The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1940-12-13
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TAXES AND ARMS

OIle ID Tie Que5tiOH Vi OuT fHldHCiuB
British armament. The other is of
the very great increases In taxes to
finance fully at least the regular ex-
penses of our government-perhaps
nine billions year.
The cost of our defense program,
II our World war experience means
anything, has not even yet been dim
ly imagined. General Marshall
once estimated that to parallel the
German land armament alone would
cost 100000, 900, 900. Fortunately,
we do not have to do that II we
stick to our idea Of hemisphere de-
Tense. But, in addition to a very
great land armament, we have UNI
dertaken the most ambitious sea
program ever attempted.
1t is profitless to try to foresee all
these costs. No one has ever had
enough facts or taken enough trou-
BILE to make an accurate statistical
comparison Of what it costs us, as
compared with England or Ger
many, to provide and maintain mill
tary and naval defense, including
care of participants in former wars.
It probably runs double as to the
British and surely triple as to Nazis.
We properly spare no costs on our
defenders, but even we can't escape
the fact that the fiscal factor itself
is important in national defense.
It Is doubtful whether we can pre-
pare to defend the Western hemi-
sphere at a cost Of less than $780,
600, 100000. Nobody can tell what
will be added to that If the present
trend Of administration sentiment
continues and we also undertake to
finance part Of the British effort.
Those who advocate this policy
estimate that the British reserve
Of funds to buy in this market has
ebbed to about 81 ,000, 200, 900. II that
is true, at their present rate Of
spending, 1t will scarcely last four
months and, since that rate is ac-
celebrating and nobody can foresee
the trend of war, ii might rise to
| figures at least half as fantastic as
our own prospective bill for national
defense. Let's be conservative and
say SIC, ZOO, 200, 900.
There are two schools of thought
/ in Washington as to how best to
meet these astronomical figures
without impairing or destroying our
economic structure by the time
proved (if no time-honored) explo-
sion called imitation.
One says to do it is to "pay-as-we-
CO." That means taxes higher than
we have ever dreamed of in our
philosophy, even by disguised levy
on present capital. The theory there
is that, by making it practically
impossible to gain profits, nobody
will speculate and, therefore, prices
will remain stable.
The other idea is that there are
plenty of other ways to control rum
away prices-such as priorities to
govern supply rather than frantic
counter-bidding confiscatory taxes
on profits due to speculative buying
Of commodities or common stocks
and, If necessary, legislative "ceil-
ing" over prices with sufficient flex-
Utility to prevent absurd results.
DRAFT AFTERMATH
DR.. Dykstra, administrator of Sc
lective service, is alert to one of the
greatest mistakes of the World war
draft. That had to do with the de-
mobilization of drafted men, rather
than with their selection. The pres
ent organization of local and appeal
boards for selection follows faithfully
that earlier model which worked
beautifully in selection.
In 1918, the selective service sys-
tenn planned to use exactly the same
machinery for returning the boys to
civil life. They were to be sent back
to the boards that had taken them.
There, as in their taking, they were
to be clothed, housed, fed and receive
their army pay until, with the as
sistance of local boards, they were
re-employed.
The powers that were said: "No!"
They wanted to ''liquidate" the war
instantly. The whole backbone of
war regulation was withdrawn sud-
denly. That left a structure Of arti-
ficially high prices and industry
paralyzed by quick cancellation of
billions in war contracts. Our whole
business system went into coma.
Into these economic doldrums, the
selected men were kicked-given
travel money" home and there
abandoned.
It created bitter resentment. The
boys found that, while they had been
away, somebody else had gotten
their jobs, made much more jack
than they had and, in some cases,
married their best girls-and they
couldn't get work. Their govern
ment had taken them with glittering
promises. They came home to find
these were forgotten.
The major complaint about this
draft is that it is moving too slowly.
The same sort Of criticism in 1917
forced the war department into an
almost fatal blunder, to order men
to camps before they were ready to
receive them. Let's not again be