WAR PROFITEER
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Mo Extortion to Be Tolerated, but
Liberal Disposition Toward
Business Needed.
Shrinkage of Values Would Cur
tall Capacity to Provide
Sinews of War.
inscription of Men, Conscription Of
Money," Analyied.
By OTTO H. KAHN.
' Much Is being said about the plnu
Cde sounding contention that b
Dae a certain portion of the young
Hanhood of the nation has been con-
tripled, therefore money must also he
oscrlpted. Why, that la the very
thing the government has been doing
fet baa conscripted a portion a rela
Wrely small portion of the men of the
Ration It has conscripted a portion
t large portion of the Incomes of th
itlon. Capital and bualness pay mor
than four-fifths of our total war taxa
iloo directly and a large share of th
reinnlnlng fifth Indirectly-
If the government went too far In
JBonscrtptlng men the country would be
prtppled. If it went too far In con
fcgrlptlng Incomea and earning the
twuntry would likewise be crippled.
: Reeults of Conscription of Capital.
I would ask those who would go
further and conscript not only Incomes,
ut capital, to answer the riddle, not
ItBly In what equitable and practicable
toanncr they would do It, but what the
Jftatloi! would gain by It?
' It Is true that a few years ago a
The rich man can spend only a rela
Mvelv small sum of money nnpmdnc
dvely or selfishly. The money Jut ft la
In his power actually to waste la ex
ceedingly limited. The bulk of whiit
he hns must be spent and used for
pod active purposes. Just as would be
Ihe case If It INN SfMt by the gov
ernment, with this difference, however,
that, genernlly speaking, the Individual
Is more pnlnstnkliig nnd discriminating
In the use of his funds and at the same
time bolder, more Imaginative, enter
prising and constructive than the gov
ernment with Its necessarily bureau
cratic and routine regime possibly
could be. Money In the hands of the
Individual Is continuously and ferer-
POTASH INDUSTRY
KEEPS ADVANCING
New ottipjuiles Are lining Form!
For le lofin nt of Ijikcft Which
liuvi- Iteeii I.) big Idle.
Interest in the potash industry of
wester Neraaha coaunues to in-
n MM ill Spit of the fact that a o;u
ajo iii.ni pajopia araci of the impres
sion that Ihe limit bad been reached
in this Held and that all of the avail
able deposits were being worked at
tti.u time. Continued testing of lakes
Ishly on the search for opportunities and lake beds as well us of dry de
L e., for creative and productive use. posits has unearthed excellent de
In the hands of the government It la I'osits which were passed over in the
nt to !. a rood deal of Its frnctlfv- dayB r lntt industry
Ing energy and ceaseless striving and
to sink Instead into placid and somno
lent repose.
There need not be and there should
not be any conflict between profits
end patriotism. I am utterly opposed
to those who would utilize their coun
try's war as a means to enrich them
selves. The "war profiteer," as the
terra Is generally understood, la a pub
lic nuisance am) an Ignominy. Extor
tionate profits must not he tolerated,
bnt, on the other hand, there should
be a reasonably liberal disposition to
ward business and a willingness to see
i It make substantial earnings.
For, taxation presupposes earnings.
Our credit structure la based upon
values, and values are largely deter
mined by earnings. Shrinkage of
values neceasarily affecta our capacity
to provide the government wltb the
Inewa of war.
The Conscription of Men.
Reverting now to the subject of the
conscription of men, I know I speak
the sentiment of all those beyond the
years or young manhood when I say
The Western plant la proceeding land, the first of all and the largest.
er rapidly, much of the steel work continues to turn out immense quan-
boln already in place. This com- title of potash salts at an astound
pany is financed by Lincoln capital, company continues to install new
The plant will be of steel and brick ing rate. The Potash Reduction
construction and will, according to methods for the saving of time and
the plans, be a refinery as well as money and the increasing of the out
reductlon plant This plant will take put. A new drying process has re
hrlftes from lakes both north and cently been installed for the prepm
south of Antioch It is reported that ing of salts for the refinery which
it will have a capacity of about 1200 this company is now operating in
tOBS of Water per day for reduction OflMha. The new set of five monster
purposes Prof, I In ldane, formerly of steam boilers, recently Installed at
i Colorado BcbOOl of Mines, will he Hoffland, has greatly increaaed the
euncrino ndent of the plant capacity of this plant.
