Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-29
Investment Training
Course Is Suggested
To the Editor of The star;

To the Editor Of The Star:
Anent the figure about taxes being
drummed into us by print and radio and
more particularly those showing that
about .three-tenths Of our population
are paying some 81 per cent Of the in
come taxes, the seriousness Of this
situation must surely be brought home
to every one.
So long as incomes were good our
all-wise Congress could squeeze lot
out of the very rich and. those Of us
who took this more or less as a joke on
the other fellow-it was not our OK that
was being gored-went along with
Congress; If they could collect all the
money they wanted to spend. it was
nothing to us.
That, as Mr.. Mellon' points out, the
incomes Of the rich have almost disap.
Congress has committed us are very
much with us and must be met.
Obviously the concentration of wealth
in so few hands is wrong in principle
and practice There seem to be only
two groups who get any fun out Of 1t,
those who own it and Congress who
gets great kick out Of raiding it.
OF course, since history began these
concentrations Of wealth and. power
SCCIu W 41dfC 4dA1 aOOut tA4C oa1A4C
course-ending in revolution and the
temporary redistribution of wealth.
To force the redistribution by orderly
means appears to be the object of much
of the worlds legislation today; how
successful this will be and whether at
the expense OF all personal initiative
time alone will tell. The point is why
does this concentration seem to have to
take place sooner or later?
AIa@A Ill
are comparatively few persons who are
it is acquired. What Is the trouble?
Bonding companies, better business
bureaus and other organizations have
made estimates Of the amount of money
filched from the American public
yearly and they run into many, indeed
hundreds Of millions. A truly stupen-
douS sunni
This Is made up very largely Of the
actual savings OF those who can least
under the ownership of those who
saved it would in itself greatly retard,
if not entirely prevent, dangerous con-
centrations of wealth, yet without in
terfering with the concentration OF
capital necessary to the larger under
takings of today.
These millions are lost IN speculation,
in unsound ventures honestly conceived.
in thievery, and the picture, unfortu-
nately, has for some years been get
ting steadily worse.
Thrift has been preached wholesale,
the Postal Savings and others show how
successful this has been, so that In
these less prosperous times such saw
ings have been of wonderful help. But
there Is little to indicate that the pub
lie is any wiser or has invested such
savings to any great advantage.
Investigate before you invest" Is q
splendid slogan, but like much good
advice that costs nothing falls on deaf
ears-the person who is old enough to
have saved something to invest is al
most always so sure Of his own per-
spicacity as to want no advice.
Why not start at time when we
can reach the next generation before
they get to this stage-admit frankly
that all is not well with the world, there
are still crooks, confidence men and
thieves-and show them how to guard
whatever they may inherit or acquire in
after years?
We admit that there is sickness in
the world and spend much time and
money showing youth how to protect
itself; why not the same with the next
most important matter, financial indie
pendence?
1t would not be q one-hour lecture
but a true course given to every high
school boy and girl and be a substan-
tial part Of their study. Not course
on how to make money but how to keep
it. Not a course Non how to avoid
buying a gold brick but one on the
basic principles Of keeping what you
have inherited or saved.
II average results are attained not
only will many individuals pass their
latter years in peace and independence
but that bugaboo Of concentrated wealth
will fade, our tax problems become
simplified and the feeling that each
of us had stake in national stability
would pass to millions who now have
nothing to lose, no matter what happens
It is true that no formula can be
devised that will protect the fool from
loss nor have we devised working rules
of hygiene that will always protect
against disease, but great strides have
been made IN the latter and can be
made in the former.