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Pstwafcias
"''HJIILIO LEDGER COMPANY
? 'crwm . k. ccnrtB, pmudmt
CtertM IT. loidtriton. Vice PreeMrntl John
Jirtln,.Sortry and Treasurer! I'lilllp H.
ytHjWiJnhn n. Williams, John J. Spurireon,
It. Whiler. mutton.
'EVENING LEDGER-PHILADELPHIA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, lOlT'
v,ii
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HDIT01UAI. HOARD!
I Ptsna Vf. T. titi P1iImiii
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Independence Sauart, l'hlladelcbla,
T.DOM CaSTtuf....Tlrnail aril tfhratnut Htreeta
.' ATl.inilo Cm.. I'rtti-Vnlon Ijulkllni.
inn -juts aietn
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1-Oel Metropolitan Tower
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.1202 7rieun UullJIne
N"EWS nUKEAt'P!
w.ihnotos llvmiu met liaildloc
Klir Ton IluiiiD Tha Timet Ilutldlns
MDOrt Sctuii .Marronl lions. Itranrl
Faaia BCBltiti....,.,. ,.?,2 Hue Ioul .a Urand
flUBaCItttTIO.V TUKM9
Tha Etnisj I.Kiir.n la served t auuacMbon
In I'hlladalnhl. and aurroundlna town" at tha
rat of twelve (12J canti ver weak, payablt
tt tha carrier.
tV tntlt fn Ywilnls nut.M. .if 1 'Mtn.lftlttMa If.
tho United Htatts, Canada or United mates po-
a !. ma
roanth.
a vaa
to all
voataaa free, a fly lam itnts pr
St (Sdl dollan Mr .war. fayaUa lu
fnrelen rannte(M nti fall rinUsr fee
Nome Subscribers wlsl-in addreai chanced
ytiMt siva old ai well a new address.
JEli, 10-30 VALMJT U.Y3TOM', MAIN J000
cp '
Wddrea ttU communication to J.'rrnfwj
ledger. Inttprndtnc Square, J'ilfailcfjiMa.
rmrtsD at Tim rninnrtviM votomc as
HCOSD-CLASS Mil I. UAnJl
l'k.l.dtlpMi. VWdnnd... September! 1917
LEWIS VERSUS LEWIS
tK'f
Vu'
r r.
fN MAY 23, speaking In opposition to
" the acceptance by tlio city of the Tay
lor lease, Mr. William Draper Lewis, us
reported In the Evening Llhoek on that
date, said:
The lease given the 1. It. T. absolute
control for the next fifty youi.s of the
lines constructed by the cltj. There
Is no real i ecapture clause. Tt ue, them
Is what is designated u recapture clause;
but this clause it drafted on tho as
sumption that tho city should not tako
back its property without at the same
tima buying the property of tho
P. It. T. Thii is fundamentally wrong.
Tha right of tho city to recapturu
its own property should not bo
saddled with the condition that the city
tako over tho property of tho lei-.ee.
Tho P. It. T. has a monopoly of the
trect railway uuslne.su In Philadelphia.
It has not the money to provide transit
facilities needed by tho people. Tho
city is willing to pledge its own credit
to borrow tho money necessary to con
struct theso facilities. If It wishes to
litre the P. It. T. to opcutto the city's
high-speed lines it should retain tho
right to terminate the contract and
take back its property at any tlmo
after reasonable notice to the company.
The recapturo clause as diawn would
bo unsound, therefore, even if it pro
vided that tho city should buy, when It
desired to recapture its own property,
the facilities operated by tho P. R. T.,
and it would still bo iitiboirml even
If the constitutional provision limiting
tho borrowing capacity of the city did
not make it Impossible- for tho city ever
to liavo enough borrowing capacity to
exercl.se Its right of recapture.
Mr. Lewis then went on to. discuss prob
able incur: ences of debt in : elation to tho
city's borrowing capjeily, and continued:
In elthor case, the pioposod recap
turo clauso Is Ineffective. This, how
ever, is not its fundamental defect.
Us fundamental defect li that It
prevents the cltu from taking the
operation of its own property into 1M
ottMi hands until it buys all the
property belonging to the lessee.
The Smith-Mitten lease. Article XXX,
tinder tho caption, "Itlght of Recapture
Reserved to tho City," says:
Tn addition to the light reserved by
tho city under Section Eleventh of the
1907 Contract to purchase all tho prop
erty, leaseholds unci franchises of tho
Company on or after July 1, 1957, tho
City shall have the right nt any time
between July 1, 1927, and July 1, 1957,
upon giving tho Company six months'
notice of its Intention o to do, to termi
nate this Contract, recapture its own
property and acquire all the Company's
property, leaseholds and franchises by
paying to tho Company at tho date
named in the said notice an amount
equal to the amount which has been
paid in upon all its capital stock out
standing at the time of the purchaso
and recapture, together with (a) any
dividends on new capital htock unpaid
under Article XXII, Paragraph 1, Item
A, and (b) an amount equal to any un
paid portion of dividends in each je.ir
at tho rato of one million five hundred
thousand dollars ($1,500,000) per year
from tho date upon which this Con
tract shall becomo effective to the
date of recapture; etc, etc.
