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TAX FAVORITISM UNFAIR
•
“It has been observed that a
square deal for the railroads means a
square deal for the taxpayers too.”
1' h e water carriers provide
an extremely apt case in point. Out of
each dollar taken in by these carriers
reporting to the Interstate Commerce
Commission, about 2 cents goes for
taxes. They do not build or keep in
repair the channels on which they
operate— those are built and main
tained by the government out of gen
eral funds contributed by public trea
auries in taxes.
The railroads, on the other hand,
pay more than 9 cents out of each
dollar they receive for taxes. On top
of that, they must build and maintain
, their own roadways without benefit of
tax subsidies. This takes 231/i> cepts
out of that dollar of revenue.
It is clear that other common
carriers than railroads are generally
in much the same favored position as
the water carriers, though to a lesser
extent. A number of conclusive sur
veys, for instance, indicate that the
total, are far from adequate to pay
their share of the building and main
tenance cost of the public highways
used. Again, the taxpayer must make
up the deficit—which runs to tremen
dous figures.
The evidence overwhelmingly in
dicates that of all the major carriers,
only one, the railroads, pay their own
way. The others are a burden to the
already overburdened taxpayers of
city, state and nation. This is one rea
son why the transportation problem
is one of our most important domestic
problems.
-0O0
MORE THAN LIP SERVICE
Nearly $1,000,000 a day is paid
for maintenance of government in this
country. And upwards of 80 percent
of that daily amount goes toward sup
port of local and state governments.
In 1939, taxes paid to the latter gov
ernment units by the railroads totaled
over $264,(X>0,000 of the $343,000,000
tax bill paid to all branches of govern
ment. Out of each dollar of railr) ad
net earnings, 40.41 cents was taken
by taxes last year, the highest ratio
for any year since 1920.
There is too little realization of
the influences of private industry’s
tax payments in maintaining our tra
dit> nal, decentralized form of demo
cratic government.
The bulk of railroad taxes con
tribute, in concrete form, to the sov
ereignty of local government, some
thing which this country needs today
more than ever before. If states and
municipalities lose such legitimate
sources of income as the railroads,
they will became paupers on the door
step of a bureaucratic central gov
ernment. State’s rights must have
more than lip service. They have to be
supported by cold cash, from a source
which seeks nothing in return except
the right to exist.
Tao many fail to realize that
every basic industry operated by pri
vate citizens, is a great bulwark
against forces which tend to circum
scribe our liberties.
The railroads are good, paying
citizens. They should be allowed the
full rights of citizenship—equal op
portunity (with other forms of trans
portation), a fair profit and a rea
sonable degree of operating freed* m.
--0O0
“The friends of Russia who have
shelter here, and who persistently
seek to undermine the American sys
tem, while secure in the refuge of our
liberal laws, should have that security
jolted in some way. They are dupes or
they are scoundrels and an almost
imperative necessity suggests that
hereafter they should be treated as
such.”—The Oregonian.
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BOOSTS PRICES
BOOTS PRICES
Recent surveys indicate that the
cost of living is on the way up. Ad
vances have taken place in retail and
wholesale prices of a majority of the
necessities as well as luxuries.
Nothing as yet has happened t)
cause undue worry and excitement—
the advances have been minor, there
is no reason for anticipating sharp
jumps. However, the fact that the
trend is definitely if slowly, upward,
is of immense importance to thnse
millions of Ameican families to whom
making both ends meet is an ever-re
curring problem.
That the bulk of the increases
which have so far occured are natural
reasonable and unavoidable seems
certain. The problem now is how to
prevent unreasonable and unecessary
further advances — and, if possible,
to help offset the advances which have
already taken place. One of the first
steps must be to again encourage free
competition in the distribution of
goods to the thousands of villages.
U wns and cities of America. That free
competition has been discouraged
during recent years is evident t/) any
one with even a rudimentary know
ledge of the legeslative trend. Es
pecially is this true of the distributive
process. We have had laws to discour
age one kind of merchant on the
theory that another, less efficient mer
chant would be benefited—we have
had laws permitting manufacturers
to fix retail prices of their products—
we have had loss-leader laws making
it impossible for merchants to sell
various articles at low prices to pro
mote business.
