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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1931)
,' Saturday, February 28, 1931 LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER. LA GRANDE, ORE. rssmssxasssassi and ACK in 1914, the Federal income from liquor ' taxes : totalled 345 million dollars. A huge sum, indeed, to cut off lightly ! State and local governments received another 80 million dollars yearly from the liquor trade, Was adequate thought given to this phase of prohibition before the 18th Amendment was adopted? How has pro hibition affected government income and taxes? What has been the effect on the individual tax payer? Suppose that we first of all get down to fundamentals in answering these questions. Who paid those huge liquor taxes in the days before prohibition? True, the liquor interests wrote the checks,, I5ut who gave the money that made those checks good? .... There can be only one answer. In the final analysis the individual drinker paid every penny of the liquor tax. " .It is always that way with indirect taxation. Producer and " distributor each gets a piiceiat1ale:care ' of v 'the ' taxes1 without cutting into profits. Nothing wrong about that. It it is just good business. Now consider this ; The cost of running our government is nearly four times as - great today as it was in 1914. There are three very good reasons for that. First, we have been through the greatest war of all time and are still paying the bill. Second, our population is 25 per cent larger than in 1914. Third, the dollar buys less in both wages and com modities, so that it takes more dollars to accomplish the same result. selves an illuminating sign of the times V The foeer pump has gone the filling station takes its place! What a healthy situation for our country indicative of our newer, finer standards of living! . V Economic gains, from prohibition have been estimated at 60 billions of dollars for the first ten years! Almost every family in America is sharing these gains. Higher wages, comfortable homes, motor cars, radios, electric conveniences, sayings ac counts, insurance policies, more hours of leisure these are but some of the benefits, But what about prohibition enforcement? Who pays for that? The answer is simple. Enforcement pays for itself. Here are figures for the first nine years of prohibition as supplied by Dr, J. M Poran while United States Commissioner Of Prohibition; Total cost of enforcement, $213,179,435 total collections from fines and penalties and revenue from taxes on lawful distilled spirits and fermented liquors, $460,502,792.7. Net balance, $247,323,307.76 a tidy sum indeed! The individual who advocates liquor pn the basis of the tax revenue it would bring does not understand even th.e ftin.da mentals of taxation. The raising of needed revenue is no unsolved problem with our government; that matter was set tled before the 18th Amendment became effective. And still our government continues to sail along on an even keel! The liquor taxes have been wiped out, But we hear no talk of Federal insolvency. Our financial con dition, in fact, grows steadily better. Income tax rates have been reduced year after year. We have become the richest nation in the world! Where is the tax money coming from? Ultimately it is coming, as always, from the individual tax payer. But he is paying it in different ways. He pays more in direct taxes. He pays taxes on his motor car on theater tickets and on other things. Motor vehicle taxes, which amounted to 929 million dollars in 1929, are in them- Copyright 1930 OTHER MESSAGES IN THIS SERIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Let's Have the TRUTH About Prohibition. Are the Bootleggers Running the Country? Is Prohibition an Economic Success? College Drinking Let's, Have the Truth. Beer Pump or Filling Station? DrinkingBefore and After the 18th Amendment. Crime and Prohibition, Is Prohibition Breeding Disrespect for the Law? What Has Prohibition Had to Do With Ilafd Times? Has Prohibition, Helped or Hurt Business? Has Prohibition Made America Better or Worse? What Do Business Men Say About Prohibition? Why Do They Talk Wet and Vote Dry? ' It would be too bad for America if she were forced to condone and encourage vices because of the tax money they would bring. Would you for a moment have our government legalize interstate white slavery or traffic in drugs on the grounds that they could be heavily taxed? With liquor, as with these other vices, America has taken a fearless stand on the side of rationality, reason and public benefit. Home loving, nation-loving, far-thinking Americans would have it no other way! An interesting booklet, "Let's Have the Truth About Prohibition," discusses the entire prohibition subject understandably and entertainingly. A copy may bo had without charge by addressing American Business MenV Prohibition Foundation, 7 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois. Mail the coupon for it. The American Business Men's Prohibi tion Foundation is incorporated in Illi nois "not for profit" and is a voluntary association organized to collect, corre late and disseminate facts regarding the results of National Prohibition and its relation to the welfare and progress of the people of the United States. Your personal contribution, small or large, will help. Attach your check or money ' rdcr to coupon at right and mail today. I WANT TO HELP I should like to further this educational program and enclose $ for the fund ol the American Business Men's Prohibition Foundation. Name. Address- Pleas send free booklet, "tct's lIo the Truth About Prohibition." Mail to: American Business Klen's. Prohibition Foundation, 7 South Dearborn St., Chicago, III. 1j Let's Have the TRUTH About Prohibition