In other words, the caption, "Right of
Recapture Reserved to tho City," appears
to be fatally misleading. No right of re
capture of its own lines alone is reserved
to the city. It can recapture its own lines
only by purchasing at the same tlmo the
entire property of the P. R, T.
Apparently a condition which Mr. Lewis
on May 25 declared to be "fundamentally
wrong," using the words, "Its (the recap
ture clause's) fundamental defect is
that It prevents the city from taking tho
operation of Its own property Into its own
hands until it buys all tho property be.
longing to the lessee," ceased to be n
"fundamental defect" on August 17, when
"Mr. Lewis stamped the Smith-Mitten lease
.'llh hbe nnnroval nnrl annenrerl nu li
v3 apecial sponsor.
V No .matter1 how hateful In operation the
v proposed lease nilght be to the people, no
L,v(nauer now ratal w tue puouo interest.
k Sfiijao- process under the sun could tho
p of jihe company'on the city's lines be
'; .... it
Ing that hidden In the Intrlcacjes of tho
leaso which Mr. Lewis spoiifois Is it firm
and binding contract for the city to pur
chaso the propci ty of the P. It. T, at tho
expense of tha riders)
Tills lcnso Involve tho handling of
more than two and one-half billions of
dollars, whotoforv it l.s i-tntlttt that no
fnndamonlul error llnd thilr way into it.
Wu uw .Mr. Lewis. In the interests of
clarity, to eNpinln the apparent nntngu.
nlsm between his piesent position and
that occupied b him In May, fm the
dirfeiciiccs nppvur to be Irreconcilable.
aussiA must iik iiti:i:
IT IH reported from Washington Unit
"IlU'iIii holds and piubably will con
tinue to ungago tho most nations tlumnlit
of the Piesldfint. H will go the limit
ir. trying to piuvent tho disruption of the
uvw demount!." Wo do not doubt it This
w.i.' will havj been wuith all its cost to
Immunity If out of It theto emoigos u
strong, font.ird-looklng, prugresslvp litis.
la, freed forever fiont the Htllllng In
fluences of CzMidum. cm think of
notnlng moia likely tu "make tho vvoild
safe for deinooiucy" thuu the uclilovo
ment of fuo Institutions by n people who
inhabit eight and oiu-hulf million mtuuro
miles of torrltory, i.tretchlng over two
continent.
These people are uneduiuti'd. Detnoc
lacy villi educate them and thiough edu
cation establish them .is tin impenetrable
burlier to autocracy In iVnti il Cut ope or
an where else. It is a tremendous task
for a people who have been giuuml down
for centuries to Unci theiiisulVLS Men
have to le.u-u how to enjoy llbeitv. Hut
If tho Pteaident cm mold tho destiny of
Russia at this time unci hold hur true
to her dreams, despite nil cal'imltles, ho
will accomplish something the hum in
ruco can never forget. It Is not just u,
matter of winning this war. Wo cm do
that without tho aid of Russia, at tho
tost of heavier s.u-Ullce. Rut u victory
would be but half a victory If u frco Rus.
sla were not part of It.
HIT TIIK MAKK
ADVICES from Germany Indicate that
XA.U10 President's nolo hus lilt tho
mark. It has strengthened Liberals ntul
given a decided Impetus to tho movement
toward democratization. The Hermans
bellevo In puro thought, if not In puro
thoughts, and tho purity of the Presi
dent's thinking is not less evident than
the purity of his lanmiivo
.a.' atrl
I
s
1 mm), unless
"inJ
ho company by default
5! ,i ' s i'
JSvaltltfully to observe, keep, and fulfill"
,itir WiatIons made It possible for the
sXUCtto "apply or a cancellation of the
i una ihi uib oniraci; 01 wnicn it
Jaa;aiqurtr wVcan find
)M prtmB awwlirafcr,a reeapture by
UriT Sr ? ?'
HMlpTh
TIIK WAR'S MIRIIT-IIAVE-UKENS
SIDE by sido with the history of tho
war will some day bo the mimmoth
volumo of Its "mlght-lmve-bccns." On
tilts fascinating subject by no means all
the returns are et In. Wo know, of
com so, how nearly Englanl missed vic
tory at tlalllpoll and how Italy's cntianco
into the war was wrongly timed, nor
mally has a whole set of conditional
clauses by which she explains her failure
at the .Marne
Eleutheilos VcnUelci1- of (iiccce, also
contributes bis quota of hypotheses. He
insists tli.it if tho pro-German 'King Con
Btfintinc had uol arbitrarily vetoed 11
plan of Hellenic intervention on tho side
of the Allies in February, 1915, Constan
tinople could hnvo bueu captured from
tho Turks, who had not then prepared
their Htiong Gullipoll defense-', tho sub
sequent near-e.-u.tern victories of the
Central Powers would lmvo been Impos
sible and pcilutps tho war would have
been shortened by a je.tr.
