Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1915 — MUST REDUCE EXPENSE OR INCREASE TAXES [ARTICLE]

MUST REDUCE EXPENSE OR INCREASE TAXES

President Calls Attention of Leaders to Treasury—May Cut Cost of Rural Routes. The administration is again fronted with the problem of making ends meet With an Income tax and a special stamp tax the revenues are not apt to be equal to the expenses. President Wilson is to confer with the leaders and the plan will be to reduce all appropriation Ibills as much as possible. It is probalble that the $35,000,000 river and harbor bill will be abandoned and it is said President Wilson is seriously considering the adoption of Postmaster-General Burleson’s recommendation to place the rural route mail carrying on a contract basis. Mr. Burleson said that to let the rural routes out by contract would save $17,000,000. Yes, it would save it at the expense of efficiency and would be a means of getting away from the generally approved plan of civil service. It would save it by putting in a “Tom, Dick or Harry” class of carriers at salaries so ridiculously small that they could not pay their bills and turn out a class of educated citizens who render excellent service and who stand up as men in their community. dt is possible that as another expediency to raise more money the income tax may toe changed so |s to include persons whose income is $3,000. The minimum income taxed now is $3,500 for bachelors and $4,000 for married men. It may. never dawn on a democratic ©eOgress to increase the tariff but it will dawn on the voters of the nation who will assert themselves at the next election.