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Show CONSCRIPT THE WAR PROFITS Thoso who coin tho blood of war ' aro bust nblo to pay, says Senator Johnson or California. Tho design that I have In speaking speak-ing In general terms to this measure, In voicing my opposition to tho rate3 that aro In this measure prescribed under certain captions, is that ultimately ulti-mately wo may do that which Is best for all tho people of tho nation, and that behind tho lino of trenches which will bo ours In the near future wo may have n contented people, a people peo-ple not Irritated by any sonso of In-justlco In-justlco or Inequality in taxation, and that finally wo may not only conscript con-script the blood of this nation but we may conscript tho part of tho wealth of this nation that Is coined out of Its blood. I recognize, Mr. President, Just as all senators and just as all our people peo-ple recognize today, tho Herculean and stupendous task which wo have undertaken a task that In all thn history of this world never has been undertaken before. Not only do wo, Ufc, tho great democracy of tho -world, go forth to fight tho greatest military power on earth, but wo have undertaken under-taken as well to finance In part every nation at war wtfh this great military power. Wo have undertaken, too, to supply foods and fuels and munitions to all of those at war with tho Teutonic Teu-tonic powers. Wo havo undertaken, by embargo against tho neutral nations na-tions of tho earth, to prevent foods, fuels, munitions, and necessities going go-ing to any of our onomlcs; and beyond be-yond that wo havo undertaken, in this great advonturo of ours, to aug ment, when necessary, tho waning man powor of our nllles who nre now locked in death struggle with tho central cen-tral powers of Europo an undertaking, under-taking, I say ngaln, greater than that which history has yot recordod, an undertaking of moro stupendous consequence than any country has over yot seen fit to onter upon. In this undertaking wo roquiro not alone vision of tho lino of battle, not alono thought concerning what shall bo done upon tho firing lino, not alono to march to tho red resentment resent-ment of the guns, but wo require as well steady thought and undlmmed vision, of our domestic policies. It Is necessary, too, that wo should ro-momber ro-momber that this democracy of ours is after all tho paramount thing In tho struggle In which wo now engag and naught should bo dono by tho Congress of tho United States that will render that democracy, our democracy de-mocracy at homo, discontented or Ir-rltablo, Ir-rltablo, or by any unequal, unjust, or unfair laws causo unrest. With a boundless enthusiasm, Senators, Sen-ators, wo conscripted, in a vory brief period, tho youth of this land. With an enthusiasm that would brook no delay on tho part of any senator upon up-on this floor or of any man in nil this nation wo took our youth and sent that youth to fight for this nation, na-tion, and to die, if necessary, upon a foreign soil. I ask that ou havo tho same enthusiasm for conscripting conscript-ing the wealth of the nation today to stand behind tho lads .that have gonu forth to fight our battle over tho seas. In nsking this of you I nsk naught that Interferes with lo-gitlmato lo-gitlmato enterprise or with going business concerns. I ask that you do that upon which In your enthusiasm you Insisted ,whon you told us that every boy In this land should bo Immediately Im-mediately drafted and bent forth to fight for his country follow tho example ex-ample and experience of our ally over tho sea. I ask that you conscript con-script your war profits, and I nsk n response as ready to tho experience of llrltaln as you gavo In conscripting conscript-ing our youth. It Is with a truo vision, we think, of that which Is to transpire in llio future, with a knowledgo of tint which, by and by, may happen to us hero and may happen upon that foreign for-eign shoro for tho perservatlon If you wish to uso the trlto terms so often used of world democracy, that wo would havo this wealth conscripted conscript-ed without injury to legitimate enterprise enter-prise or legitimate business. Thoso who coin tho blood of war aro tho ones best able to pay the ex-penso ex-penso of war. Thoso who make swollen war profits out of this particular par-ticular exigency aro thoso who ought to pay for tho cost of this war. It Is, Indeed, to mo quite a trivial thing to take from tho swollen fortunes that have come from war In tho last couple cou-ple of years tho llttlo moiety that this bill, by tho majority report, takes; and that wo aro not, indeed, at variance vari-ance concerning the purpose of the nation or whonco tho revenue should bo derived for ultimately permitting this war to bo carried on tho utterances utter-ances of the chnlrman of tho finance committee and thoso of tho members who havo followed him Bhow very, very plainly. I quoto what was said by tho senator sen-ator who leads the finance committee and who delivered a most remarkablo address upon this measure. Ho said wo were "Imposing upon the peoplo of this country tho greatest burden of taxation over put upon them' Quito truo; but we aro Imposing upon up-on theso peoplo as well greater governmental gov-ernmental burdens and greater sacrifices sac-rifices than over beforo havo been put upon any peoplo upon tho faco of tho earth. Wo nro stnggorrd when wo think of tho amount of money thus far required this year in this undertaking $20, 000, 000,000. ..I confess that It Is inflnlto to me. Iri my last days In college, when we wero made to wrcstlo with higher mathematics, I was taught that two mnllrl lines met In Infinity. I never could grasp It, nnd I never could understand un-derstand it To talk of $20,000,000.