Askov American., 1943-10-14
Interesting Sessions.

lIlQlVlUUdlS III COIlIl6CClO1 -Wltu Tie
proposed new tax bill which would
be the seventeenth since Mr.. Roose-
welt came into power. The first wit
ness was Secretary of the Treasury
Morgenthau who doesn't know too
much about the subject but he was
ably supported by Judge Vinson, a
former member of the Ways and
| Means committee, who resigned to
go on the Federal bench and later
resigned that position to become Di-
rector of Economic Sterilization.
Judge Vinson was on the stand for
two days in an attempt to convince
the committee that it is necessary to
syphon off more money in the form
of taxes in order to avert initiation
The Judges argument was not very
convincing because under the treas
ury plan the group that receives four
fifths of our national income and
therefore has the biggest buying pow
er would be largely exempted from
any increase.
The treasury is asking for 10 bill
lion 600 million dollars of which
about 612 billion would be raised
through further increase in income
taxes. 1t is not going to be possible
to raise any such amount from that
source, as the treasury asks, because
! those in the lower brackets who are
not engaged in war work are now
paying all that they possibly can.
am referring to small businessmen,
school teachers, many professional
people, employees and laborers, the
large majority of whom have been
injured by increased costs in living
with no corresponding increase in
pay.
One day last week Representative
John Taber, ranking Republican
member of the Committee on APP
preparations, issued statement
wherein he showed how the Presi-
dent can save four billion dollars an
nually in military and peace-time
spending without in any way slowing
up our war effort or impairing the
efficiency of governmental opera
tionS.
1 have repeatedly discussed in
these letters the mounting national
debt, which is now approaching the
! statutory limitation of 210 billion dol
lars, so will not go into that phase,
1 get people are becoming thoroughly
fed up with all this waste in govern
ment which can and must be elm
mated if we are to escape national
bankruptcy.
The Right Spirit.
Americans generally will applaud
the stand recently taken by the Vet
Grams of Foreign Wars in being Gun
alterably opposed" to any proposal
to bring the United States "into
world government or super-state.
The V. F. WIS are also opposed to
'any dilution of our national sover-
eighty" For good measure the En-
campment voted to oppose proposal
for the creation of flag with four
upright bars against a white back
ground, to represent the four free
doms. The Veterans declared "we
will not forsake the Stars and
Stripes" That's the right spirit and
one that will be generally approved
by those who feel that America is
not such bad place after all. l am
reminded of radio address deliv-
cred by ALI M. Landon on Septem-
Der 80 when he said in part:
''When the American taxpayer real
ICES that the world expects Lend
Lease to be continued for years after
the peace comes, he is likely to put
his hands in his pockets and walk off
from a lot of world chores that could
and should be done - especially so
when he realizes that Lend-Lease
means an outright gift.
eff the world is planning for us to
be its postwar sugar daddy with
Lease, WPA, relief and rehabilita-
ton, etc., ETC., it is evident that Amer
ica is likely to turn in revolt not only
on the hallelujah program, but along
with it, on the program highly neces-
sary on the whole of reasonable world
collaboration and cooperation"
Pan First Lady.
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt is coming
in for considerable criticism these
days because of her having travelled
to Australia and other points east in
Flying Fortress and at the expense
of the people. The episode does not
present very pleasant picture when
one stops to figure that the flight con-
sumed Al ZOO gallons of gasoline, rep
resenting 1880 A coupons. Disclos-
ures that a bed was installed and
the interior of the plane remodeled
in order to promote her comfort does
not help matters any. In the first
place, what business has she or any
other civilian visiting battlefronts on
purely personal grounds? Any mill
tary man will tell that such visitors
are nuisance and only in the way.
A Pittsburgh father, under date of
October 2, writes me in part as fol-
lows, "My two boys were in Sicily
the last time heard from them.