The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, July 1, 1935, Page 4

The Bismarck Tribune An Independent Newspaper THE STATE’S OLDEST NEWSPAPER (Established 1873) State, City and County Official Newspaper Published by The Bismarck Tribune Company, Bis- marck, N. D., and entered at the postoffice at Bismarck as second class mai] matter. George D. Mann President and Publisher Archie O, Johnson Kenneth W. Simons Secretary and Treasurer Editor Subscription Rates Payable in Advance Daily by carrier, per year « $7.20 mail, per year (in Bismarck: ‘Weekly by mail in state, per year . Weekly by mail outside of North year Weekly by Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation Member of The Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited tn this newspaper and also the local news of spontaneous origin published herein All rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. | Inspiration for Today Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, shall drive him to his feet—Job 18:11. . * | and Fear on guilt attends, and deeds of darkness; | the virtuous breast ne'er knows it—Havard. = ——= At the Taxation Crossroads Two weeks hence North Dakota will come to the crossroads of taxation policy. The people will be called upon to go to the polls and vote on the question of whether or not we should continue with the sales tax, en- acted by the legislature as an emergency meas- ure and referred to the citizenry for final deci- sion. Upon the outcome of this election depends much which is important to North ‘Dakota. The decision will play an important part in shaping our policy, not only for the immediate present but for the more distant future. For the real question here presented is not one of sales tax vs. no sales tax. It is whether or not North Dakota shall continue in the progressive mold which it has followed as a state since the beginning. If the only thing to be considered were whether or not the people should tax them- selves, regardless of the purposes for which the money is to be used, the result of the elec- tion could not possibly be in doubt. It would lose dismally. Such, however, is not the case. The issue goes much deeper than that. First of all, take the case for the sales tax, Certain things seem to be indisputably true, regard- Jess of the claims and counter-claims which have been made by contending forces, The first of these is that the government is exert- ing an increasing pressure upon the state to take over many of the services which have been financed during the last three years by the government almost alone. Among these is relief of human misery. The state has contributed nothing to the vast expenditures with- out, which many North Dakotans actually would have starved. The counties have given a little—some of them. ‘The government has donated a great deal. Great as are the resources of the United States, its tredit now is being strained. The new five-billion-dollar works relief plan bids fair to be the last major govern- ‘nent effort in this direction. The government will con- tinue to assist those who are able and willing to work by giving them jobs under the new Works Progress Ad- ministration, but the old, the inept and those physically incapable of working must be looked after by the state. ‘Under ordinary circumstances the counties would be charged with this task but these are not ordinary conditions. Many counties are “broke” or nearly 60. People cannot be permitted to starve until they can cash registered warrants, The only alternative which the legislature could see was to charge the y this task, provide a state-wide method of money, ee The school situation long has been cgitical. no secret that country children, generally speaking, fever received the privilege of equal education the state constitution insures to them. The constitu- tion makes it the business of the state to see that every child has such an opportunity, but the state long has “laid down” on this job. During the last few years the situation became critical and the state, because it had neglected its obliga- tion, had no funds to assist school districts which were unable to finance their operation. The federal government stepped in, spent almost a million dollars on public education in this state. But this was an emergency proposition. As soon as it could do so, it bluntly told the state there would be no more money for this purpose. North Dakota would have to Provide for its own children. Dollars cannot be @queezed from stones or from debt-ridden school districts and the legislature could see only one way out. WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE LONG AGo— and to raise the money by a sales tax. One of the peculiar phenomena of our times is the manner in which popular support has been voiced for an adequate old-age pension law. When the legislature met it was obvious that the THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE, MONDAY, JULY 1, 1935 people will have been thwarted. The case against the sales tax is just as clear. A great many business people, particularly