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Show THE CITIZEN to this nation. am are intimating The European countries interested in this prorthat they might be more willing to reduce their IrmamcMts if the United States would cancel all foreign loans. The ternational bankers and their American representatives, being more terested in profits than they are in reduction of armaments, are e nding ihemselves to this propaganda in an endeavor to bring pres-urupon the administration to consent to a discussion of Europes of the agenda of the conference. lebts as a part The same international and European banking influences and their American representatives, are also throwing out feelers to see if the riff can not be included in the scope of the conference subjects and of reparation indemnities by Germany. Their line ilso the payment f argument is unique. They say unless and until Germany pays her ndemnii ies and makes reparation to European countries, Europe must emain armed against the eventuality that Germany will attempt to to their epudiate that portion of the Versailles treaty. According iropaganda, the only way to avoid this is to permit Europe, including markets. If this Germany, to have unlimited and free access to our ountry will agree in the conference to such a free trade program, then In short, if this coiin-r- v Europe will agree to reduce her armaments. will consent to pay the cost of- the war by accepting German-mad- e goods so she can pay her indemnities to the allied nations, if he will cancel all war debts and at the same time guarantee the ntegrity of the territory of every nation invited to the conference rl then they propose to play in our backyard. It appears that of all the participants this country is the only one fthich does not have to make any humiliating or impoverishing in order to bring about a reduction in international arma-en- t. In calling this conference the United States has done a favor to the powers of Europe and is giving Japan a chance on her world dominion plan. o back-u- p The strongest of all nations, with greater resources than all of hem combined she has nothing to fear from any of them or of any ombination they might form in an armament race. Hence it is not p to this country to agree to sacrifice her home markets at the rs of her working classes in order to persuade her weaker to reduce their armament burdens. Neither is it up to this country to cancel $10,000,000,000 of foreign loans to influence her debtors to save themselves from financial ruin if the international armament race is to continue. lebts -- - con-essio- war-bruden- ns. ed ex-en- se com-etito- ' THE TAX-EXEMP- T FALLACY. this nation are awakening to two important points, the necessity of successful industries with steady payrolls, and the immediate need of tax reduction by city, county, state and federal government. Prosperous industries cannot be maintained under burdensome taxes. Without such industries the tax burden falls heavier and heavier upon the common citizen. The fact is now indisputable that the federal taxation system is bond driving money out of productive industry and into issues of city, county, state and federal government. As the burden of taxation becomes heavier under normal conditions and as the general public becomes educated to the fact that ,r can escape taxation to a large extent by investments in government securities, or by investment in other bonds or mortgages that yield a steady income, which, although taxable, is not subject to loss or as heavy taxes as money invested in profitable business under-taking- s. more and more capital is being withdrawn from productive fI1terprie. This is one of the reasons for unemployment today. The wan who formerly took a chance on making a fortune by various ventures which required the employment of a large number of men, no hjuger takes the chance, for if he is successful the major portion of hjs profit is absorbed by taxation, while he runs the risk of loss from tax-exem- pt k tax-exem- his pt venture. scheme of taxation which was to hit the rich man was hue so long as the little fellow didnt feel it. We now find that in h'tting tlie rich man and captain of industry, wc have hit his 1Ieutenants and soldiers, namely, the workingmen. When the captain The whole so-call- ed employment. The injustice to the few thousands who pay the heavy taxes on large incomes is nothing compared to the injustice to the millions who are out of work as a result. The Saturday Evening Post says : In 1907 everything was down in the dumps; but men like Harriman, Morgan, Rogers, the elder Stillman and the like were crazy to get things going again in order to make same money,. and they did. Now their successors sit still and do nothing. Three things must be done in this nation : (1) Incentive for individual initiative enterprise must be restored. (2) Continued issuance of billions of dollars of government securities which take money from productive undertakings must be discontinued. (3) Our taxation system must be so arranged that it does not penalize the creative genius and brains of the nation. If you starve capital out of business you starve its people. tax-exem- pt SCRAPE THE BARNACLES FROM THE SHIP OF STATE. ' In government as well as business, stability and the eternal fit- ness of all things pertaining, are of vital import to its ultimate success. Such great difficulty has been encountered by the Harding administration in introducing efficiency and economy into public bureaus so completely wound in red tape and so deeply steeped in incompetency left over from the Democratic regime, that it seems the only cure is to amputate all the burbon officeholders from the service as quickly as possible. The New York Times says the effort of President Harding to supplant a Democratic officeholder, the surveyor general of the land office, with a Republican appointee shows the impolicy and absurdity of injecting partisan politics into the administration of a nonpolitical office. It appears that there has been too little, rather than too much cleaning of the Augean stables, both at Washington and throughout the federal service ranks of the country. Also this is said to apply with considerable force right here in Utah in state and county affairs. No business or government can be successfully conducted through agents out of sympathy with its policies and purposes and without -- the slightest interest in its success. are apparently All the Democratic job holders and running true to form and insist upon retaining their seats at the public pie counter until the end of time or until death removes them, and this particular Utah Democratic. Mr. Thoreson, who happens to be the surveyor general, is as fixed in his purpose to die in public office as the rest of the gang and has written the appointive powers that he cannot understand How the policies and plans of the administration can in any way change or modify the formal duties of a surveyor general and declares that he stands on his record. It is dollars to doughnuts that this same Utahan was not moved by these same pure and lofty sentiments when he was appointed to take the place of a Republican, presumably not because of his particular qualifications for the position, but merely as a piece of political pap. Once within the sacred precincts of the civil service he has chosen to draw a magic circle around himself, a la Richelieu, and now defies the administration to get shut of him. The people who pay the bills the government incurres are becoming quite exacting and the noise made by scraping barnacles off the hull of the ship of state will sound like jazz music in their ears. The Democratic officeholders who helped make the late national Democratic administration memorable for extravagance, inefficiency and waste, ought to be glad to let loose and to drop out of sight until the public can forget. Failing in this, they should be pried loosfe without any great amount of formality entering into the process employed in effecting their loosening. side-kicke- The people of I of industry quits, a lot of workmen are bound to quit for lack of rs And we predict that if longer skirts become the rage the girls will have to be more particular about how their faces look. It might also stimulate attendance at the musical shows. |