Where Your
Taxes Go
How Uncle Sam Spends
Your Money in Conduct
ing Your Business
By EDWARD G. LOWRY
AatSor "Wiiiiiintrton Close-Ups." "Ranks *r.d
l foanc al Systems," etc. Contribator Political
»nd economic Article* to loading Periodical*
•nd a Writer of Recognired Authority on the
National Cnmnint'i Buaiaea* Motliods.
Copyright, V>>«icrn Nowspip, r Union T
I.
WHY YOU’RE INTERESTED
I wish you wouid take wlmt is
written here as a persona! report ad
dressed directly to you from me about
your business. Don't think of it or
read it as an article about “politics,"
*r remote public affairs at Washing
ton. It Is not that at all. It is what
I ask you to think it, a personal
business report to you relating to your
Individual concerns, your pocketbook
and your welfure. I have no other
Interest than to tell you the exact
truth.
Assume that you have sent me to
Washington to find out for you what
your agent0 are doing, how they are
managing your affairs and spending
your money. I onll them your agents
for that Is all they arc—the President,
the members of the cabinet, the
senators and all the members of the
house of representatives. You hire
them, you pay them, and you can fire
them.
iou may tnuiK or tnem m aererence
and awe as a group of eminent states
men, or you may call thorn In flippancy
and too hasty contempt “a lot of
politicians." Rut whatever you call
them, they are your hired men. They
attend to your collective business,
which Is called the public business.
Query: Are they doing it efficiently
and with a single-minded devotion to
your interests?
Perhaps the largest item in the high
cost of living Is the high cost of
government. And far and away the
largest Item in the high cost of govern
ment is the high cost of armament;
preparation for war. About 00 per
cent of ell government revenues, and
that means the money taken from you
as taxes, goes to pay for wars, past,
present and future.
Before I have concluded this series
of articles I expect to show you con
clusively that the impelling motive
that Induced President lArding to call
the present conference in Washington
to consider limitation of armaments
was financial. The pressing need of
considering a proposal for a reduc
tion or limitation by agreement of war
expenditure was not made erdireJy on
the ground of morality or righteous
ness, but as a plan for cutting down
the operating expenses of the govern
ment.
If the lAiited States government
were an Individual »e would say that
It was broke, for Its expenses exceed
Its Income.
Your interest is simply this: that
whatever decision is made you will
have to pay the bill. If today we
didn't have these army and navy ex
penses you would have to pay in taxes
less than $1,000,000,000 a year instead
of $ri,000,000,000. That means we
would have about $4,000,000,000 more
a year to spend on our private needs
and pleasures. I frankly <4wtfess that
1 would enjoy having fo^r-Hfth* of my
taxes knocked off. Wouldn't you?
Secretary Weeks of the War de
partment gave public warning a little
while ago that the government would
require of us about $17,000,000 in
the next thirty months to meet cur
rent expenses and other obligations.
Persons who have given close study to
that possibility say that the need will
be nearer $20,000,000, than $17,000,
000. The great bulk of that is for
past and prospective war expenditures.
Tor this, you and congress and the
Executive departments at Washington
are responsible. You more than any
body else, for it Is your money that is
being spent and you cun stop ir. in .is
simplest terms the procedure is this:
You earn the money, congress takes it
away from you In the form ot taxes,
end then congress ami the Executive
departments spend It.
A ;>vcnt part of it Is wasted. This Is
established, conci,ded) confessed, and
acknowledged by congress., which
aiitJiorir.es the expenditures, and by
the executive officers of the govern
ment, who do the actual spending. It
Is your money 11.nt you have earned
in your business. on your farm, or by
the labor of your hands, that is being
expended nr.d wasted nt Washington.
Every cent that Is extravagantly or
needlessly expended by the govern
ment you could have In your pO' . et to
meet the Increased cos! of food, lodg
tug and clothing, doctors' hills and
amusements, or to put away and save
ngainst a rslny day, if you only de
manded determinedly and unitedly
that governmental extravagance should
cease.
I can tell you some of the conditions
of governmental spending and how
your money Is chucked about, and I
can tell you bow you can stop it. 1 he
power Is yours, and until you exer
clae It waste and extravagance will
not stop.