Dwelling on tho chance thus mts-.ed Is
bitter bu-Iness. Consideration of it be
comes particularly painful villi the
knowledge that tho Allies did not full to
dethrone King "Tlno" at a latet date.
Thut they hesitated to do so in that ciitl
cal February was perhaps partly duo to
the Russian LVar'.s disinclination to upset
reigning European princes. .
Tho democratization of tin- Allies'
cause now makes such fc-ais seem me
dieval. It was the old nonsense about
kings that withheld tho hand of liberty.
Venizelos was woith a whole Una of for
eign monarchs imposed on Hellas, mother
of republics. Tho Entente knows that
now to its cost. Perhaps the best way
to modify tho pain of the "might-have-beens"
is to adopt Dret Harte's philo
sophical amendment, "It Is, but it liadn't
ought to be "
'Otiwaid with
The dvll!
Coil." The Kaiser.
Can't wo get Mr. Hoover to lis. the
prlco of gas?
If Mr. Mltchel were Muvor of Phil,
adelphla ho could not be re-elected.
Yet we suspect that all communi
ties ale qulto willing to let negro regi
ments light for them.
.This Idea that nil of our big guns
have been shipped to Prance is entirely
wrong. The Colonel l.s still on this side.
1'nclo Sam hus changed tho advice
of Punch a little. It now leads: "Ad
vice to slnckers about to marry, Don't."
The mailed fist Is going to rein
state Constantino if he lives long enough,
but tho former King has no present plans
for Christmas dinner In Athens.
Apparently Senator McXlchol Is
not afraid to build subways at present
prices. Xelthcr was ho afraid that City
Hall would tumble down on his head.
Tho Germans nt Lens want to
know why lu the dickens the Canadians
didn't stny at home. Just wait until
Perchlng'b boys begin going over the
top.
The McLemore resolution adopted
by tho House yesterday was not n dis
graceful one, It merely provided for nn
Investigation of the defective ammunl.
tlon scandal.
In a recent news report, dated from
"a Pacific port," occurred the statement
that "the Mayor of Ban Francisco re
ceived tho envoys," This censorship
business is perfectly baffling.
v
The valor of tlfex pcrmans does not
appear to have been tested severely at
Riga. The Russiapn iust left. It was
much t(ie Mme way when Napoleon went
to Mmcciw; j but, my, what tf-diffare
iWitwwHct
..- a - . -
iJ ?L V J
A GREAT CITY PUT UP AT AUCTION;
HOW MUCH IS BID FOR PITTSBURGH?
Two Political Tigers of Philadelphia in Close
Rivalry for the Rich Pickings to Be Pound
in Vice-Ridden Municipality
n
"BIDS-BURGH"
77ifs ii the tccond of a series of flut nrtMet I ; ci staff tcprcsentaUvo of the
Uveninii Ledger who has made a trrtoiM study of political conditions in Pitts
burgh, trl. ich air cilmott nlthoul prvicdcnt in Ilia history of the Comviottweallh,
lly SAMUEL McCOY
"riulNU, uuIiik How much am I
vJ urfureil?
"This lmndsoiuo propct t, consisting
of foity-ono nquuiu mites of torrltory.
tight hunch ud million dollars' worth of
tiiMiblo H-al estate, now offero 1 foi loaso
for u poilod of four youra!
"How much um I olTured Thu leaso
catilos with It tho dNpu,ul of $l,00O.OU()
of annual levenue. the appointment of
OOdll cltv umplovus, thu control of unlim
ited forms of 1 uvuiiu'j!
"Miliums lu It. gentlemen, millions!
What do 1 he.u ! What do I hum 1
WhuddTheui .'
"The big gentleman with the black
mustacho has made his offer: now.
vvhadd'l'hear fiont tho Uttlci gentlc-ni'tn.'
Going, going, 11 nd "
It is tho voice of tho auctioneer of a
i-tu-enl city, the clt of Plttsbuigh. Hut.
ultlioitgli he shouts thut the propot ty !k
"going," he cannot ptonounco the woid
"gone" until September l!'. Tho sulo
husti'l yet been made.
The bidding ot the local scekeis after
the 1 out! ni of this staggeringly valuable
property Is complicated this car by tho
entiuuc-e. the noWeless eiitiance, of two
veteran blddeis from PhiludelphU.
