The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1951-05-11

SIS year to be divided among his de-
scendants for indefinite time. Today
the Government takes a great part
lot of the capital in inheritance
taxes. The result is that people will
/ be less willing to save; less willing
to give up present enjoyment for a
much smaller ultimate gain. In the
meanwhile factories must be erected
house must be built; electricity and
water supplied to new developing
districts. Where is the money to come
from? AS these are necessities of
life, it must obviously come from the
State, which means socialism, and
the administration of an increasing
part of our economic structure by
the Government.
1t is quite certain that the Gov
eminent will be obliged willy-nilly
to do much more than this. 1t must
direct the energies of the people into
canals which it will select. A man will
not be able to build hotdog stand
or toy shop unless he can get ma
terials allocated to him by the Gov
eminent which practically means per-
mission to go into business, and he
will not be allowed to do so, if the
Government believes that a drug
store or fountain pen factory are
more needed.
With the extension of Government
control over the economic lives of the
community there will inevitably come
a system of censorship and loss of all
freedom of expression. We will be
further and further from that idea
of American liberty once expressed
by an unknown cowboy, who said
that he wanted to be able to look
any man in the eye and tell him to
go to hell.
Shortages inevitably mean ration
ing and rationing means Government
control. But things will, and every
body knows it, go much further than
that. With insufficiencies everywhere, |
the ALLEGATION of every short supply
must be-or at least certainly will
be-in the hands of Government. Of
or unwise-probably |
good men but not all-knowing, will |
have to decide what goods are to be
produced. This is so obvious that no
one can suggest any other policy. |
If there should be, as in the case of |
war there certainly will be, not
enough steel to go around it would |
be obscenely indecent to allow one
man to himself a yacht merely be-
cause he could outbid the communi-
ty
There will be no field day for la
Dor, There will be no overtime and
no holidays taken at will when peck
cts get full, no shopping around for
'leasant profitable or interesting jobs.
labor will be drafted in an about
var and the workman will have no
more freedom than the soldier. He
will go where he is sent and do what
he is told and get what the Govern
nent chooses to pay him and what I
yer that may be, it will not buy him
cry much. :
All the Improvements in labor con-
itions which | have seen coming in E
ne last so years-many of which | /
ought for during the course of my h
areer-will fall like trees in a hur- v
cane. Strikes of laborers in fac b
ories will be as impossible as strikes r
/ soldier at the front. Anyone who is
illing to think for five minutes must n
now all this and nobody thinking for a
month can suggest anything else. n
ave seen this in other countries and t
do not want to see it here. I
Independent thought, independent !,
;pression will be crushed. The self :
spect of free and thoughtful citi- =
ms will be destroyed by the con- l,
nued knowledge that it is only at d
cir own risk that they dare whisper
~ criticism of the elected officials
the Government. These would be "
e consequences of great war.
Today, does any sane person be- e.
We that a conflict with Russia will H.
can anything but mutual destruc- -
N and ruin? Do we hope to over ~
n Russia as Germany was over ~,
n and occupy it as Germany was -
cupied, and then build it again, =
we are doing Germany and Japan