those along the eastern border of the state, fear that it will hurt their trade, that it will drive customers across the border, Their uneasiness is aggravated by the fact that merchants in Minnesota invite North Dakota custom- ers by advertising that they pay no sales tax there. Whether or not their fear is justified cannot yet be demonstrated, but true or not it is of little interest to the people of western North Dakota where the condition does not apply and which stands to benefit most if the sales tax is approved. It is the western part of the state which has suffered most from drouth, grasshoppers and allied plagues. It is the western part of the state where the schools are, generally speaking, hardest pressed and where old persons who had laid up a competence have seen it disappear most rapidly during the ravages of the last five years, There is merit in the contention that the sales tax takes no account of ability to pay, that it falls upon the poor and the rich alike. It also is contended that corporations with large property holdings will obtain reductions in their general taxes. The question here is whether there will not be a compensating advantage in the collection of taxes from persons who now pay nothing. The one may just about balance the other. And the earnings of corporations will by no means be exempt. Under the income tax law those who make a profit will not only pay but pay handsomely. These are the two arguments which weigh most | |heavily against the measure. They should be balanced with its merits by the individual voter before he Casts his ballot. In addition to special considerations, both pro and con, there are general factors which should be considered. Foremost among these is the claim that the sales tax will be merely another source of political patronage, that it will merely offer another political football. This argument may be used against any public pro- posal, It is true or false according to the character and disposition of the men or man charged with its admin- istration. In’ this case, the man to whom the public must look is Governor Walter Welford. His is the responsibility of meeting this potential crictism, for it still is true that good men can give us good government under bad laws and bad men can give us bad government under good Jaws. Whether or not one agrees with all the governor has done is beside the point. His worst enemies do not charge him with falsification and he stands pledged to ® non-political and efficient administration of this law if it is approved by the people. eee ‘These are the factors which North Dakota weighs as it stands at the taxing crossroads. To vote for the sales tax is to support in North Dakota an experiment, but one which has worked out well in other states. To oppose it means a new furore in state affairs; new seeking after revenues; the eliminaticn of much government aid and the curtailment of services which in recent years have come to be regarded as invaluable. Whether or not the experiment will continue is up to the people. Their decision will write an interesting chapter into the history of this state. ehind the Scenes in Washington | | il Washington, July 1—Their nimble minds leaping far ahead, certain New Dealers who usually reflect what the White House thinks already are looking forward to the next session of congress, “With the tax bill out of the way,” they say, “we won't be needing any more tion.” “Next winter and spring, right up to the national conventions, we can concentrate on investigations and let them have the limelight.” The investigations especially referred ate’s inquiry into railroad financing and ; the Federal Communications of the American Telephone & Telegraph company, and an investigation of investment trusts by the Securities and Exchange commission, authorized in the public util- ities-holding company bill through a provision few per- sons have noticed. The senate munitions committee this fall will have to are the sen- January. ‘The political implication of these and other investi- gations should be as obvious to the rest of us as to the New Dealers. They all hit at the Wall Street-Big Busi- with the administra- to produce plenty of ammunition administration displaying an increasing eager- ness to picture the next political campaign as a battle between “the people and plutocracy.” At least, so the lew te. Agitation inside the Securities and Exchange com- mission has been much greater than anyone would admit since arrest in New York of a former $6000-a-year SEC investigator charged with attempting to sell out the SEC case against an oil stock broker for $27,500. One group is demanding more rigid standards for personnel and close scrutiny of many already hired. The man arrested had asked the oil broker for a job for an- other SEC employe who presumably was in on the deal. Rumors of Wall Street “spies” and “fixers” alleged to be on the SEC payroll have been common here for months. The “inside” group revolving around Chair- man Joe Kennedy is also disturbed. It hopes the news won't leak into the newspapers that