Evening star., 1932-05-09

President Hoovers statements on tax
alton before the Conference of Cover
nors ct Richmond impresses the public
because he emphasized the share Of
States and municipalities. as well as
that of the Federal Government, in the
tax burden. His Interpretation of tax
figures In terms of equivalent labor on
the part of the average taxpayer is
declared to have aided the public un-
derstanding of his comments. The
call for cooperation among the taxing
agencies Is echoed on editorial pages.
THE President requested the Cover
nors to go back to their States" says
the indianapolis News independent
Republican,, "and call conferences OF
local officials to discuss the question OF
retrenchment and equalization OF the
tax burden. The general tenor
of the speech was an appeal to the
people for help in meeting a national
emergency and an expression OF faith
in their willingness to aid when prop
erly led. He stated the problem clearly,
faced the issue courageously, and point
ed to a hard, but necessary. way to
better times" Holding that "he did
we'll not to limit his survey Of debts
and expenditures to the national Gov
eminent" the New York Sun Cnde-
pendent) agrees that "the tax evil has
three faces and declares The mpostS
of the States and the local agencies
are even more alarming than the
amounts required by the Federal power.
We are paying now, when paying
is most painful. for the extravagances
and waste of the States, the counties
and the cities"
"A great part of the waste and ex-
trov onCarfiino tn the Sn0Kann
SpckeSman-Review (Republican), is In
the States. counties, towns and cities.
AS for Federal expenditures, the Presl-
dents counsel and vetoes have been
steadfastly on the side of economy and
retrenchment' The Wall Street
Journal independently agrees that "a
pruning of the cost of Government
must extend from Washington down to
the smallest township" The Walla
Walla Daily Bulletin independently
comments: In his remarks to the Gov
ernors the President was not avoiding
the first tax relief measure, that Of
reducing expenditures. He stressed
that point in no uncertain terms. Then
he asked for a more equitable distribu-
ton of taxes. Along both lines there
is much that can and should be done.
May the Presidents efforts have full
support from the 4S Governors In the
Nation
"It is a crushing arraignment OF the
extravagance of our Governments"
thinks the Chicago Daily News Tin
DEPENDENT, merely to point out, as
Mr. Hoover did, that. theoretically.
every American is obliged to work
81 days a year for the benef1t OF the
Government he Is called upon to sup
port The costs of all forms OF gov
ernment must be reduced drastically,
and the tax-eaters, the bureaucratS and
the politicians must permit the neces-
sary retrenchments" The Milwaukee
Sentinel independently finds merit In
the Presidents plan "of cutting Gov
ernment expenses so that business and
industry, the employing power and the
laboring power, the producing power
and the consuming power, may not be
stifed." The Sioux Falls Argus
Leader independent Republican, points |
to the comparison between the present
requirement that a citizen work 81 |
DAYS q year for the Government and |
the fact that "in 1924 he worked 40 |
days a year for this purpose, and In |
1918 it was about IS days a year" That
paper concludes that 1t is too much |
OF a load" and that "it is no wonder
that the machinery Is creaking and
groaning under Its stress"