UNCLE SAM AS EMPLOYER
The Enited States government is the
large*! »!r.gle employer of men anil
women In this country. At the pre e t
time in the executive civil service of
the .Federal government, and exclusive
of the er’jny nnd navy, there me till
ployed approximately 850,000 workers.
•** one l". 73 of all real den U on Aman
cnn soil, ten years of age or over, en*
in gainful occupations. A Httle
'vhilo ago, when the number of federal
employees was even larger than it Is
now, one person out of every G8 in the
United States who had any sort of a
job at all was working for the govern
ment. These calculations are based
on recent estimates of the bureau of
the census in anticipation of the re
sults of the fourteenth general census.
Prior to the outbreak of the war,
in 1014, the number of men and women
in civil positions in the executive
service uas approximately 385,630. In
1016 It had grown to 308,832. In 1017,
after our entry into the war, it was
-(■>9,798. On .Tune 30, 1019, the number
was 707,448. The number on July 31,
1920, was 601,110.
These figures are confessedly ap
proximations. Since the signing of the
nrn^jstice the number of federal em
ployees has been decreasing. Un
doubtedly the decrease in force will
continue to be made for months to
come, but the growth of the govern
ment business in the past few years
has been such as to make it a larger
employer in the post-war period than
it had ever been In the pre-war period.
These thousands of men and women
working for the government comprise
every type of ability and intelligence.
Their duties cover a range of activities
that far exceeds that exercised for
other public or private employers; for,
besides its task of lawmaking and law
enforcing, of national defense and
national finance, the government Is
Charged with promoting the health and
welfare of its people, of promoting
their home Interests, their agricultural,
mining, manufacturing, shipping, fish
ing and transportation interests.
iu un rn;s it must investigate, con
trol and eradicate diseases that attack
persons, plants and animals. It must
insivcct livestock, foods and drugs. Tt
must study conditions and progress In
education, lnhnr and commerce. Tt
must prevent individual men or groups
of men from using unfair business
methods, whether In banking, trans
portation, trade or manufacture.
The government must administer
public lands and the affairs of the
Indians, and educate children in
Alaska. Tt grants patents of inven
tion, it sets the clocks of the country,
forecasts the weather, and makes*
observations of the stars and heavenly
bodies. It constructs buildings, docks,
roads, bridges. Irrigation works, builds
canals and aeroplanes, makes
ordnance and ammunition, clothing
and other supplies for its soldiers arid
sailors. It makes all its own money
and does all its own printing. It dis
tributes all mall and many packages.
The government does everything
hat any employer in the United States
does. In addition to a great many
things that no other employer does.
How does it treat its people? Is it
u good employer or a bad employer?
Are its employees contented? These
are questions that I should advise the
railroad men, the miners and other
workers who seek nationalization of
industry, to look into before they com
mit themselves.
I.et them find out for themselves
what government ownership would
mean to them.
The first thing they will discover, as
I discovered when I began the present
inquiry, Is that nobody knows, and
nobody In the government service Is
charged with knowing, the exact
number of employees in the service
from day to day. Even more astound
ing. nobody knows, or is charged with
knowing, even approximately, the sum
of the payroll of the United States.
It is not possible to find out within
hundreds of thousands of dollars how
much the United States pays yearly
or monthly in salaries and wages. I
went to the Treasury department, to
the appropriations committee of con
gress, and elsewhere where I thought
the information might be lodged, but
nobody knew. I was told vaguely that
the government was not run on nn
asset and liability basis, and therefore
it was not necessary to know the exuet
number of employees on the payroll.
If the average compensation is $1,
100, the federal civil service payroll
now amounts to more than seven
hundred million dollars annually. The
Inrgost single branch Is the Post Office
department, with nearly 800,000 em
ployees. The War department has
more than 125,000 civilian employees,
the Navy department nbout 00,(XX). and
the Treasury department about 00,000.
No other branch has as many as 25.000
employees. Any institution that em
ploys one in seventy-three of all this
country's workers and calls for the
expenditure of such a large part of
our annual revertues is entitled to
your serious consideration. You and
you alone put up the money.