When they packed their grips for Pitts
buigh tho two left over thing In their
homo city suiono and quiet. Tho two
tlgeis of Phlludolphlu, acknowledging
thut they had come to a temporary dead
lock In their n?ht for supremacy lu Phil
adelphia, hud lain down side by side ana
were put ring thioatlly. No one foiosces
a icciudcsncuco of their quauol beforo
the campaign for a new Muyor of I'hlla
delphla, in tlio fall of 191S. Thu two ban
smoothed their Jowls and como to a com-
piomlso In selecting a. "fifty-ltflj" slate
for the city olllclals to bo elected this
November. Outward harmony In Philadel
phia was safo for another ear.
Tigers to Divide Spoil
Hut their yellow eyes had been lest
less, nevertheless They simply could not
mako their ees behave. And, shifting
them fiom spot to spot, they rested lov
ingly at last upon a city 350 miles to tho
west of the Delaware, fiom which was
wafted tho tantalizing odor that tells of
good hunting.
lly daylight tho two tlgeis of Philadel
phia uio to bo found llng pcaceubly side
by side. Hut by night each has been slip
ping on noiseless paws thiough the
stieets of Plttsbuigh. Tho game has been
marked for the kill. Tho date for the
killing hus been set. Rut bow will the
hI.iIii carcass be divided?
Plttsbuigh itself, tho oidiuaiy popula
tlon, tli ct is, which guos to woik In tho
nioiniug uud woriles over the auny draft
and sci.ipes to pay the groceiy bills and
behaves Itself on weekdays us well as Sun
days und has a good uveiage time raising
a family this Pittsburgh, which Includes
u light goodly number of voters, has
scarcely lecelved an Inkling as yet that
two gentlemen living in Philadelphia have
any especial concern in tho Plttsbuigh
mayoralty campaign. You do not heat
tlio names of either Varp or Penrose men
tioned by tho man on tho stieet. To the
staid Plttsbuigher the light Is still be
tween Its home glow 11 politicians. Only
tho pi oft ssloiial political observer has
come to 11 legalization of tho lnteiest,
which the Plttsbuigh light has to th
political batons of the eastern cltv.
Afiaiil of Doctor Kerr
I talked with one such man, nioio
lnfoimatlvo than reticent, who forgot for
tho moment tho pioverblal silence of his
profession.
"Anybody who thinks that tho mayor
alty light in Pittsburgh has only a local
slgnlllcnnco has his eyes shut," bald ho.
"Although William A. Magee, appointed
Public S01 vice Commissioner by Gov
ernor Brumbaugh, who has, for tho lust
two ears, usod the weight of his ofllco
to strengthen tho Vaie machine, reslgnea
as commissioner two weeks ago and an
nounced his candidacy for the mayoralty,
and although It was lumored that ho
would do this two weeks beforo ho ac
tually resigned fiom tho Public Service
Commission, I was Informed of the plan
in Philadelphia in Philadelphia, notice
informed by two of the Penrose muchlno
leaders themselves that Magee would en
ter tho race. And this information camo
to me neither two weeks ugo nor one
month ago, but thieo months ugo at a
tlmo when It was still generally believed
that Commissioner Magee would support
Dr.'James P. Kerr, chairman of the Pitts
burgh Council, for the mayoralty.
"It was then that tho Penrose crowd
doclded they could take no chances with
Doctor Kerr, an Independent. As between
Doctor Kerr, who would ceitalnly be
against them In the city primaries and
who would also bo against them nt the
elections, uud Mr. Magee who would
certainly bo counted upon to be with
them at the elections, there was no choice.
"Commissioner Mugee's promises of sup
port to Kerr wero broken or avoided In
a most ingenious manner. Like tho ulti
matum sent to Serbia, a 'request' was
made upon Doctor Kerr by Mr. Muget
that certain Magoe followers be 'taken
care of In the event of Kerr's election
Ono of them was to be mado head of th
Department of Public Safety. Doctor Kerr
refused to Momach the suggestion. Mr.
Magee then considered himself absolved
of his promise of support to Kerr and en
tered the race himself!"
In.tho politics of the Stae, It Is of little
consequence to the Penrose or the Varo
camp who Is elected Mayor of Pitts
burgh, so far as today's situation Is con
cerned. Rut of the greatest consequence
to both camps' is the question: Will Sena
tor Peuroso sway the dovernor elected In
1918 or will ho be dominated bjtiio Vares
and their counselor, Francis Shunk
Brown?
And t.he answ4- to that question hangs
. ftft'oa the iclatlve strength displayed, at thV ajea- on this vh
polls ill Plttsbuigh on September 19 by
K. V. Uubcock, thu first Peuroso choice
for thu muyorulty, und by W, A, Magee,
the Vnru appointee tu tlw Public Service
Commission.