the prisoner, when hired by SEC, was known to HUEY SETTLES THAT Senator Minton of Indiana: “Regular order, Mr. President!” In defense of Kennedy, who himself once played in Pools, it is said that he felt sympathetic for the fellow "| at @ time when the latter had been having bad luck. ‘sion for such cooperation. They knew a joint state- government setup for old-age pensions would require some state money, so they appropriated it and made Provision for getting it in the only place available— through a sales tax. eee Thus the real issues involved are not the pennies which are paid on every retail purchase but adequate support for the POOR, for the PUBLIC SCHOOLS for the AGED AND INFIRM of North Dakota, legislature hopéd that present conditions would i It recognized the possibility that nature would us, and so it limited its experiment The sales tax, as it now stands, is a tem- adoptéd to finance services which are not absolutely necessary. It was them started. If it is repealed these Proposals will be cagt into the discard. An effort to + "4 On all sides, there's intense interest in the question whether the detectophone records of the prisoner's state- ments to the broker, taken down just before his arrest and referring to certain SEC officials, will be produced Publicly. eee WIFE'S WELFARE FIRST Death of Mrs. Owen D, Young recalls an inside story, seemingly authentic, as to why Mr. Young wasn't available as a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1932 at & time when anti-Roosevelt forces could have made good use of him, The story, never published, was that Young would under he citvumetaners enter a presidential campaign because Young was suffering from an illness from bas ms wouldn't recover. ’s just possible that Young’s presence among the 1932 entries, or his availability as a dark horse, might have given the “stop-Roosevelt” forces enough added strength to win. He might even have been the nominee end the Precent president of the United States. (Copyright, 1935, NEA carey Tae.) reach out toward a better social condition for the entire | to change. The Northern Lights "The Great Game of | Politics | ‘opyright, 1935, by The Baltimore Sun SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES Washington, July 1—It isn’t al- ways fair to quote a man’s words against him after a long lapse of time. Often men on the spur of the moment, or in the heat of a fight, say or write things for which they should not be held to too strict ac- countability. Conditions change and men change with them. No one should be condemned for changing his mind—if he has @ sound reason ee * Nevertheless, men who hope to be- come president of the United States are expected to weigh their words well and mean what they say. Con- sistency and steadfastness in the White House are vital to the welfare of the nation. If the people cannot depend upon the promises of their president, they are in a bad way. ‘When a president or a candidate for the presidency, in a prepared speech to the country, makes a’ solemn pledge and takes a definite and unequivocal stand, the obligation to live up to his words is far heavier than on the or- dinary man. If he changes, it must be with a convincing explanation and the soundest possible cause—a matter of necessity. Spice All of which is to say that it is not easy to recall a president’s pre-elec- vocate to reconcile his performances and, second, complete cooperation with me looking to economy and reorganization of his department.” The other Roosevelt statement on that date had to do with taxes. “I | |hope,” he said, “it will not be neesc- sary to increase the present scale of taxes.” What he meant was that the economies he would be so great that the deficit could be wiped out and that budget balanced without additional taxes. ee * In face of the enormous increase in federal bureaus, commissions, de- partments and federal employes gen- erally; in face of the record to which the national debt has been piled and the unprecedented- depth of the deficit; in face of the tre- mendous outpouring of federal funds in all directions; in face af the amaz- ing centralization of power in the hands of the executive, and of the pending punitive tax proposals—in face of all this—and more—comment on these quotations from Mr. Roose- velt is superfluous, They speak for themselves. ray Everybody is more or less charitably inclined. Everybody wants to follow the Divine injunction to love his neighbor, if somebody will show him how to do it—Alfred E. Smith. * oe % It feels like hell. I didn’t want to do it, but the president said I had to. —Hugh Johnson, when asked how it feels to return to public life. ee # It is high time that every human being should inquire where the world is going.