Octopus Not Dangerous.
Tiie octopus has the power of
changing color more highly developed
than any other animal. He could ac
commodate himself to the v is Id hack
ground of a tartan plaid without a
tremor. Indeed, this is his main line
of defense. He clings mechanically
with his many suckers to whatever he
may touch, but a tight grip upon the
slight construction between his head
and little round body invariably
causes him to relax his hold. To see
the Impunity with which any French
Usher girl will handle an octopus
might dispel the fears of the most
nervous bather that ever mistook an
overgrown jelly flsh for the eight
armed terror of the deep.
Man Must Have Mustache.
To be without a mustache is a dis
grace In many parts of North, or
1 High, Albania. The Albanian mother
i tells her child stories In which, uu
| like our stage melodrama, it always
Is the hairless man who tigures as the
villain.—National Geographic Sodaty
Bulled?
MIL PROGRAM
COMMITTEE ADJOURNS AFTER
PLAN FOR LIMITATION OF
AIRPLANE TONNAGE.
SUBMARINE PACT UNSETTLED
i China-Jap Deadlock Over Shantung
Controversy Now Becomes Big
Unanswered Question of
the Conference.
Washington.—Tim Arms Conference
has virtually reached the end of its
efforts to put a curb on naval arma
ments.
To the capital ship settlement was
added an agreement for limitation of
future tonnage of airplane carriers ami
then the Naval Committee adjourned
Indefinitely, leaving determination of
various problems of details to a sub
committee of experts.
Some sort of declaration with regard
to use of the submarine and an agree
ment not to construct any auxiliary
vessel hereafter, with a tonnage of
more than 10,000, are expected also to
be added to the accomplishments of
I the conference before tlie final curtain
I is rung down. A five-power treaty em
i bodying all the points on which there
j is agreement now is in process of draft
ing.
| l hero are growing indications, too.
that the four-power treaty to preserve
peace in the Pacific, which already lias
been signed, will be in some way fur
ther clarified before the conference
quits. The American proposal that the
i treaty's scope be defined as not includ
i intr the major Japanese islands, and
! the plan for an exchange of clarifying
' notes or for amendment of the treaty
> text is expected to take definite form
within a few days.
The Japanese request for a elarifica
: tion of the treaty’s terms is said to
! have been based largely on the devel
' opment of a difference in view on tlie
subject between President Ilarding and
J the American delegation. This develop
ment lias been a topic of such wide
spread speculation in conference cir
cles that the President today took
occasion to characterize as “silly" pub
lislied reports that Secretary Hughes
j was considering resignation from tiie
| Cabinet as a result of differences aris
i ing between him and the White House,
during the arms negotiations.
What is to be done about tlie Far
Eastern problems, now becomes the
big unanswered question of the con
ference. Japan and China are dead
locked in their (‘(forts at a separate
settlement of the Shantung controversy
and as a consequence, all the other Far
Eastern discussions are at a standstill.
It was indicated that a meeting of the
Far Eastern Committee would be held
next week, at which China would at
tempt to transfer the Shantung nego
tiations into the full conference.
Rior IN MEXICAN CHAMBER
SUPPRESSED BY TROOPS
Armed Forces Quell Cane Fight Be
tween the Constitutionalists and
Social Democrats.
Mexico i;uy, Mexico.— ine Mexican
Chamber of Deputies was invaded by
armed forces for the first time in its
history, when troops were called in to
quell fighting in the galleries between
factions sympathizing with the liberal
constitutionalist party and the Social
Democratic bloc. Whips and canes
were used by the combatants in the
struggle, which arose over efforts to
win control of the permanent com
mission which is to act during the re
cess of Congress from Jan. 1 until next
September.
Hooting and shouting in the gal
leries have heretofore made the ses
sions almost impossible.
Senor Vasconcelos asked President
t)bregon for armed forces to maintain
order, and the latter placed 2(H) sol
diers at his disposal. The galleries
were crowded and the usual disorders
began, whereupon the soldiers entered
| the chamber and stood at attention.