Organisation: of the company to The Hord Plant at Lakeside has re
operate the Peterson lake southeast eently purchased a large amount of
of Alliance is proceeding rapidlv. new pipe line and It is reported that
This company will include as mem- it will run several miles of new lines
hers the Peterson fnmily and Scotts- both north and south of the plant,
bluff and Bridgeport citizens. A This Mant has HtHM M4 ... '
' - .-... 1,11,1, UUl It
nem
OPEN NOSTRILS! END
A COLD OR CATARRH
a I4. 1 !..... .. . . l . i., - ... ...... . I
CP..... .v, n ,un,m ... uu. thfre ,8 one of m wortny of
the percentage or that levy was HO 1
mall as to actually amount to no more
than an additional Income tax and that
at a time when the regular Income tax '
Ja Gerinaiiy was very moderate ns
measured by the present standards of
.Income taxation. nr
vi 4 . .lill - . iJ I
Only a trilling fraction of a man's
I
the name of a man who would not
willingly go to fight if the country
needeil or wanted us to flght. But the
country does not want or call Its en
tire manhood to flght. It does not
even call anywhere near Its entire
young manhood. It iias called or In
tends to call In the Immediate future
property Is held In cash. If they con
script a certain percentage of his pos
sessions In stocks and bonds, what
would the government do with them?
Keep them? That would not answei
It purpose, because the government
wants cash, not securities.
Sell them? Who Is to buy them when
every one's funds would be depleted?
If they conscript a certain percent
age of a m. hi's rutil estate or mine or
farm or factory, how Is thut to be ex
pressed and converted Into cash?
Are conscripted assets to be used as
basis for the Issue of Federal Ke
jerve Imnk notes? That would mean
gross Inflation, wltb all Its attendant
evils, dangers ami deceptions.
Would they repudiate r percentage
of the national debt? Repudiation is
n lees ill honorable In a people than
In mi Individual, and the penalty for
failure lo respect the sam tiu of obli
gations l no different.
The T.mfty Would Be Penalized.
The fact is that the government
would gain nothing in the process of
capital conscription and the country
would be thrown Into chaos for the
time being. The man who has saved
would he penalised, he arho has wasted
would he favored. Tbrift and construe
tlve effort, resulting in the needful and
fructifying accumulation of capital,
Would he arrested and lastingly (lis
Counted.
I can understand the crude noiion of
the mini who would divide all posses
slons equally. There would be mighty
little coming to any one by such distri
bution, and it is. of course, nn utterly
Impossible thing to do, hut it Is an un
derstandable BOtlon. Kilt by the con
fiscation of capital for government use
neither the government nor uny Indi
vidual would be benefited.
A vigorously progressive Income tax
is both economically ami socially
:ul. A capital tax is wholly unsound
d economically destructive.
It may nevertheless become neces
sary In the case of some of the belliger
ent countries to resort to this expedl
ent, but I can conceive of no situation
likely to arise which would make it
necessary or advisable in this country.
afore than ever would such a tax be
harmful In times of war ami post-bellum
reconstruction, when beyond al
most all other things It Is essential to
Stimulate production and promote
thrift, and when everything which tends
to have the opposite effect should be
rigorously rejected as detrimental to
the nation's strength and well-being.
There Is an astonishing lot of hazy
thinking on the subject of the uses of
capital In the hands of Its owners.
perhaps 25 per cent, of Its men be
tween twenty nnd thirty years of age,
which means probnbly about 4 per
cent, of its total male population of all
ages. Hut It has called from Incomes,
business profits and other Imposts fall
ing principally on the well to do, ap
proximately ninety per cent, of our
war taxation, not to mention the con
tributions to the Ited ('roes, the Y. M.
