Secretary Mellon plans to renew his fight for reduction of surtaxes, and will advocate the application of treasury sur pluses to that purpose. Overlooking the manner in which the secretary is able to show surpluses when it suits his con- venience to do so, and lack of surpluses when he does not approve of some pro- posed appropriation of public funds, there is side of the question which has not been fully set forth. There is no gen. eral lamentation for the alleged oppres- ion of those who pay surtaxes. If anybody can afford taxation it is people who come in the surtax group. Nor is there any general public acceptance of the view that surtaxes keep capital out of taxable enterprises, and thus reduce prosperity. On the contrary, there is everywhere visi- ble and irrefutable evidence that sur taxes do not injure business and indus try. If we had much more prosperity, we shouldn't know what to do with it. Never was there such a period of new enter prise and new capital investment.
 There is another way in which these treasury surpluses can, for a few years at least, be applied in a much more sane, economical and businesslike manner. In the first place, as is of painful public knowledge, there are tremendous war debts resting upon this country. As long as they exist they pile up an additional interest cost of staggering proportions. The more rapidly these debts are reduced, the more quickly will the American peo- pie be freed from their burden. That would be the most sensible route towards lower taxes. Reduce the demands upon public revenues and we reduce the need for public revenues. That would seem to be simple economic doctrine.
 There are good reasons why much of this war debt should be paid by the sur tax group. In the first place, they are able to pay their tax obligations without hardship, whereas many person of mod crate means finds it difficult to meet tax payments. It would be better for all coil cerned if we should pay our excess debt as soon as possible. Especially is this true, when it is recalled that retirement of the war debt would remove the chief reason for surtaxes.
 If the above does not appear suffi- cientIy good reason for leaving the sur taxes as they are for the present and applying the treasury surpluses to the reduction of war debts, let people ask themselves how so many people came into the status of surtax payers. Everybody knows that the war developed the op- portunity that has been minted into great wealth by thousands of people. Their riches they owe directly to the impetus war gave our industries, and to the i'm pregnable position war established for our financial prestige and our foreign trade. Let the surtaxes that arise as a result of postwar benefits be applied for few years, therefore, to retiring our great war debt.
 A third reason for applying surpluses to war debts coincides with a policy advo- cated by Secretary Mellon himself, name ly, the abolition of tax-free securities. MT. Mellon does not need to wait for an act of congress to abolish such of these securities as may be retired by means of the treasury surpluses. MT. Mellon can reduce tax-free securities in this country by billions of dollars in the next four years, if he will but do it. It is all a question of whether MT. Mellon regards his first obligation to the very wealthy or to the people in general. MT. Mellon has indignantly denied any favoritism to- wards great wealth. No denial of his would speak in his defense half so elo- quently as one outstanding official act favoring the great majority instead of the hitherto favored few.