Discussion of Ihe budget then was
continued, until there came a sudden
invasion of the galleries by followers
of the bloc, armed with lashes and
sticks. They attaekvd the liberal con
stitutionalist sympathizers and a hand
to-hand fight ensued until the soldiers
intervened.
9 Dead From Dringing “Moonshine.”
New York.—Police and prohibition
officials endeavored to locate the
ource of poisonous bootleg liquor
which lias taken three more lives,
bringing the total for the last six days
o nine dead and as many others blind
ed or seriously ill.
Ten Midgets Ride as Five Passengers.
New York.—Do 10 midgets ride In n
taxlcnp ;is five passengers? Yes. ruled
Magistrate Corrigan in Washington
Heights court, ordering the driver to
accept $1.50 for five passengers—the
legal rate for a full load—instead of
$3 for 10.
Engineers Elect Chicago Man.
Chicago. J. It. Curtis of Chicago
! was installed as president of the Amor
van Society of Agricultural Engineers
! m tire fifteenth annual meeting of the
| society here.
I
! BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS YIELDS
TO ACTIVE TESTING CAMPAIGN
-"'fr-—--— ji
Accrediting a Herd as Free From Tuberculosis Increases Its Value to the
Owner and the Community.
(Prepared by the United States Department
of Agriculture.)
For many years after the agitation
regarding bovine tuberculosis began,
there were very few people who enter
tained the hope that It: would ultimate
ly be eradicated. Now. after many
years of effort, first unsuccessful, but
now giving great promise of success,
there are many who firmly believe tliat
tile time is coming when this scourge
of live stock will lie conquered.
Tuberculosis May Be Banished.
This change of attitude has been
brought about largely through the ef
forts of the bureau of animal industry
of the United States Department of
Agriculture, co-operating with the vari
ous state officials, which have been so
successful that within a period of four
years, during which t'le work lias been
directed toward ultimate elimination,
several thousand herds have been ac
credited as being free from the disease
and a number of sizable areas in dif
ferent states contain practically no
tuberculous cuttle. These results have
demonstrated eonelusively that, if suf
ficient funds are made available, this
menace to human health and to the
success of live-stock farming may he
done away with in a practical manner.
Tuberculosis of cattle is one of the
few farm problems that appeals with
almost equal force to city people, for
tile healthfulness of milk and meat is
of vital importance to them. This fact
ought to make it easier to get the sup
; port necessary for putting through
i sueii a country-wide program against
the disease. The cattle resources of
the country are of tlie utmost import
I ance, and measures to reduce the risk
i of loss represent nothing more than
i common sense.
insurance feature Appeals.
There are more than 00,000,000 heart
of rattle in (tie country Worth nearly
S3.USX),000,000. Aside from the health
| aspect of the problem, the insuring of
I this vast amount of wealth against
j loss ought to appeal to all classes of
people as a necessary measure for the
! good ot the nation.
I At the present time various state
and federal agencies are testing about
I 350,000 cattle a month and eliminating
those that are found to he tuberculous,
| but it is expected Hint in the near fu
; ture probably 1,ixh).ooo head will lie
tested monthly by the combined forces.
On that basis it is easy to see that
great progress will he made toward
getting rid of the plague, for the evl
| deuce obtained shows that the methods
I now in use are practical. When the
; campaign began most of the stress was
laid on cleaning up individual herds,
and this was the only practical tiling
to do as not enough sentiment had
been aroused to make it possible to
get general support for a campaign in
any locality. But the advantage gained
by cattle breeders who were able tf>
advertise tuberculosis-free herds was
so greut that skeptics were convinced,
and now many localities have taken up
the problem and are rapidly cleaning
up all herds within their boundaries.
In fact, at the present time this meth
od of cleaning up circumscribed areas
is the predominant one.
Nine counties In the United States
have now completed one or more offl
cial tuberculosis tests of the cattle
within those areas, and about 50 coun
ties arc now either engaged in this
work or are getting ready to take it
up. In some of the counties the super
visors appropriate funds to employ in
spectors who help the state and fed
eral officials. In others the farm bu
I reams have taken the job in hand.
Hillsdale County a Model.