Q, A. and other war relief activities.
Let me add in passing that the chil
dren of the well to do have been taken
for the war In proportionately greater
numbers than the children of the poor,
because those young men who are need
ed at home to support dependents or to
maintain essential war industries ure
exempted from the draft.
Our Laws Favor Sons of the Poor.
The drnft exemption regulations dis
criminate not, as in former wars, In
favor of the rich man's son, but in
favor of the poor woman's son.
I realise but. too well thai the burden
of the abnormally high cost of living,
caused largely by the war. weighs heav
lly Indeed upon wage earners and still
more upon men ami women with mod
erate salaries 1 yield to no one In my
desire to see every thing done thai Is
practicable to have thai burden light
ened. But excessive taxation on capital
will not accomplish that : on the con
trary. It will tend to Intensify the trou
ble. Taxation must be sound and wise
and scientific Mid cannot be laid In a
hapha.ard way or on Impulse or ac
cording to considerations of politics,
otherw ise the whole country will suffer.
History has shown over and over again
that the laws of economics cannot be
defied with impunity and that the re
suit Ing penalty falls upon ail sections
end classes.
The question of the individual is not
the one thut counts. The question is
not what sacrifices capital should and
would be willing to bear if called ujoii,
but what taxes It is to the public ad
vantage to Impose.
I do not say all this to plead for a
reduction of the taxation on wealth or
in order to urge that no additional
taxes be imposed on wealth If need be.
There Is no limit to the burden which
In time of stress and strain those must
be willing to boar who can afford It ex
cept only that limit which is Imposed
by the consideration that taxation must
not reach a point where the business
activity of the country becomes crip
pled and Its economic equilibrium Is
thrown out of gear, because that would
harm every element of the common
wealth and diminish tlie war-making
capacity of the nation.
of the industry in this
section New reduction plunts are
being erected to work lukes which at
first were thought to be unprofitable.
Within a year the out put of the wes
tern Nebrasku fields near Alliance
will be probably trebled.
At Antioch the American and Ne
braska reduction plants are going full
blast. The American plant has re
cently added new equipment and in
creased its output. The Nebraska,
which has been operating only one
unit, has nearly completed the instal
lation of its second unit This will
double itB output of potash salts
The Alliance plant, finunced by Al
liance capital, will be operated under
the direction of J. G. Dole of this city
who accepts the position of superin
tendent, resigning as master mechan
ic of the Burlington railroad shops
at Alliance This plant is nearly com
pleted and will soon be operating. It
will pump brine first from the Stur-
geon lake, lying southeast of Alli
ance The National reduction plant is
being rapidly constructed and before
I long will be taking brine from the
lakes on the Beck ranch, south and
east of Antioch Messrs. Haines and
' O'Brien, who head this company, are
installing some new and unique ma-
chinery including some boilers of the
i marine type which have been pro
nounced as being very successful It
hi reported that the new United
States plant will be erected directly
north of the National plant. This I
plant will take brine from the lakes'
on the Everett ranch, where it is re
ported that some very rich finds
have recently been made by thorough
testing of the lakes.
The new company organized last
Weak the Antioch reduction plant
will probably be erected in the vicin
ity of the National and United States
plants. This plant will take brines
from the south district.
meetine of the organizers was
Monday afternoon at Scot tt bluff .
Indications point to the erection of
a largo number of small plants thru
out the district this summer on small
lakes Plants now operating of this
nature are the Bobbins and Murray
plants south of Antioch. The small
plant on the Wilson tanrh is bein?
rapidly pushed to completion and
should be operating before long. Ma
terial has been ordered for the fifteen
ton plant to erected at Birdsell.
seven miles east of Alliance. This
plant will pump brine through small
pipe lines to its location on the rail
road. The original potash plant at HofT-
pood quantity of potash salts.
