The border vidette., 1932-08-13
MEET YOUR COMPETITOR
wv. r. Mallalieu)

lO years. there will be only one
employer-Uncle Sam himself.
No truer statement has ever
been made than that the hand of
government in business is the
hand of death to individual en-
terprise and opportunity.
It is important to realize that
much of the tax burden is due to
the necessity for maintaining
government bureaucracy. Bu
reaucracy, in turn, is largely
due to government stepping out
side its own boundary and in
vading the fields of private
business.
This governmental business
invasion represents active com.
petition with 235 various private
activities.
Suppose you are 10 the print.
ing and publishing business.
Then the United States Govern
ment Printing Office is your di
rect competitor. Through the
local postmaster it s0licits the
envelope business from mer
chants aud manufacturers of our
town-it not only sells envelopes,
but imprints them as we'll.
II you are in the bank note
business you know you cannot
bid on the printing of govern
ment bank notes and bonds re
0ardless of how satisfactory .
job you might be able to do.
Or, let's say you are printing
ink manufacturer. Do you rea
lize that the Government Print
ing Office ADD the Bureau of
Printing and Engraving actually
manufacture almost 1000, 900
pounds of ink q year?
You may be in the garage
! business. The Motor Transport
division of the United States
Army repairs motor vehicles to
the extent of So, 100000 a year.
And the Post Office Department
operates some thirty motor truck
repair shops at an annual cost
of S14. 1000, 900 or more. Here is
$l7,000.O0O worth of business
that you, as a tax payer. help
pay for but which you, as bust
ness mao, cannot hope to get.
If you are in the paint busi
ness. I hardly expect you to
cheer the statement that in a
single year the Navy Depart
ment has made more than /, 100,
600 gallons of paint.
Maybe you are in the bakery
business-the War Department
turns out 16, 100000 pound of
loaves Of bread per annum.
| Or. maybe you are a laundry
owner. The United States War
Department in its various laun
dries employees 1900 civilians
not enlisted men, bat civilians
| who turn out something like
81, 100000 pieces of Laundry a
year.
I could go on Indefinitely citing
similar examples of the govern.
ment being in the grocery busi
ness, the drug business. and so
on. But the important point is
this:
| If the government is in the
bakery business today. there is
no reason why it should not be
in the -four milling tomorrow
and in wheat raising the next
day. AS matter of fact, it is
pretty much in the wheat busi
ness right now through the
Farm Board.
So much for the incursion OF
the Federal Government into
business. What Uncle Sam does,
the states and cities also try to
do. For example, certain West
ern states are operating their
own cement mills. And in one
state at least the mill operatives
are convicts. So the state is
competing not only with it's busi-
ness men but also with its skill.
ed wOrkmen.
There are some very practical
reasons why the government
should not be in business. To
begin With. government pays 40
taxes on it's business operations.
This means that taxes on all
other business must be increased
proportionately as government
ia business" grows. For all
other business must pay taxes
taxes that are so heavy in some
cases that they have forced con.
Germs out of business.
A second point is that govern
ment business, in addition to not
lpaying taxes, is uot required to