If tho iltuns of Pittsburgh did not
know thut their votes on September 19
wero of vital slgnlllcancu to Phllndclphlu,
lliuy ought to know It by tills time. For
1111 opuu attack on the Punrose machine
oiitw-unlly 11 violent attack, 110 matter
what tho undurgi ounci alliances of the
two fuc-tlcii s may be- was mado by the
Vine candidate lu beginning Ills cumpalgn
last week
"I 11111 opposed," said Mr Mugi-e tin
equivocally, "to thut ulll ince of solfUh
Intel osts which Is culled PeiiroicnUni,
which ccintiols the Republican ptrty In
tlio Stuto und which, through such cou
ncil, is dominating Pittsburgh."
On tho same day on which Mr. Maitec
made that speech, I talkoel with E, V
Rabcock, tlio Ponrowo candidate. "Thoro
Isn't a uoubt about It," tald he, leaning
forwatcl to ino cotillduntlall, "tho Ma
gee crowd will lmvo a lot of mono tc
spend for this election. Aten't they
gettln' help and succor fiom tlio Kusl?
You but your life!"
Now theso uto tho stralglit-fiom the
shouldor interchanges which establish thn
lmpnitanco of Pittsburgh's muyorulty
lluht in tho futuro of tho State legtme.
The Vico Question
Hut what of tho local fight? Is thorc
ono In leallty?
It's oasy enough for vvould-bo reformers
to set up a cry that thero Is "vico" In
an gioat city. Tlio vico may oxl3t. but
to get legal evidence of vice is "some
thing else again." Tho wholosale arrest
of alleged offenders in this city n year
ago, tlio pondoious examination con
ducted by tho Grand Jury, and tho result
ing llasco, when nono of tho persons
caught In tho raid could bs hold because
of tho lack of proper evidence, Is stll.
flesh hi Philadelphia's momoi. Hus
Pittsburgh nnv leal "undeiworld" of
alarming proportions, or are the rumors
of such a vicious body moroly rumors?
IJsten to tho lcmarks mado by Judge J.
MoI Carpenter, a Republican, of the
Quni ter Sessions Court, In Pittsburgh lust
week. He is talking to tlio tlrund Jury,
which convenes tills mouth, befoio tho
pilmarles:
It is rurtcuth loported that theie
mo a number of social clubs In Pitts
burgh (others tlinn Judge Carpenter
estimated the number of theso clubs
to bo no fewer thuu 1000) conducted
under their churteis for the llimnclnl
gain of one man or a small number of
mon. When any club is so conducted
It becouu-s a inonuce, a public nuisance,
sink of inquity und a bleeder of crime.
You will, ut tho piopc-r tlmo, investigate
these it-ports carefully vlth the assist
anca of those who have made com
plaint, the Dlstsict Attorney and per
sons acting untlei lilts authoiity und
dlicction, Including tho chief of the
county detectives, and ulso tho con
stables of tho vailous dlstilcts in which
theso clubs are said to exist.
And then, ufter tills vigorous chut go to
the Grand Jury, theie follows a sontenco
whoso second word provokes a recollec
tion of tho humorists of "Wlts'-burgh."
"You may bo able to ascertain the truth
or falsity of tho rumors so persistently
cli ciliated," said Judge Carpenter. N-
What "assistance" can tho Giand Juiy
count upon to establish acxeptablo evi
dence? That of the District Attorney?
Two days after Judge Carpenter's in
structions of last week that officer was
peremptorily summoned before the Judge
and informed that the Judge meant what
ho said. Abandoning hope of assistance
in that quarter, the Judgo personally in
structed a deputy sheriff to closeone no
torious club of tho type which' brought
out the Court's denunciation.
Big Revenues From Clubs
Nor is tho "assistance" of the chief of
county detectives and Ms force anything
but doubtful. Repeated instances of the
arrest of county detectives by the city
police when tho county detectives were
attempting to obtain evidence have been
published. Ono Pittsburgh business man
said to me last wtok that if he were
to undertake a pilvate investigation of
the "one-man clubs" It would cost him
not less than $100,000 to obtain Incon
trovertible evidence. Although wealthy,
he didn't have that much money to spend.
Operating under charter as "social
clubs,'' which can sell liquor to their
"members" only when tholr charter con
tains such express permission from the
Attorney General, It Is alleged that a
license clause has been written Into the
chartor of a thousand clubs with official
connivance. The charge has been
brought beforo tho offenso committee of
tho Allegheny County Uar Association
that the business of rewriting theso char
ters has been dispensed to friendly attor
neys, the privilege of sailing dliitlllen
liquors to the clubs dispensed to one
liquor house, tho privilege of selling beer
to a bottling concern, and the privilege
of installed slot machines for gambling to
another syndicate. The revenue collected
from the "one-man clubs" by the leaders
of the underworld, in return for protec
tion from tho city administration. Is estl
mated at a half million dollars annually.
