Evening star., 1947-07-26
Taxed Thrice in Illness.

To the Editor of The Star:
The article in recent issue of The Star on
Rising Hospital Costs" by Thomas G. Buch-
anan is very illuminating.
When the Community Chest was inaugurated.
most of us believed at the time that its purpose
was to serve as central soliciting agency for
associations with a charitable purpose-chiefly
to help INDECENT citizens of our community.
Recently we have been Informed that the
Chest has broadened its activities to include
surveys, etc., which, although possibly good in
themselves, are not directly helpful to those
who need help.
Surely the INDECENT sick should be the first
consideration of the Chest.
Now, according to your informative article
we are being taxed three times for the INDECENT
sick: once by the Government once by the
Community Chest and finally when we are sick
and least able to stand it, by the hospitals.
No wonder some of us feel that the Chest is
not serving the best interests of the community
and have ceased to be contributors C. H, B.
Subsidizins the Marshall Plan for Peace
To the Editor of The Star:
Once again the security and the survival OF
our Nation are pitiful hostages of ambitious
politicians Before Pearl Harbor they leopard
lied national survival by voting against repeal
of the arms embargo, passage of the lend-lease
BILL ON adoption of the Selective Service Act
and on extension Of the period of training.
Their pattern of sabotage is unchanged. These
same small minds are consplrlng against UNI
versal preparedness, reciprocal trade agreements
and, by indirection the Marshall plan for the
economic reconstruction of Europe The grim
paradox is that these gerrymanders of legisla-
tive leadership and responsibility reputedly are
the very hierarchy of capitalism. They are sup
posed to be capitalism's incorruptible and in
falibe guardians and defenders. Yet If the
Marshall plan fails, the first casualty will be
capitalism Unless we can separate the I'M
plementing of the Marshall plan from the veto
power of political demagogues in the forth
coming presidential campaign, the cynical die
tatorship of predatory communism will win It's
war
The politicians exercise their lethal veto
power by their strategic control of the public
purse Therefore, ways and means must be
contrived to finance the Marshall plan without
the parasitic usury of those who regard this
Nations welfare and security as secondary to
their personal caprice and ambition.
To the admittedly uniformed layman it
would appear that Article of the International
(WorldD Bank agreement legally provides
mechanism, already approved by Congress,
whereby private investments can separate the
financing of the Marshall plan from the capri
cious veto of conniving politicians Through
private investment it is the aim of the bank
ito promote the long g-range balanced growth OF
international trade and the maintenance OF
equilibrium in balances of payments by en-
couragng international investment for the de-
velopment of the productive resources OF
members thereby assisting in raising pro-
ductivity, the standards of living and conditions
of labor in their territories" Surely this is a
succinct and accurate prospectus of the social
and economic objectives of the Marshall plan.
If this be conceded, we have means already
approved by Congress whereby private investors
can venture their idle capital in lieu OF the lives
and mutilated bodies of their sons to prevent
the consumate stupidity of third world waf.
God help us if it is left to the politicians.
Perhaps the legal mind of the casuist can
prove there Is no validity to this reasoning. But
mankind is shocked and desperate. We who
vainly have fought and won two costly wars
are heart sick at the real threat of third. And
this third war within our generation is newt
able if selfish, stupid. ambitious politicians
continue to exercise their lethal veto over every
dictate of reason, realism and common honesty.
Suhsidizing the Marshall plan through Sc
curity issues of the International Bank will per-
NIT capitalism to save itself. The advent OF q
third world war will create debt beyond capital
;sms ability to amortize valid threat Of war