How To Get Relief When Head
and Nose are Stuffed Up.
Count fifty! Your cold in head or
catarrh disappears. Your olgged nos
trils will open, tbe air passages of vour
Uinad will clear and vou can brtathe
, V- m- ,
irwiv. u inure ni.uin.rig, iiiin,niff,
mucous discharge, dryness or soadche;
no struggling for breath at night.
Get a small bottle of Ely's Cream
Balm from your druggist and apply a
little of this fragrant antiseptic cream
in your nostrils. It penetrates through
every air passage of the head, soothing
and healing the swollen or inflamed
mucous membrane, giving you instant
relief. Head colds and catarrh yield
like magic. Don't stay stuffed up and
miserable. Relief is sure.
for SoreMuscles
Stiff Joints
Sprains
a
HATS IS HATS, BUT THE
"Super- Deputy
IS THE
MAJOR-GENERAL COMMANDING.
Super -Deputy Hals represent
the spirit of the hour and
will do their bit handsomely.
They are right in shape
right in quality and right in
ihe favor of men of the mid
dle west.
An early inspection of the
Super-Deputy new spring
shapes will be of interest to
all our patrons.
Keep-U-Neat
(iiuinbennin's Cbagfc Itemed y a Fav
orlte for 'olds.
J. L. Easley, Mr con, 111., in speak
ing of Chamberlain's Couph Remedy
sayfl, "During the past fifteen years
it has been my sister's favorite medi
cine for colds on the lungs. I myself
MVS taken it a number of times when
suffering with a cold and it always
elieved mo promptly."
An engine that wrings from gas
more power than was ever taken
out of gas before through its
"Hot-Soot" and "Ram's-Horn"
JL
Manifold Chalmers devices.
B
ate--
The
Pir;
ssaURaBsi LawiVf V fejfsQlfl jLV TlnfnWf'B' MBagayaw TaiM aam'fceaaaMaJ aavfQLaQfllifcWMaM
" Sh! What would happen
to me if I were VOUI I '
Well, if you're not acquaint d
with C.ilumet Bakings you
don't know what a good ex
cuse I have. Can't lid,'
Helping Mytttt t hey're so
good I Gocid for me too, be
cause Calumet Bakings are
wholesome and easily digested.
Millions of mothers use
CALUMET
BAKING POWDER
because of its purity because
it always gives best result a and ii
economical in ci ,t and use.
Catumtt containt only u h
ingrtditnt u havt bttn ap
proved officially by thm U. S.
Food Author Ue,
Vou save hn you buy It.
Vou Mve when you use It.
QUX1JTY .
AWAADC '
HIGHEST
Tests of exhaust vapors have shown weaknesses in many
engines. By such tests you can always tell how good an
engine is.
In the great Chalmers engine so very little in the way
of unused or unburned gas comes out of the exhaust as to be
almost negligible. The gas is used up all of it in the
Chalmers.
The moment it passes from the throat of the carburetor
it st rikes the now noted "Hot-Spot" where it is heated and
"cracked-up" and then rushed on to the combustion cham
bers via the "Ram's-Horn"' Manifold.
When the spark touches it off there is translated a power
such as a gas engine has never known; all the brute force
imaginable, yet tamed down into a softness that is as smooth
as deep water.
Once you play with it with your right foot you will be
amazed at the thrill it'll give you.
TOURING CAR.It-PASSaNGER tIMI
TOURING SEDAN . . . WW TOWN AA LANDAUUBT
TOURING CAR. J-PASSBNGKR (Iff CARJO.T. J-fASJSNGS LHOUH, MASSENGBR
STANDARD ROADSTER - $! TOWN CAR. 7-F AMKNGEK 91W LIMOUSIN LANDAUUT
ALL PRICES F. O. B. DETROIT SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NO TIC
um
LOWRY & HENRY