It might worry borne of those Inteicstca
in the continued collection of these rev
enues, some of those who smile at the
idea of any accomplishment by tho Grand
Jury, to know that tho Grand Jury Is pot
the only body to whom ovjdence against
the "one-man clubs" has been pr will be
presented. In a certain guarded office
which I ontered In Pittsburgh last week
thero are reposing threo little blankbooks,
bound In black oilcloth, which, I respect
fully submit, are loaded with "dynamite"
sufficient to rock Pittsburgh on its sup.
porting hills,-
How- much Is bid for nids-burgh?
The third article oij the Pittsburgh polit.
leaf alltiafloii, "Three Leaders In Pitts-
ourans ujtaf Moyor,iy campaign," taUi
pupo. Tomorrow, .u
tjiiTTV.
&.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
7
frm
&$?
tytfm
nrEi.fl52L-A
- 1pltt)iHSVl.
Qv ""' "-tX - '
J
DISTRIBUTING
THE WAR COSTS
Business Men Talk Plainly to
Congressmen About Loans
and Taxes
M.'Mal c orresvondrncr of the 'irnirtff Lidvtr
V ASIHNUTO.V, Sept 4
EXPIU'.T financiers talk about bonds and
ta.seu with moie gusto than tho average
business niun who Is now coming to Con
gress with bis grievances. And tho more
thn grievances the better Congress undci
Hands the extent of the burden which both
Ileio Is the grlevanco and Fuggcstlon of a
New- York publisher:
"Wo would state that the suggested pub
lishers' tax of 5 per cent on advertising
would increaso our taxes by more than
$ij000, and In connection with other tuxe,
Federal and State, would likely cat up our
entire profits.
"We would favor a higher corporation In
come) tax rate."
And a St Louis chemical eompati ex
presses itself llko this:
"Why should the successful business man
who can make a better proiit than his bss
talented competitor und who is a moie vicl
uablo e-ltlren than his competitor, be pun
ished for this, while the farmer and the
professional man who may make ten times
hs inueb Fo-called 'excess profit' go scot
free? No Just man can say 'that this is
right."
This concern thinks the whole levenue
bonds rind taxes impose upon a nation As
a rule, the expert financier argues for bonds should be raised by uniform tax on sales
to put tho burden on tho futuia generations of mcichandlse
The Farmer Also Kicks
Evidently It Is hard to please those who
re 10 be taxed tor war necessities. Eveiy
bodv Is patriotic, but very few lire going
to be satisfied with the war-tax levy, or
tho.'ie additional levies' which must be made
heie.ifter for war expenses mid to pay
Inteiest on our loans Already the -car
rilll of the Vnlted States is nearly eqiml
tn thai nf Great Urltaln. and If the Allies
continue to make demands upon us It will
not bo loin? beforo tho United States will
have spent more than any one of the bel
ligerent nations of Europe
It Is iot manufacturers alouo or busi
ness men who are complaining. Tho grain
miser Is not quite satisfied with his $2 per
bushel rate, Ra contends that he is to bo
taxed to tho extent of the difference between
12 per bushel and what grain will actually
bring. There have been some grain states
men In Washington recently who havo
tulkod very plainly to some cotton states
men about the freedom of cotton from taxes
and from tho export embarai which per
tnlns to other commodities. It is not cer
tain but that sooner or later cotton will
havo to pay something or will have to bo
restricted by embargo, since It Is now openly
charged that cotton Is going Into Germany
and Is supplying ammunition with which
to shoot up American soldiers.
That the fanner has been touched by the
Snnato suggestion to tax farmerj' prot'its Is
evidenced by resolutions that have rccently
been coming to Washington in considerable
numbers Take tlio resolutions of the Wil
mington Co-operative Truck Glowers' As
soclatlon of North Carolina. They start out
with tha customary declaiatton of patriot-
ui n.m u wnercBB" wnieh declares that
they "ask no Immunity or release us farm-
ine oiu-iima uemocrat considers that as
unfair to the man In the trenches, w ho must
help pay tho debt after his lighting l.s done.
He also argues that this method of dis
tributing the war cost means that those
who are making money out of tho war will
bo relieved of a Jujt proportion of tho taxes
and will have no Interest in bringing the
wur to a close It Is so much easier to
l--sua bonds than to levy and collect taxes
that It Is not necessar to explain why tho
effort is being made to popularize) the bond
system, It Ins takon more than threo
months to pass a $2 000,000,000 tax Mil,
whereas the tlrst $7,000,000,000 bond bill
passed In 11 das liven tho legislators would
rather take the path of least resistance In
matters of this kind, which accounts in
part for the moderately generous reception
of the ncc and larger bond bill of the Ad
ministration. Everybody knows that what is borrowed
on bonds has to be paid some day, just as
taxes aro paid today. Tha difference is
that Instead of paying tho obligation now
It Is passsd on to other generations of tax
payers to pay, principal and Interest and
"Interest" on theso new Government obll
gitlons Is going to rnako the business man
of next year and the year after next and
theicafter sit up and take notice.
