Evening star., 1932-04-17


tax eaters"
In any event. the way to prevent
tax rebellion is to reduce taxes, and
do it first. And the way to reduce
| taxes is to cut the cost OF government.
That may mean getting along without
| some frills of government which the
oficeholderS have introduced in re-
cent years. 1t may be pleasant to nave
these trills. but we can i've without
them. And which is the more deplor-
able sight-to drop the frllls or TO
i turn home owners out OF their MONIES,
farmers off their farms?
Schools. especially rural ones. have
been made more costly than the farmer
can bear. l have been told Of one
community in the West where, in the
flush times a few years ago large,
expensive school building of the type
called consolidated" was erected
which is attended by only 80 pupils.
The local township politicians brought
about the building of the school. They
introduced the new and expensive de-
vice of busses to carry the pupils to
school. The little local politicians gave
themselves the jobs of bus driver and
other small jobs
incidentally, one wonders about this
innovation of carrying children to
SCIlOOI at TIE tAJSliSt VI IliC OOnbC' 40
it possible boy who walked to an old
fashioned one-room country school may
have come with better spirit for edu-
cation than one who is picked up and
carried there at State expense?
We are realizing what was always
true, what We used to realize 80 years
ago. but what We forgot in the flush
times that came between. Government
is always run by office-holders. Politics
is always run by ofice-holders. For
good many years We have been willing
to let them 90 it. for two reasons. First,
we were all making a good deal of
money and did not mind paying the bill
Second, the salaries which the office
holders paid themselves were relatively
low and did not excite the envy of any
voters. Now a good many voters see
the office holders having jobs which are
well paid compared to present stand
ards in private industry, and which also
have the advantage of permanence.
The result of all of which Is that the
"outs" are after the "ins" and propose
to get EN-. That is, the outs" who
want the jobs are after the "ins" who
have them: and the the outs" are as
sisted by taxpayers such as farmers, who
do not want the jobs. but who are tired
of paying the bill. Politicians in office,
of both parties, are on the run every
where.
OF All States, Wisconsin!
The most astonishing information
about this revolution comes from Wis
consin. 1t is to the effect that the tax
payers of that State have come to see
the State government in a new light.
They have come to see it as a self-per-
petuating machine of office-holders.
They have come TO see these office
holders as taking money, in the form of
taxes. away from the farmer and the
home-owner-which money the Office
holders use to increase their power by
making constant additions of more
office holders. The office-holding
machine in most States has been in
creasing its progeny like guinea pigs.
The amount collected by the taXtakers
in Wisconsin has multiplied nearly five
times in twenty years. The cost OF Wis
consin's government was S54 $50, 701 in
l912-and it rose to $255 ,529, $50 in 1929.
Probably the most startling political
prophecy possible to make in America
would be to say that the La Toilette
organization in Wisconsin, secure in the
saddle for more than 80 years is going
to be turned out this year, either in the
AllSuSI VI LllC 4NONClllbCl CiSN-
ton. Yet perfectly responsible persons
say Just that They say Gov Phil
La Toilette will be denied reelection
and United States Senator Blaine like
wise
The people of Wisconsin are after
the La Toilette office-holdlng organiza-
ton. and they are after the university
which in Wisconsin is tied up with the
state government. In the fight is a
certain amount of talk about Social
ism" 1t is being said that the La
FolletteS are ION the way to Moscow"
and that the university is "on the way
to Moscow" That does not figure
much in the minds of the farmers and
home owners and voters. What they
see is that the oficeholders have been
creating new functions for the State
TO perform, thus increasing the number
of office holders and the power of the
organization. They see it is being done
with money taken from The farmer and
home -owner and the other taxpayers
A phrase current in Wisconsin about
the State government and the univer
sity is that they build themselves
marble palaces and leave the farmer
not enough money to paint his barn.
The University Of Wisconsin under
President Glenn Frank, has made the
impression Of being not only expen-
siyc, but as departing from the ordi-
nary American conception of organized
society President Frank has just
written a book which he calls "Thun-
der and Dawn-America's Appoint
ment With Destiny" The title implies
the nature OF the doctrine in the book,
though one would have to read its 400
page to find out just what social
changes President Frank wants or pre-
diets. In any event, competent in
formantS say that in Wisconsin there
is just getting under way a revolution.
but not the kind Mr. Frank means. AS
one consequence, these informants say,
President Frank is likely to hear some
personal thunder around his own head.
In Wisconsin and North Dakota. ana
all through the West, the fighting spirit,
always evident in politics in that sec
ton, is now coming to a high pitch
and is being directed against the offce-
holding and taxtaking political ma
oh