One of the best examples of what a
county can do in getting rid of this
! destructive disease is found in Hills
dale county, Midi. On October 24 a
j campaign was launched with the idea
] of cleaning out all the diseased cattle.
A force °f 30 county, state, and fed
eral inspectors was organized. They
divided up the territory, giving u part
of a township to each man. The coun
ty farm bureau furnished automobiles
that were driven by the farmers who
were leaders In the communities and
had influence with the live-stock own
| ers. By November 5 every herd in the
county had been tested.
There were 2,339 herds, containing
15,773 cuttle, and 375 reactors were
found. Tlds means that about 2.4 per
cent of the cattle in the county had
j the disease—a rather low percentage.
| In sections where the disease is no
I more extensive than this, the cost of
! dean-up is almost negligible when com
pared with the good that must ulti
mately come from it. In this county
the farmers and breeders, and in fact
all the people of the county, were cn
| thusinstlc, which helped a great deal
toward getting the work done In such
j n short time.
Other Counties Become Interested.
Some of the most progressive live
stock counties In various parts of the
country are now taking up this prob
1**111 of Kitting rid absolutely of tuber
culosis. They have decided that it Is
the most feasible and practical way of
carrying on the work. What was ac
complished In Hillsdale county is be
ing carried on at the present time in
mort* than Ho other counties of the
same state. Similar work is being
done in New York, where 10 counties
are engaged in area eradication.
Detailed information regarding plans
for tuberculosis eradication may lie
obtnincd free front the department of
agriculture, Washington, I). C.
BURY DEAD ANIMALS
DEEP IN QUICKLIME
Many Outbreaks of Infectious
Diseases Preventable.
Hog Cholera Is Most Dreaded Scourge
and Jeopardizes Porker Popula
tion—Old Metal Wheel Use
ful ;;s Pyre.
<.Prepureii by the' United R*at*'s Department
of Agriculture.)
All farm animals that die from un
know n causes should preferably he
buried deep in quicklime. Many out
breaks of infectious diseases owe their
origin to carcasses which were allowed
to decompose in the open pastures or
barn hits to which other animals had
; access. The United States Department
of Agriculture advises every farmer
who suffers mortality among his live
stock from unknown causes to have a
I competent veterinarian make a post
j morteni examination and cremate the
I remains or bury them deep in quick
lime.
Hogs, next to poultry, are usually
I the most numerous live stock on the
! average farm, and as hog cholera is
tin* most dreaded scourge which jeop
ardizes the porker population, it is
obligatory that the carcasses of hogs
dying from unknown causes should be
burned* or hurled deep in quicklime.
An old metal wheel serves as an ex
cellent base for the funeral pyre. The
wheel should be raised five or six
indies above the ground on three or
four stones, so that a fire can be
kindled underneath it. The carcass of
tile dead hog should lie placed on this
wheel. In order that the carcass will
burn readily and thoroughly, It should
he slashed deeply with a knife so that
the Haines may penetrate to the fat
and ail the carcass burn rapidly.
Where horses or cattle die, so much
labor is involved in digging trenches
of sufficient size and depth to accom
modate them that it is preferable to
dig deep a smuiler grave and to dis
member the carcasses so they will fit
in the small space. These graves
should be not less than five feet deep
and the carcasses should he covered
thickly with quicklime, which will soon
consume the tlesliy portions.
WATER FOR COWS IN WINTER
If Possible It Should Be 15 or 20 De
grees Above Freezing—Steam
Boiler Is Handy.
During the winter, when cows are
stabled the greater part of the time,
they ; hould be watered two or three
times i day unless arrangements have
been t ade to keep water before them
at all limes, says tin? United States
Depur nent of Agriculture, in Farm
ers’ Bulletin 74,‘5, “The Feeding of
Dairy Dows." The water should if
possible be 15 or ‘JO degrees above
freezing, and should be supplied at
practically the same temperature ev
ery day. When water well above freez
ing temperature is stored in tanks
and piped directly to the cow, there
Is probably little occasion to warm it.
