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Show FROM A COUNTRY PRINTER. The manager of a country printing establishment in Ohio, publishing two fine weekly papers with a combined circulation of 3,000 copies, recently stated the problem he faced was the competition of the government printing print-ing return addresses on stamped envelopes. en-velopes. He said: "This competition is keenly felt by printers. We use our newspapers to help the government in many ways. The public has been educated to the income tax and all other forms of taxation tax-ation through the newspapers without cost to the government. Yet, in our two offices, we lose from $600 to $800 annually because the government prints return cards on stamped envelopes en-velopes at prices that cannot be touched by any printer." Here is a private industry which pays heavy taxes to maintain a government gov-ernment printing plant which is tax-free tax-free and which, in turn, does commercial commer-cial printing that knocks a private printer out of his bread and butter. There is constant agitation from political sources seeking to put city, state and federal government into business. That process expands the bureaucratic army, adds thousands of new tax-eaters to the public payrolls, reduces the amount of assessable property, pro-perty, because publicly owned property proper-ty is tax exempt, and increases taxes on remaining taxable property which must try to exist in competition with tax-free public enterprises. In the case of the printer, there is no reason why the government, which prints return addresses on envelopes, should not print letterheads, billheads and all kinds of stationery, to be sold in conjunction with envelopes. It is merely a matter of degree as to where government business in competition compe-tition with private citizens, should end. The people of this nation must consider con-sider the principle involved in this issue. It is not the politician against tho printing business, the power industry, in-dustry, banking or insurance. It is the politician against the people. It is the attempt of the bureaucrat to take away the right of the individual to carry on an independent business. Remember this when some plausible Fchcme is presented to put government govern-ment into business it will be at your tost in liberty and opportunity. |