The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-04-14
NEWSPAPERS OPINION
THE POWER TO DESTROY

How to make 1927 900, 600 people 'tax-eonscious
e narhaps the most important issue the nation has
over faced On every hand we see fantastic
wastes, extravagances, overlapping duphcation
tenacitv of job-hoders and the inherent expansive
quality of government in IT'S regulatory and paterna-
hstie roles.
Too few of us discern even the obvious manl1es-
tstiens of the increasing expense OF politics detl-
cts. defaults bankrupt cities the lengthenlng list
Of tax delinauents, and the back-breaking burden
upon the individual. -.
Still fewer see the evil effects upon enterprise.
As more and more is taken from the national pool
If productive labor to be sent on unproduetlve
overhead. there is by simple arithemetc less ana
lass for capital investment which creates and pro-
vides continuous employment of men, There ae
+bosa who believe that the phenomenal progress
of the American people has been due 10 the 1acI
tho+ with little government and, therefore, little
exnensa compared to- older nations. large amounts
were available for new men-employng enterprises
In 1850 about one cent of each income dollar
went for government expense, leaving ~ cents Tor
effort. In 1900, government TOOK SIX
cants of each income dollar (and spent TO cents) ;
IN 1929, government took ~ cents (and spent l6')
In 1894 politics took toll of l9 cents out OF every
productive dollar, and spent IS cents.
From, 90 cents out of the dollar income Tor ne"
men.emploving enterprises we have reached point
where there is only 65 cents.
Is only , few understand this slowing down OF
r,.o5rct;va enterprise which lowers Of necessity
standards of living still fewer grasp the possibility
&c - oou.nce of the American Plan. Those with
keen ewes perceive titanic struggle 1t Is the
he u6iy
Rulers. More should see it because the course OF
Struggle was described long ago:
.....a iconnaratiyely small body of officials, So
berent. having common interests and acting
undar a central authority has an immense adj
VANTAGE over an incoherent public which has
no settled policy, and can be brought to act
unitedlv only under strong prOvocation. Hence,
> an organization of officials once passing
certain stage of growth becomes less and less
resistible.
This was the theme of Herbert SpencerS chap
ter THE Coming Slavery"
Sir William Flinders Petrie, famous archaeology
st studied scores of dead and buried Civilizations
He probably knows more than any other man why
governments have risen and fallen 1t Is MS COLI
sidered statement that all ran the same cycle:
Autocracy, bearing down to the breaking point un-
til the people gradually pulled away the powers OF
the autocrat and set up democracy Then democ-
racv-and mark these words-democrary eating IT.
self up through taxation until collapse and strong
power asserted itself in the form of an autocrat
Then the cycle running again.
Can the American people, careless and lndl1fef-
ent, hope to be the Great Exception? They can'
but only if they realize the larger danger before 1t
is too late and "act unitedly under strong provo
cation Merle Thorpe in Nations Business.