-ono $20,000,000.-ono epL'iii'.ed or Incurred in liabilities liabili-ties before a single shot has boon fired, beforo thero havo been any actual ac-tual host1!. ties upon our part in this great undertaking, is infinity to mo and wholly boyona my financial understanding. un-derstanding. Our people can perhaps appreciate appreci-ate It when they recall that tho entire en-tire cost of tho Civil war, four years of internecine strifo 'such ns tho world never beforo had seen, was $2,500,000,000, and the sums today for which wo are liable and the sum's for which wo may becomo llablo n year henco are so enormous that tho Imagination halts nt tho very expression express-ion or suggestion of thoso sums. I doubt not if we proceed in tho fashion In which we are proceeding thnt a year henco the liability of tho United States will exceed tho liability liabili-ty possibly incurred In this war by any contending nation. All this ws are willing to do. All this our peo-pte peo-pte are willing to do. Hut In doing It, In accepting not alone the burden placed upon them, a burden greater than was ever placed upon nny other people, but also in responding with their best beloved nnd tholr blood, they ask that that burden, as much of it as possible, bo taken from those who mnko profit out of this war and out of this crisis. Tho chairman of the finance committee com-mittee in speaking of this bill has said: In fixing tho rates upon Incomes In-comes nnd profits to keep In mind tho amount derived from theso sources would depend upon tho activity nnd prosperity of business and that to Impose a tax which would tend to dlscour-ago dlscour-ago enterprises nnd check theso activities would tend to defeat tho legislative purposo by reducing reduc-ing tho revenuo expected from tho tax llttlo margin would bo left for futuro increases in-creases to leave resources re-sources to draw upon. I submit that his argument In that behalf Is wholly fallacious. Tho war profits arc derived from tho war and tho war alone, hot the war ceaso tho 1st day of December next, or within tho next year, and tho war profits then ceaso. Is It wlso statesmanship, therefore, to look to n tlmo In tho futuro when thero may bo no war profits, with tho expectation at that tlmo In tho future, when tho war has ceased and thero nro no war profits, to tax theso particular swollen fortunes? I submit to you thero can bo no futuro as to theso war profits, because be-cause they aro fleeting, ephemeral nt best, lasting alono with tho war, with tho exigency, with the strifo, nnd with the conflict, ceasing tho very moment that tho war ceases, tho very moment thnt tho conflict is nt an end. So I Insist that wo proceed to take the largest share of theso war profits that It Is possible to take In this con-Juncture con-Juncture of affairs and to devoto thoso war profits to tho prosecution of tho particular onterprlso which itself it-self makes tho war profits. Again tho distinguished chairman of the committee on ftnanco said: Who can successfully attack tho wisdom or equity of tho bill? Certainly as nppllod to this class of corporations which, whllo It brings to tho government a tax of 44 per cent upon tho profits, leaves to tho common stockholders stockhold-ers and they aro the owners of tho property after nil oxponses nnd nil taxes havo been paid n net return of $50 a sharo upon stock that ropresents probably much less than $50 of actual Investment. In-vestment. Pause, pleaso, nnd seo Just thte argument of the majority of tho committee com-mittee submitted upon this bill. Who can Hiii'cohsiully attack tho wisdom or tho equity of tho bill? I pass tho encomiums which, of course, will bo given to It by tho great corporations corpora-tions with tholr tremendous profitB in tills war, but tho wisdom and tho equity of tho bill in tho amount that It raises will bo attacked and will be questioned Justly nttacked, legitimately legiti-mately questioned by tho men nnd tho women who glvo their sons to tho causo, and tho mon nnd tho wa-nitii wa-nitii who havo put upon thorn n tax on tholr tea nnd coffeo nnd tholr post-ngo post-ngo nnd tholr llttlo things of ovory-iluy ovory-iluy life, taxoil In order that n sum shall bo raised that may e-ke out tho grout sum from thoso particular corporations cor-porations that havo profited