Business Mon Complain
Listen for a moment to a few sample
complaints, not about tho loan bills which
are passing the burden along, but about
the $2,000,000,000 tax bill, which has given
tho Senate such trouble and which Is onl
about one-eighth tho olio of tho aggregate
of loans thus far authorized or contem
plated by this Congress. Says ono manufacturer
i. ten you again and again that if a
tax is placed directly on our product It will f ers aml Patilotle Americans troni our full
not simply disturb our prof.t. but It will
eat our capital and compel us to go to the
wall,
"We aro not alor.e losing tho best men
In our sales and manufacturing department
who are going Into tha draft In addition
to those who have volunteered beforo, but
our mediocre help Is now- receiving nny
where from 80 per cent to 120 per cent
more than It received two years ago, and
there Isn't a raw material that we use
that lias not advanced more thun 60 per
cent. Take glucose, foi which wo paid 2H
cents, and for which we now pay OH cents:
tako sugar, for which we paid 6 cents and
for which we now pa 8 15 cents,
"I certainly cannot understand the Ad
ministration, "It might be a good thing to follow up
tho fashion and vie with England in piling
up an Impossible rational debt, but how
they are going to get the country to carry
such u debt when they tax the minor In
dustries out of existence, is moie than I
can understand "
That letter camo from Now York. Hero
Is another from a large lion manufacturer
near Philadelphia. He complains that the
Governrnont threatens "to boss ever thing,
from tlio salt on our food to the coal we
cook It with."
"The Civil War, as 1 remember It," says
this writer, ''placed the country in a great
deal worse position than the war In Europe
does, yet we did not then have commissions
to suporvUe everybody and everything.
We are not only creutlng an army to fight,
but a greater one to supervise. If a man
should be taken suddenly 111 with colic,
apparently he would have to obtain the
Government's permission to obtain a stim
ulant for his relief, and thot would go
hard with the Irish, Joking aside, you are
giving us too many commissions. Lawyers
to build ships and poaalbty to direct our
army la France? experts to regulate prices
all except labor, which seenia to be given
a free hand.sso long ss It votes right The
share of ths burdens of taxation with which
to( support our Government," but they sub
mit that, whereas, "farming involves the
hardest labor, exposure to weather condl
tloiis, sunshine and lain, and the greatest
of sacrifices In muscle and brawn," there
fore t would be better for the Government
to iiilse revenue by taxing Inheritances, the
contention being that every dollar earned
by the farmer Is earned by tho sweat of his
!Zl wh1el", Inheritances' reprel!erit
neither dollars nor cents, labor nor Invest
ment." So that every man seems to huva his ax
to grind on this war-tax question. And
l..,a5 to bo la'si"i. remember, Is only
2 000,000.000 approximately, wherea the
loans In existence and contemplated. If
levied as taxes, will amount to eight times
?t,,i.!mlC.t . V.1 thl" ""nation it niay bo
?htennai ,8 .Bencra-' Btock ot "ny n
the Un ted States, according to the last
circulation statement of tha TreaBuiy De-
partment. was not quite $5 600,000,000
J. HAMPTON JlOOlill.
A CLEAN BETRAYAL
What ought to prove tho finishing btroke
to the wi etched rapid transit lease scheme
now before Councils Is given this morning
by A. Merrltt Taylor. '""ruing
In addition to ull of the other InlqultUn
vvjilch this lease covers, Mr. Taylor chanrea
that it binds the c'ty to buy the property
leaseholds and franchises of the Rapid
Transit Company, and that the stockhold
ers In the end would receive approximately
$C0 a share. Furthermore, the patrons of
the lines will have to shoulder the city's full
Interest charge on the debt to be Incurred
for rapid transit development and repay
the entire cost of the system,
Besides this, the Illegal elght-cent ex
change ticket Ib made a permanent fixture,
with the certainty of an Increase of the
uva-uciei enrv iu dijc vaults.
What Do You Know?
QUIZ
1. ,lmiil linn in my election elhlslons are then
In riilliccle.plilR? 1
2. Italian and llritKh inonltni-N ra-e fehtllUf'
I'dIi. Where anil whit Is l'ol?
.!. About Iioh f:cr Is the Ilka rric'nn. vhlrk
the Cierinuntc have Jctttt euiiturecl. frta
l'etrnicracl?
I. M-iere eurtliqtinke la reported In Uoiota,
Where Is thin elt?
a. vvhjit U the nine jurul irl snoxin a "net
Ink".
". 'J he artificial hnrliorn of Afbrucite katt
(Mend hiiTe heen created hy the ew
fetriictlon of heme ntone moles. What
tcrec moles? .
.. Him lire the tlcllantra. ho IS the woii
pronounced, and from whit fainoua pt-
socle In American hMory tloete the ornil-
.. l. on lilke lla inline?
K. What, specifically, la meant by "the
Mi-lntleiti or wealth"?
.! )!"? F'"!' vomiin aa horn at Domnmit
lu. What Is the IIDeral iueunuir of "(.tutus nt
ante helium"?
