The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1941-10-09
MEETING UNCLE SANS
HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES

MEEIlNO UNCLE SANlS
HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES
BACK IN THE GOOD old days of
1913, which does not seem so very
long ago to many of us, our Uncle
Samuel picked the pockets of some
Americans = especially those with
plenty to pick from, of the COM
paratively small amount of $685., 00O,-
600. BY 1922, when we were paying
for World War l, he was taking from
more of us So, 49,, 600, 900. BY 1882 he
had eased off to only $1,788, OO0,O 900.
In 1910 he "nicked" us for SIS, $780,
600, 1000. Now he comes along with
new demand for $4,000, 900, 900,
and has so fixed it that none will
escape contributing a share, for we
will pay either directly, indirectly,
or both-and in practically all cases
it will be both.
Uncle Sam will charge you SIS
year for the privilege of driving an
automobile. That 10 cent movie will
now cost you II cents. You will
pay 512 cents on each 1000 of the
wooden matches you use, or you can
get away with two cents on each
1000 paper matches. If you have
telephone, you will pay six per cent
of your monthly bill. If you go
places by rail, air, boat or bus, per
cent of the price of your ticket will
be added for your Uncle Samuel.
Such are but a few of the many
items we will pay for directly and
know we are paying. Indirectly we
will pay on everything we buy.
Even with all of this we will not
pay enough to meet Uncle Samuels
housekeeping expenses by several
billion dollars. Our children and
our grandchildren will have to pay
the remainder of the bill through
many years.
If our Uncle SamuePs bill were
the only one that is skyrocketing, it
would not be so bad. Our state
and local expenditures have also
reached the stratosphere altitude.
In 1913 the total of state tax collec-
tons amounted to $500, O00,0 900. BY
1910 they had jumped to $3,028, 00O,-
600. In 1913 the municipal taxes of
all cities, villages and towns
amounted to only $1,219, 000, 900, but
by 1910 that had increased to 81, $685.
000, 900.
For 1871 we Americans will pay
in taxes an average of $159 per in
dividual, or $795 per average family
of five. And we will pay it whether
or not we know it. The tax collec-
tors will get it either directly or in
directly, or both.
TAKEN FOR GRANTED
THE ONE INSTITUTION which
does most for its community is the
newspaper. 1t promotes the town
as market place. 1t preserves and
advances the town as social and
cultural center. It serves week aft
er week, year after year, and we
take the service rendered very much
for granted, without attempting to
realize its value.
A RECENT issue of Golfers gave
the result of poll of 10000 Amer
lean families on the method they
preferred for the collection of their
part of the cost of national prepar-
edness. Of that number, located in
all sections of the nation, 60 per
cent wanted a national sales tax on
their day-to-day purchases.
But congress still prefers to use
indirect methods in the belief that
it is fooling a majority of voters.
The man who carries a dinner pail
knows he pays, and he would rather
know when he pays and how much.
YOU HEAR vast amount of talk
about saving democracy, the pres
ervation of our republican form of
government, the American way of
life and our American system of
free competition, but it is hard to
find anyone who is really working
at the job. Without something more
than talk, we may lose these valu-
able inheritances.
GOVERNMENT last year took in
taxes from 165 corporations, an aver
age of S451 for each of the $3.50 1916
stockholders in these corporations.