The Washington times., 1925-01-23
BILLION IS
PAID FOR
SERVICE
Only Three-fourths OF Total
Revenue Now Collected
From Taxpayer
BY WILLIAM HARD

our governmental revenues pre-
scented this year to the President
and to the Congress of the United
States by General Herbert N.
Lord, director of the Bureau Of
the Budget, show as perhaps their
most amazing feature that we
F., now have a government which is
supported from sources one-quar-
ter of which in volume are quite
outside our general taxation
system.
In the next fiscal year we are
going to have a government The
total revenue Of which will be
approximately $4,000, 000, 900.
It makes almost any general
taxpayer feel faint to think of it.
He often imagines that the whole
burden Of it falls on him.
Postal Receipts Big.
1t is to be noted, however, in the
first place that approximately $3.50,
100000 Of that revenue will come
from the postoffice. 1t will be pro-
vided as more or less business
proposition by the users Of the
mails.
The fact is that the users Of the
mails ought not in logic be asked
to provide money for carrying the
official letters Of Congressman and
Senators and executive departments
free. They ought not to be asked
to provide the money for certain
other expensive services rendered
by the poStoffice for political and
general social development. If these
services instead Of being placed
upon the users NJ the mails were
placed, as in logic they should be
placed, upon the general taxpayer,
no advance in postage rates for any
class Of users Of the mails would be
needed in order 70 meet any pros.
pective increase in pay to postal
However, the political fact is that
the users of the mails are going to
be expected to pay not only for
what they get but also for numerous
things which they do not get and
which are designed to benefit the
people in general; and the gross
revenues Of the Postoffice Depart
ment are expected by the Bureau
of the Budget to give us in the next
fiscal year Ito put it exactly) $647.-
40, 900.
Another Half Billion.
Now to that sum. in order to get
a certain view Of the whole matter.
there should be. ADDED the sum Ito
put it exactly of $505, 420, 092.
That second sum consists Of the
two sources Of American govern
mental revenue which have been
mentioned in two preceding articles.
One sum consists Of money which
comes to this Government in the
course of collecting the interest and
the principal on loans which it has
made to foreign governments, to
American railroads, to American
farmers, and to a few other incl
dental beneficiaries of its banking
impulses.
The other sum consists of revenue
derived from such sources of the
performing Of special services for
special groups las, for instance, the
fumigating of ships and the operat-
ing of the Panama Canal and the
renting of Governmental grounds
and buildings and the selling of sur
selling of charts made bye the Navy
Departments photographic office
and the sending Of commercial mes
sages by the navy's radio service
and the army's Alaskan cable serV-
Gle, and so on)
This other sum consists also CT
income from trust funds" Various
Indian tribes, for instance. during
the next fiscal year, will produce for
Us out of their properties and earn
ings more than $50 .000, 900. This
sum will be turned into the Indian.
service in the Interior Department
and spent for the benefit of Indians.
1t will appear as part of our revenue
for our Government and also as part
of the cost of our Government. 1t
il no part, however, of the cost Sus-
tanned by our general taxpayers. 1t
is what is technically called a mis-
cellaneous source"
These miscellaneous sources" in
Guiding interest and principal pay
ments and including the other va
rieties of items here indicated,
and must be added. in logic. to the
revenue of the PoStoffice Depart
ment in order to get the gross total
of all that part Of our Governmental
revenue which the general taxpayer
in fact does not pay.
Taxpayer Pays Balance.
Adding these sums together, we
find our Postoffice Department
revenue plus our miscellaneous
sources revenue will amount in
the next fiscal year to approx
mate,y $1,I50, 900, 900.
The rest of our revenue, from
the income tax and from other
general internal taxes and from
the tariff tax. will amount to ap-
proximately $3.50, 900, 900.
That sum = IS. so, 600. 900 - will
fall upon the general taxpayer.
The other sunni L so 900 900
will fall upon our debtors or upon