Answers to Yesterday's Quiz
I. "Vonwierts" d'omards) la the leadlntfto
.. . ""I'"' "enspnper of Clc mi.in.v. s .
S. The Interiiiitlnnul Socialist contcrcnf til
Stockholm had been postponed ue ml
limes and was lo meet September U a
has been dee Ided to postpone it a ah.
.!. Ceiime II. VIetlellan uat Vlajor of W
Jork. Ills father was the Chll Hil
Beneral. "Little vine," nho failed as M
' (he .Army of the 1'otomuc and hi
linnllj dismissed. ,
i. The (rolvcle Cuerre" (Cross of War) hi
, , I reneli dernratloil.
5. Hal-oil Rhondela is the Ilrlllsh food di
Iro.ler. II. Jeiilje lljlin Is Taiiiinuii) candidate In
Vlujor of .ev lork. -,
7. ".sorrntlc lrony"i An Imitation of the in itot
or .Socrates, which wus tn prelen I II-
iinriitlre In order to draw from Ills fit
lorcilor n dlspla of supposed knonlecW.
s. V etiliiconih j u niibterraneiui leuutirt'
orlalnnlly that under the huslllra of '
sehusliin. near Home. uipord Inirrtal
... I'taee of Peter and I'mil. ,
U. The most Illiterate countries of Iluropa tn
those in the east and southeast of tul
continent Kus.la, llulcarla, Greece, If
. ..i"1."" a.SerWa. "s
10. Mississippi will celebrate tier one hundred
unnlieraary of statehood In Decent
THE MISCHIANZA
"TO OXE who seriously tries to "unal
1 stand Philadelphia" and the effeet c(
Its rich and colorful history and tradltloal
upon Its present social llfo can go ttt
without studying that curious and slgnlll;
cant phenomenon known as "The Mtf
c-hlunza," of May 18, 1778. For It Is '
exaggeration to suy that the forces whldl
mado that famous fete possible arc stM
at work In the Philadelphia of today. t)J
Any one who has read Weir Mltchell'i
"Hugh Wynne" and "The Ited City" H1
remember that theie was a strong Top
element lu the Philadelphia ot Itev olutlot
ary times. "Ciadlo of Liberty" this city
did Indeed become on July 1, 1776, and
It ever will lemaln tho spiritual capital
of woild democracy. Hut In splto of nay,
because of this fact, the reactionary op'
position held Its bend high and predict!
the dtre punishment of Its rebel fello
townsmen. The "Tory ladles" were not
going to give lip lightly tho social pre-eral-nenco
they were born to In favor of a.lot
of upstart, middle-class republicans. It
might not have been so bad if the treason
able Declaration had been formulated in
Boston or New York. But to make Fhtla
delphla the seat of anarchy and rebellion
was u crime against the future social ant
financial standing of a proud and priri
teged class.
And on September 27, 1777, little mom
than a year ufter we were pledging, our
lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor,
the redcoats of Sir William Howe enur4
Philadelphia and proceeded to attempt W
wipe out ull vestiges of the meanlnj and
purpose of the great Declaration. Tbf
Tory bellep found the English ofneerse con
fident of victory, and Incidentally xio)
dancers. All that winter Washington and
his men starved and froze at Valley J"oi-:
and all whiter the festivities In Phtladelpnla
continued. Il was a scandal to the gooi
people of Philadelphia, the middle-class fott
whose sons wero fighting In the rebel armfi
and whose descendants have made Phila
delphia what It Is, But these good peoP1'
always found It hard to express their opin
ion : fear of tho redcoats wbb In the air; an
so, to all Intents and purposes, Howe found
the city apparently as loyal to the KJIng W
London more so, In fact, for already tin
English opposition was working to end tin
war and let America have justice.
These Philadelphia Tories can easily "
blamed too much. Independence was a art
Idea. It needed time to sink In. It seemfd
hopeless and unnecessary to man' T&jf
liked Sir William Howe. He and hbi 0
cers were giving society the time of, M
life. There were Iota of good marrtffSf
planned or schemed for. PhlladelphUVdam
having their eyes on Kngllali estates,
Bo when the lirlttah Government
denly decided that Howe wa'e a ranlCfalht
and must be Called home at nnm. 'nil Ti
tna icsjw iji ueirayui or the people, and oeiMJVqaa. upj in 'anger and de;
tney win oe uounei nana and f oot. and- sold' " QcMavWMtwfc'-N' . , 1
...ir ,in,ua . nail? . a u m. KTaaia m .m. .. - - ',.,i,M..s(a.H. .. . .
eviracer x,
M.MWP,
'tyl.jf
:ziima, ;-.
North a golngito pay the piper for all this put unless they take step to kukjL, jJtoial:
WHWTlaienC kuetaaM' jt ,ttten by Counclj.'ra'lfjjQBg