—Secretary of State Cordell Hull. ** # # Americans by the millions are en- rolling in movements which, if suc- with the platform pledges. That he successful, would just about destroy our has ignores the idea of reducing expense, that it becomes timely to recall certain ut- terances by Mr. Roosevelt in his cam- . eee : At Sioux City, Iowa, September 29, 1932, he said: “I accuse the present administra- tion of being the greatest spending administration in peacetime in all our history, and which has piled bu- reau on bureau, commission on com- missior and has failed to anticipate the dire needs of reduced earning power of our people.” At Pittsburgh October 19, 1932, he id: “I regard reduction in federal spending as one of the most import- ant issues of the campaign. In my opinion it is the most direct and ef- fective contribution that government can make to business.” Mont., September 19, 1932, he said: “Remember well that attitude and method, the way we do things, not just the way we say things, is nearly always the measure of our sincerity.” * * * It was at Pittsburgh, too, that Mr. Roosevelt, on October 19, assailed the Republican administration in these words: “It is committed to the idea that we ought to center control of everything in Wi as rapidly as possible. That was the idea that increased gov- ernment cost by a billion in four years. Now, ever since the days of ‘Thomas Jefferson, that has been the pone dad He the Democratic con- wi permit Washington to take from the states nothing more than is necessary to keep abreast of the march of our changing economic situation.” x * * In the same speech Mr. Roosevelt made two other dramatic declara- tions. He said: “Before any man enters my cabinet he must give me a twofold pledge of, first, absolute loyalty to the Democratic platform A. Filene, From the point of view of those who believe that heaven is one big coun- try club, universities are dangerous things—Robert M. Hutchins, presi- dent, Chicago University. * * * The American people are acutely food conscious and will eat anything they are told is healthful—Dr. James In dealing with criminals, man has exalted his own feelings of perfection ‘We have not come to give a guest, performance in German policies. We FLAPPER, FANNY SAYS: intended to enforce; have come to stay, because we alone Possess intelligence, strength, cour- age, and determination to solve the great problems of the time.—Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minister of pro- Paganda. se * If we are attacked, you can be sure our army will be able to défend the country and repulse the aggressor— Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. ing acade: arine’s father is rich and stepmother is snebsish. Michael becomes engaged te SALLY MOON, local coquette, due to scheming. In spite of this, Michael asks Katharine to marry him and, ; seapulatwety, she homes. Almost fa chanel learns he fortune and title. horse and te injured tn a trate accident. Katharine, believing Michael has " ter, is Ft-brekeR. NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY HAPTER XXXIV, T= lofty room was almost empty except for a few groups of red-capped porters. Katharine, with her tall, whitehaired father at her elbow, followed a man carry- ing their bags through the gleam- ing, long corrider. They were to meet Evelyn Vincent at the train gate. The whole vast station had an unfamiliar air. When shall I see this place again? the girl thought * dully. It seemed to her that she was saying farewell to home, to the city for good. Perhaps by some conniving she could manage to stay in New Mexico until the spring, when she was to come into her mother’s money. Then she need never see Innicock again. Travel— strange places—would help her to forget. She had urged Violet Merser to come down to see her off. But with &@ queer little twisted smile her new friend had said she thought she'd better not, “She doesn’t like father, that’s it,” Katharine thought with a flash of insight. Well, neither Bertine nor her father had been specially nice to the Mersers, had ignored them, in fact. But Violet usually didn’t notice such smallness in peo- ple. Violet, herself, a girl her side really. They were making conversation now in ple employ just before a train de parture. “ “Sure you've got your money safe?” “Oh, yes. And my traveler's checks.” The girl patted her big * alligator-skin purse. She was in pele tan tweeds with a fur scarf months the arm will wearing Your Personal Health By William Brady, M. D. “es Berisining letters briefly queries mui Dr. Brady will answer ease or diagnosis, Write Brady in care of The &@ stamped, self-addressed ealth but not dis- Addresi tage E Answer—If a healthy person puts his arm im 8 splint and sling any other artificial (Copyright, 1695, John P. Diile Co.) become weaker and weaker. support. Tse saw Evelyn Vincent just then, heard her agreeable deep English voice and saw that e man was with her. His back was tarned. Katharine could just see the gray Relief flooded her weary spirit. “John,” she stammered. “But [ didn’t know you two knew etch other.” = _ Miss Vincent explaifed. They had met on the boat im June, re- turning from Havre. Dr. Kaye had prescribed for her since, Victor Strykhuret was ture, It wasn’t a dream. She was Teally leaving them all. She talked with a feverish bright- E é i EE é 8 pe 8 t | i i é il an § F f i [ s ih the polite, labored way peo-|. i ll, i iil