by tho war. In tho portion of tho romnrks quot-eu, quot-eu, tho senator, who is chairman of tho finance committee, was ..peaking of tho figures of tho great stool cor poration, and I refer to this corpor- I ntlon not In an Invidious sense at nil, I but because It has been used by way I of oxnmple upon this floor again nnd I ngaln in this debate. Just Imagine I what wo do. We give to the steel I corporation a dividend first upon Its j preferred stock. Then I uso the Ian- I gungo of the distinguished seuntor who Is tho chairman of the finance B committee; wo permit it to pay all Its exponses nnd nil Its taxes of overy I kind and overy nature, and then we glvo to this steel corporation, In our tlmo of stress and in our tlmo of dlro need, when every man's heart Is bleeding for his loved ones that go beyond tho sea, a dividend equal 'o moro than Iiuh been paid In upon Its capital stock. HOW Tlin PKOPLK MUST LAUGH TO SCORN A CONGR1CSS THAT DUALS THUS TKNDKRLY WITH WAIt PROFITS WHILE DHALINO WITH SUCH SKVKRITY WITH THH COMMON HUMAN CLAY TO UK PUT UP AGAINST THnGVN! To the steel corporation is returned under tho bill nearly $300,000,000 war profits for this year; not of ordlmtry profits, mind you, but of war profits, computed under un-der the terms of tills bill. Congress hands to the steel corporation, be cause, forsooth, It has coined tho blood nnd tho bone nnd tho slnow of tho land Into dollars the monstrous sum of nearly three hundred millions. milli-ons. Can you Justify It? Can you Justify It particularly at this tlmo, when you demand tho maximum of human sacrifice? Tho distinguished senator who is chnlrman of tho flnanco committee says, "Hut truly this is a war-profits tax." Oh, no; this Is no war-profl's tax. This Im a tax by which you Just touch tho war profits of thoso who havo grown wealthy out of tho conflict. con-flict. It Is but tho shadow and the Rhndo of taxation, with profits undreamed un-dreamed of still remaining with tho corporation. I listened upon tho floor of tho sennto to man after man telling us when we were debating tho draft bill, how Unglnnd nnd Englishmen thought thnt It was absolutely essential essen-tial thnt In tho very beginning of this conflict tho inexorable and drastic draft bo applied to our people. I listened seven liffere.it times whllo I heard eloquent gentlemen tell of tho Princess Pat's regiment; how i they wero mowed down, because, 1 forsooth, they wero volunteers and had answered their country's call. They wero volunteers, and they went , to the front r.nd C.d tholr duty nnd tholr bit, nnd many bravely fighting for their country wero slain. Tiny nro on the highest honor roll of thh war. Their organization was presented pre-sented to us ns an argument against permitting men voluntarily to fight for tholr country. Agnln I heard eloquent senators tell us that In tho beginning of this strife here in your freo democracy our men must bo dratted and drafted nt once, nnd that tho dramatic or tho emotional should never bo permitted to enter Into the war. We, ns patriotic patri-otic senators, believing In tho ni'ces-slly ni'ces-slly becauso the commnndor In chief asked It, drafted tho young mon of this land In the very first Instance and gave to the commander In chief , this great body of our youth. WHUNCK THIS HNTHUSIASM FOR TAKING OUR I1LOOD AND THH TUNDURNUSS IN PROTECTING THH WEALTH THAT COMKS FROM THAT 1ILOOD? Unglaud today takes 80 per cent of tho wnr profits thero to run tho i war. Do you realize how much w ' take based upon tho minimum of $3,-' $3,-' 000,000,000 war profits for the last , year? Wo tako additionally under I tills bill less than 20 per cent nnd , Knglnnd takes today 80 per cent of L wnr profits. I I would not havo you follow blind ly of course, tho nilvlco either ot jH allies or of neutral nations. I would M not of course nsk tho senate under any circumstances to follow another ' M nation In taking an unduo proportion H of war profits merely liecauso that I , B other nation did It. Rut, oh, how 1 porsunstve indeed, how convincing lf wero tho arguments of what England I did when wo dealt witli our blood, H nnd how little persuasive nnd little i'H convincing thoso arguments nro when JH wo deal with our wealth. So I nub- j U mlt, for what It Is worth, that 10 ng- H land takes 80 per cent of .Its wnr H profits today whllo under this bill H wo tako less than 20 per cent of our Tho estimated wnr profits, nccord- H Ing to tho figures stated by tho dis- j lingulshcd seuntor who Is chairman 'H of tho finance committee, were $3,- H 000,000,000. He stated that ns n H minimum sum. Tho war-profits tux aH In this bill amounts to $502,000,000, !H n llttlo less than 20 per cent of tho (1 H wnr prorils. This year tho war prof- Ifll its it Is estimated will amount to fH $4,000,000,000 and more. Oh, think jH of what they como from, nnd why ' It Is that they oxlst nt nil, nnd then H understanding What makes them, nnd jH for such n brief period, why hcsltnto ! ,fiom taking the very largest portion , .Continued on pngo six) iH |