When It stands in a tank on which ice
often forms, it usually pays to warm
it slightly. This can be done by a
tank heater, by live steam or by hot
water from a boiler. If a boiler Is
used for running a separator or for
heating water to wash and sterilize
utensils, steam from It can readily and
cheaply be used to warm the drinking
water.
AVOID ROUP BY VENTILATION
| Good Plan Not to Use Muslin Cur
tains at Any Tims Except to
Keep Out Pain and Snow.
Roup is largely a question of ven
tilation, and properly ventilated ehlek
euhouses seldom contain chickens mat
have roup. In the openh gs in the
front it is a good Idea to have chicken
wire, anti not use the muslin curtains
at any time of the year except to keep
out snow and rain.—tl. s. Vlclten.
Ohio State Unlvcrattv
BETTER
ROADS
SEEK DEFINITION FOR TRUCK
But Few States Furnish Data as to
Size of Vehicles Using Nation's
H ighways.
(Prepared by the United States Department
ot Agriculture.)
What is a inotdrtruek?
Thera is no universally accepted
standard of what constitutes a motor
truck in the various states, says the
bureau of public roads. United States
Department of Agriculture. As a re
sult. only 1.1 states have furnished the
department with the important data—■
so essential to road building—as to
the size of trucks and commercial cars
using the nation’s highways during
the first six months of 1921.
“In some states,” says the depart
ment, “all motorcars are registered on
tlie same basis; iu others, only cars
having solid tires are classed as
trucks; while in others all motor ve
hicles used for carrying freight or
merchandise of any kind whatever are
classed as trucks. Even those states
which provide for a separate registra
Truck Used by Dairyman in New
York State for Carrying Milk.
Mon for motortrucks do not employ
Hie same basis for designating the size
of the vehicle. Some states use the
total weight of the loaded vehicle, oth
ers the weight of the unloaded vehicle
or tiie weight of the chassis, and stiU
others use such Indefinite bases as
Hie horsepower or the cost of the ve
hicle."
The need for definite and uniform
information concerning motortrucks In
use on roadways Is felt, the depart
ment says, in the preparation of data
which will enable road builders to
take accurately into consideration the
effect of such traffic.
STANDARD MATERIAL TESTS
Increasing Need Felt for Some System
to Be Recognized in All Parts
of Country.
Wilh the wide extension of im
proved highway construction through
out the United States, the need is In
creasingly felt for some system of
standards for the testing of highway
materials so that tests in one part of
the country can be accepted In an
other.
The bureau of public roads of the
United States Department of Agricul
ture has held conferences on the sub
ject with the various state highway
departments, and last yeur a confer
ence of testing engineers was held in
Washington. The results of the con
ference are published in Department
Bulletin No. 949, “Standard and Ten
tative Methods of Sampling and Test
ing Highway Materials.” This bulletin
of 98 pages gives 02 different tests and
tentative tests covering nonbituminous
and bituminous road muterluls, soils
and other substances.
In some cases tlfb standard tests of
the American Society for Testing Ma
terials have been adopted In their orig
inal or slightly modified form, and
in others not yet covered by the soci
ety original standards have been es
tablished. Lists and descriptions of
apparatus for conducting tests, form
for reports and tables'of comparative
standards such as I’aume gravity.
Centigrade and Fahrenheit tempera
tures. and metric and American meas
urements are also given for ready ref
erence.
ROOM YET FOR IMPROVEMENT
Although Roads Have Been Improved
Since Coming of Auto, Condi
tions Are Ripe for More.
That the roads in rhis country, al
though greatly improved since the
coming of the automobile, are not yet
universally developed to the point
where they should he, was demon
strated during the stress of war. In
severaL Instances shipments of essen
tial war materials were seriously de
layed because of little less than de
plorable conditions along some of our
supposedly important highways, con
ditions that might have been improved
, at but little cost.
Mileage Would Encircle G’nbe.
Since the government first began
planning the enormous task of build
ing highways, July, 1016, the mileage
of roads which have been Imllt or are
now under construction by federal
aid is nearly sufficient to encircle the
globe.
Dragging Helps Road.
Is your road to town rough and hard
to travel over? A split log or Iron
drag drawn over the road after each
rain helps a good road and does not
cost much.