American merchandising, large
and small, chain and independent, is
doing its best to meet the problem of
high prices during the present world
crisis. Organized retailers have pledg
ed themselves to do everything in
their flower to hold prices at the low
est possible levels. But these efforts,
sincere as they are, can achieve little
if our “anti-efficiency” tendency in
legislation and regulation is permitted
to continue.
_nOn__
THE MONEY COMES LATER
« • •
It has been observed that “life
insurance offers a man the only way
whereby he can make his will before
he makes his money.”
There’s nothing more tragic in
the world than the spectacle of a man
who once had a good job and a sizable
bank account reaching a penniless,
dependent old age. And it is a pathe
tically common spectacle. The great
majority of people after reaching 65,
must exist on the bounty of friends,
relatives or charity. It’s an unpleaant
thought—but it will be more unplea
sant in the future if w»e dodge the
issue today.
Life insurance’s prime purp/ se is
to provide you with a definite income
in your declining years, and to guar
antee an estate in the event of your
death. Then, when you make your
will, you know there’ll be something
to leave.
-0O0-—
GOOD BUSINESS
Any business man, or anyone else
for that matter who regards fire pre
vention as an am? yance and an ex
pense, is making a tragic mistake.
Fire prevention in industry that may
pay unbelievable dividends.
No business can inlsure aganst
all the ravages of fire. It’s true enough
DARK LAUGHTER OF Harrington
. -1-=— :™-~ i
AfJCDEFf-HIJ I \ flirCil £ ^ <1 -i- ■» 3 ;
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“Pluto’s got a racket. He acts bad soV his Uncle Bootsie has to crme to
school to see our pretty teacher, then Bootsie grives Pluto a
nickel after scho>I.”
that you can obtain a policy covering
the physical value of ytur property,
and' that no sane business man would
do without one. There are also certain
special forms of coverage that offer
you valuable protection against many
other risks. Insurance has been made
as inclusive and as effective as the
human mind can devise. But no com-*
pany can insure you against perma
nent loss of business to c rrjpetitorsi
if your factory is out of commission
for a few months. It can’t compensate1
for the many direct and ..indirect"'
I sses suffered by your community
when fire strikes. And it can’t help
cause the place where he used to work
the workman who loses his job be
is a pile of ash and debris.
Fire prevention should be a con
tinuous, planned activity in the small
business as well as the large. An em
pi’ ye or group of employes should be
given definite duties in such matters
as periodic plant inspections and eli
mination of hazards. If you aren’t
sure of what to do, your local fire de
partment will tell you. And the Na
tl nal Board of Fire Underwriters,
85 John Street, New York City, will
send you pertinent and inclusive lire
prevention information free for the
asking.
Beating fire to the punch is simply
good business. And it may save youi
business.
_' n n_
MEN OF SCIENCE
We’re all familial with men pi
science, working patiently in shiny
laboratories in the never-ending war
against disease, plague, and famine.
The achievements of these men have
been celebrated in the drama, in fic
tion, and in history.
We’re not so familiar with the
work of another kind of “scientist”—
a worker who battles other enemies
of mankind. That worker is the busi
ness man. And his fight is against un
employment, depression and a long
list .:f ecoomic ills that plague a peo
ple.
The banker makes an excellent
case in point. We don’t often think of
him in the role of scentist or research
specialist. But, if he is a good bank
er, he must be as keen and analytical
in his field as the biochemist is in
his. His laboratory is his community.
His patients are those individuals and
industries which depend on banking
to provide the financial corpuscles
which keep the economic blood stream
fLwing healthily. Like doctor or lab
oratory technician, he too works for
a fuller, happier life for his -.vwn, his
state and his country. He must have
the gift of foresight—the power of
calm and cool reasoning. His is a vast
and inescapable responsibility—to th(
area he serves and to the thousands of
people who own the money which i^
entrusted to his care. . 4 f *
The hanker or any other business
man may fail to achieve his ambitions
So may some individual scientist fail
But in the final summing up, indivi
dual failures are submerged in th*
tide of progress. Slowly and tortuous
ly, through trial and error, the war
against disease wins on many fronts.
And, in spite of occasional setbacks,
so dues the war against unemploy
ment and human want and despair.
We would do well to think less of de
pression these days and more of the
immense advancement that has been
mai e in bettering the life of the aver
age person. And never forget that this
progress, like most signal scientific
progress, was made under a system of
free enterprise which permits free
men and free women to work out theii
destinies to the limit of their capabi
lities.