Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-02-23
Tax Experts
Still Lacking
A Solution
Congress May Not Try
TO Offer a New Bill
BY PAUL MALLON

wants.
They offered the first sus-
picion that existing taxes may
be as much the groaning traffic
will bear.
From these conferences comes
the first inkling that Congress
may not even try to have a new
general tax bill. They may
adopt an increased Withholding
tax Of. say 10 per cent Ton top
of the 5 per cent current Vic
tory taxi, adopt some system OF
pay-as-you-go and compulsory
Savings-and let it 60 at that.
THIS beginning of trend is
Il being urged by mail from
people out in the country pro-
testing apparently wasteful eX-
penditures of funds in their
communities.
No general charge OF this
nature has been made yet, but
many constituents see the high
wages being paid for little
work, the vast construction pro-
grams Cthe government is even
building county sewers on a 100
per cent grant basis as war
measure, although they have no
direct war connections). and
other obviously non essential
spending.
The Congress, therefore. may
adopt leadership toward greater
economy (along the line Senator
Byrd is promoting) and against
more general tax increases.
MADAME CHANG has COR
WI rectly presented the urgent
need of China for more planes
and guns. and every one here
agrees with that, but there is
little likelihood that our def
cheney on that front can be
fully met Immediately. AS Mr..
Roosevelt has put il, we must
await the will of the Lord.
What no one has explained
fully TO the American public and
to China is this simple military
truth:
The only way we can lose this
war is by scattering our superior
forces. Our productivity and
manpower give us A war
strength above that of any other
nation. If we concentrate our
strength, we should be unbeat-
able.
Further than this. We are
committed to the defeat first of
Hitler in Europe. Whatever
would have been right in the
first place is no longer arguable,
since all our training and prep
aration efforts have been di-
rected toward cutting down
Hitler first. We are embarked
on that enterprise.
WHEREFORE, it is practically
Il impossible from a military
standpoint 10 abandon our cause
in Europe and concentrate on
Japan. From practical necessity,
our aid TO China must await
full production.
These restrictions are as deep
n wound TO our cause as TO
China's.
Madame Chang was utterly
right in saying Japan controls
greater resources tn an the
United Nations. for the Nip
ponese now have most OF the
rubber and tin in the world. and
plenty of oil and other fresh
resources.
A thousand American bomb
erS. based on Chinese airportS
and applying themselves TO the
long exposed Jap line Of raw
materials. supplies. or upon
Tokio's industries. could do more
damage TO the source OF Jap
power than anything else right
now. But the decision Is with
the Lord of time limitations and
American production.
GLARE BOOTH LUCES one
~ lady campaign against the
administration opening Ameri-
can air 10 all the world planes
after the war has run into eX-
traneous and somewhat personal
difficulties.
Mrs. Luce's exposure Of New
Deal intentions was couched in
such language as to imply that
she is an isolationist 49, so the
anti-isolationists say. She does
not want to be so classified, and
hence has been explaining since
then what she did not mean in
her original remarks. This put
her on the defensive.
The confusing situation has
been further muddled by the
fact that Mrs. Luce has a per-
which apparently in
spires either strong friendliness
or equally strong unfriendliness.
What may become IAN anti-Luce
bloc" exists in Congress. based
wholly on personal grounds.
Seriousness of her charges has
been somewhat smothered by
these extraneous and relatively
inconsequential influences.
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