Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-14
Roosevelt
Tax Talk
Under Fire
Cost Of Autos, Ciearets
Cited by Cen. johnson
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

WASHINGTON. Novs. IA
W I'VE must RENE m b r."
wrote Mr.. Roosevelt to Chair
man Doughton, asking for
greatly increased taxes, that
taxation is a necessary compile
ment of price control because
the continuing effectiveness of
price control is largely the re-
striction of the demand for
goods"
THE President IL completely
right In this,"- says the New
York Times. 1t went even fur
Their. and said that taxation is
the basic means OF preventing
imitation for it strikes at the
causes of imitation, whereas price
controls merely strike at the
effects"
1t would be of great benefit
to this country to have this
hoary nonsense argued to its
death. Imitation means just one
thing. 1t means high prices for
what you buy.
A NYBODY that doesn't know
"A that high taxes mean high
prices should reflect that the
tax per package on cigarets is
6 cents and that this alone
makes that package cost him
from one-third TO one-half more
than he would pay otherwise.
Or il he drives an automobile
he might ask the percentage of
price that is made up purely Of
federal. state and local taxes.
He viii find that without these
taxes his price would be from
half to a third lower.
Nobody was ever more elo-
quent in making this point clear
than Mr.. Roosevelt in his speech
at Pittsburgh in 1882. There he
showed how nearly all taxes
reached the housewives market
basket and said:
Taxes are paid In the sweat
OF every man who labors."
What these people are trying
10 say, and saying il precisely
back-end-forward, is that higher
taxes will make, not lower. but
higher prices. They want higher
prices because they say the
common people. due 10 a defense
boom, will soon have much
money 10 spend and ii is hoped
10 take it away from them in
high taxes so that there will be
more material available for gov.
eminent.
WELL, some of the people are
w going 10 have more money
TO spend, but a whole lot of them
are going TO have less. AS has
been shown in recent columns
and amply elsewhere. 'priori-
ties" unemployment, bankrupt
cieS and distress threaten a Sc
rious disaster. Unless we are
careful we shall have our coun-
try in a half boom and half bust.
If we have price control both
halves will be benefited. But
if we begin 10 jack up prices By
more and more fantastic taxes.
while the boom" half may be
able 10 pay them the bust" half
can only do a little more
starving.
Don't forget also that high
prices due 10 exaggerated taxes
are just one more burden 10 be
laid upon the backs of future
generations because they multi
ply the cost of the defense eff
fort. Such increases in cost have
already added billions TO the
burden.
WITH the widely advertised
w victory" production which
is TO double our present effort
the total cost would run 10 100
billions. To put II fatty. that
is more money than we can
ever hope to pay.
We are going TO run into
some funny monkey business as
sure as the sun rises-deprecia-
ton, reputation or printing
press hocus-pocus. / know it is
heresy. but with such a pros
pect ahead il makes one wonder
whether higher taxes isn't ex-
actly the wrong answer and we
should frankly start the monkey
business now. II is all going
to be monkey business anyway.
Diatrfh,lt ed nv King Features qVnd Inc