The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-11-30
~ HARRY YARIS

'' thrive during an epidemic, s.
s nT the economic and pOlitica
scts. fakirs and what-nots thriv
qaD and grown fat upon the miser,
Il the past years:
a" lately a "New Messiah" has APP
-.ared upon the scene-Dr. F. E
psgnssnd. AS the originators O.
Inv other utopian schemes
T p ETC., he comes from thu
l - oR California, home of man!
fatep and charlatan. His scheme
!. trown as the old age revolving
s.rsions. which at present is get
inc considerable publicity, and ha'
. .S aeqalired following.
Alleged Aid to Aged
The plan proposes to take al
,.or9p over the age of 60 out Of
pS,oa,c4;ve work and supply then
I'm 5000 a month. The only con.
5+icn for receiving this stipend i;
@sR The entire 5000 must be spent
~sea north. Quite a seductive
ornB%osal.. and the simple-mindeG
sra bevinning to fall for it.
The plan itself is a great deal
rorg ambitious than it appears to
h a. first glance. Pensioning of
Ne aged is Only a means to an end
Tho end. in the words of DIR. Town
and, is:
DO away with unemployment
2-no away with crime.
lTo hrin~ back prosperity.
Ito abolish poverty.
-g--To cause greedy accumulation
70 disappear.
Qust a slight examination of the
s.gaon1ic. ard political theories and
pb;l0sophy Of DIR. Townsend will
shOg that they have about the
ame possibility of realization as
the theories of the biblical "Mes-
siah."
No Criticism Of Capitalism
The o. A. r. P. (as the Town
send plan is known has no criti-
csni to make of capitalism. On
the contrary, the plan depends up
on the continued existence of cap
ialism. "'The plan interferes in
no way with our present form of
government, profit system of
5usiEess or change of specie in
our economic set up."-Dr. Town
send. This statement is the basis
Of the utopianism of all phases of
the plan. Without doing away with
capitalism, none of the things the
plan processes to want can be
achieved.
Because of it's faith in capital
ism, the 0. A. R. P. has been en-
braced and endorsed by a large
number Of defenders of capitalism,
from Mrs. Roosevelt, wife of the
PRESIDENT, to Governor Merriam in
California, who sees in this plan
safe way of counteracting the
mass demand for social insurance.
In its publicity, o. A. R. P. claims
that thousands of business men
are supporting the plan and that
Wall Street is betting six to one
that the plan will become law by
January. Why should the business
men not support it? The plan Of
iefS no danger to their beloved
EOtlt system, and even if it were
to go into effect the burden of
paying for it would be on the
shoulders Of the wide mass of
Workers and farmers.
Sales Tax Robbery
Since there are some 100000
eople past the age of go who
would be eligible to receive this
ensloH. che sum needed for the
hrSt months pension would be
around S1,6OO,OO0,OOO. The o. A.
H. +. PROPOSES to raise this large
qm by 10 per cent sales tax,
ance such q tax is "the only fair
Fstem' of taxation" and every
"oy "should be compelled to car
y his share of the costs just in
.fOportion to his ability to do so;
mat Is in proportion to his ability
70 spend money"
The sales tax is the hope of
VERY capitalist in these days, for
n 1t. ne sees the possibility of
1ecreasing his share of taxation
W reducing taxes on incomes and
n0Perty and spreading the burden
'9Ong the wide mass of consum-
rs the workers and farmers. Such
TAX would mean that the work
CTS and farmers would have to paw
We greatest part of the money
slSed for this pension. The talk
'0Uut 1t being Gin proportion to
UNITY to spend" is so much non
SlSe' The worker can spend only
y much-his wages, if he has a
S'-and such a scheme would see
way ne would pay a tax on every
:n' he earns, because he must
~. ~ It all. The capitalist, on the
,o'sr hand, spends only part Of his
, S.one' and another part is accum-
ayeu re-invested in industry,
eu Tor speculation, or placed a
N ny lor safekeeping in banks, etc.
n re CAPITALIST, whose ability to
a r.uG Is proportionately much
. Ter than the amount he does
vi. u' would have to pay a tax
h on what he spends. not on
4, 'entlre income. Is it any won
@,. mat this plan receives the
nl LIT Of the CAPITALIST? The
ms ~ Tx means increased burdens
ro,,. ,o~er living standards for the
,ci..,, and lower taxation for the