New Britain herald., 1926-08-02
76 CENTS OF TAX
 DOLLAR F0R WAR
Preparations and Payments Are
 Costly Items
BY GEORGE H. MANNING

'1S-AiitS tOilr ho6s " ISu you spend dollar. you like to know what you get for it. When you pay your dollar to the United States gov ernment in taxes what are you buy ing?
 The answer is seen in an analysis of the appropriations made by the first session Of the 69th congress.
 In the first place you pay some 76 cents of your dollar for wars and the preparations for wars. This in cludes all the appropriations for the army and the navy: for the interest on the public debt and the retire. ment of the public debt, incurred for the financing of wars: for the care of veterans of the World War and for pensions for the. veterans and dependents of other wars. You are still paying pensions to the widows Of veterans of the War of 1912 and the Mexican War.
 Care of World War veterans and their dependents costs you 1052 cents out of every tax dollar.
 You pay comparatively very little to keep up the other departm ents of the government. Only one-hun- dredth of a cent out of your dollar goes. to pay the salary of the presi- dent of the United States, and main- tain che entire executive office. Only 4,6 mills goes to pay your senators and congressman, and to maintain the extensive legislative equipment and staff
 Only 2 mills goes to maintain the judicial branch of the government including the department of justice the United States supreme court and all the federal judges.
 Less than .o2 cents goes to the en- forcement of prohibition, count the parts of the appropriations for the treasury department and the depart ment of justice which are used for this purpose.
 The other executive departments of the government, exclusive of the executive cffice, the war. navy and justice departments, cost you 24.6i cents. This overlaps with the wal costs, as the interior department In. cludes the pension bureau. which ad. ministers the pensions fo rall but the World War veterans, and likewist includes all you pay for prohibition enforcement, except that part of tho justice department appropriation. which is used for prohibition en. forcement.
 The war department. the navy department and the treasury de. partment are the most expensive branches of the government, in tht order named. The labor departmen IS the cheapest of the departments costing you only 2.5 mills out o each dollar you pay the government The commerce department, witt all it's extensive operations the world over, costs you only s.6 mills out O each dollar.
 Here is the table showing where your tax dollar goes:
 Interest on the public debt. 227i Public debt retirement ... 14.7t Veterans bureau ........ 10.5: War Department, including
 Panama Canal ...l.... p94 Navy department .... 95I treasury department tnclud-
 ing prohibition enforcement) S.7t Interior department .... 7.6t Investment of trust funds... 5.6( Agriculture ..t......... 4.3, Other independent establish
 mentS .,......v...... Is, District of Columbia .. 1.o4 Commerce department .... .Sf Deficiency in postal revenues ,7i Justice department Gncluding
 judiciaD ............ .1t State department .... 4 Legislative establishment ... .4t Labor department ...... 9; Executive office ...... .0-
 
 ioldl ........ IOV.V' Of course, your taxes do not pa! the entire cost of the government Of each dollar the government re ceives, 1443 cents comes from GUS toms revenue, 4.95 cents from inter est, premium, and discount: some thing comes in from collections or foreign debts; and the rest from per sonal and corporation income taxeE estate taxes, taxes on cigars, cigar Attes, and tobacco, and various ex