Evening star., 1941-10-19
Heavy Defense
Burden toForce
U. 5. Changes
As Much as One-HuIf {
Of Nations Income
May Be Needed
BY FRANK MacMILLEN,


NEW YORK, Oct. 18.-"Danke
schoen"-thank you very much
said the tax collector to Herr Schmitt
as he took the 1873 marks and passed
out the seven pennies change, which
Kurt pocketed with the idea he
would buy a cigarette at the corner
tobacco stand.
But the brown-shirted storm
trooper at the door, with his "Bitte,
winterhelf'-please help the winter
relief-and his receptacle got the
seven pfennings and Kurt missed
his single smoke
That's how totalitarian war Is
financed. a combination of taxation
which would curl an Americans
hair and forced loans, contributions
and dues.
AS political matter, it has
worked pretty well in Germany.
The dread specter of imitation,
that wartime spiraling Of prices,
has been pretty well kept in hand
but mostly because Kurt-he might
be James Brown or Charley Ban
aszkiewicz in this country-has so
little to spend on himself and his
family that he simply couldn't drive
the general level of prices up.
56.7 Per Cent for Taxes.
Thomas Reveille (pen name for a
European economic expert whose
official position over a period Of
years gave him an unusual insight
into German finances calculates in
his new book, The Spoil of Europe, !"
that the Nazi Government in 1910
took SGT per cent of the national
income of the Reich in direct and
indirect taxes.
BY rationing food and manufac-
tured products, it also prevented
Kurt and his fellow Germans from
spending % per cent of the ma
tional income-and incidentally bor-
rowed most of this great percent
age of the national 'living money"
directly and through banks, insur-
ance companies and the like, to
carry on the war.
Thus, one way and another, some
80 per cent of the national income
of the Reich is being poured into
the German war effort.
Some authorities have estimated
that as high as 10 per cent OF the
industrial output of German and
German controlled factories goes
directly into the struggle for world
power. Others have expressed
doubt that such a percentage de-
voted to war use is possible but
there is general agreement that the
figure is fantastically high.
British Burden Heavy.
Reveille-and some Washington
estimates tend to bear him out-cal-
culates that more than so per cent
of the national income of Great
Britain is devoted to the war, that
about 25 per cent Of the income Of
principal British dominions is so
devoted.
He says 2 per cent of the whole
income of the people of the United
States was used for defense in 1910,
that by June of this year the per-
centage was II and now is about 25.
Even at the present scale of ex-
penditures and efforts" Reveille
says, "the war output of the United
Kingdom and the United States
alone will probably top that of Ger
many by the middle of 1912"
What does that mean to you and
me?
These are some of the things in
volved:
l. The present national income of
the United States is running about
$50, 900 100000, is expected to reach
S1O0, ZOO, 900 900 or more year from
now, maybe sooner.
2. A war effort to top Germany's
might mean, Washington authori-
ties have estimated. devoting so per
cent of the national income to arms
and lease-lend help to others op-
posed to Germany.
Drastic Curbs Likely.
g. This, in turn, implies much
more drastic curtailment in the
production of the goods we all use
in normal civilian life.
A. How much higher taxes 1t
means for businesses and individ-
uals is a matter which will be de-
termined in Congress, for the pro-
portion between borrowing and tax
alton to raise this money will be
determined there.
In theory, the administration
wants to borrow from investors
about so per cent of the current cost
Of defense and lease-lend, raise the
other half by taxation.
But current tax schedules, includ-
ing the newly enacted tax bill, fall
considerably short of this goal.
With the bill for arms constantly
rising and no sure end in sight, both
Washington and business observers
doubt that even the higher Federal
taxation which is conceded to be in
sight will raise as much as half the
money which will be Spent in this