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WHAT OUR NATIONAL
DEBT REALLY MEANS
Those who should know, and I be
lieve do, tell us that by the time the
war and its immediate aftermath
are over and we get back to a peace
time basis, our national debt will
amount to more than 300 billion dol
lars. The interest on such a sum
before the debt is liquidated will
be not less than another 200 billion.
A total to be paid of not less than
500 billion dollars.
No one of us, including those who
think in large figures, can visual
ize or comprehend such a sum. It
is so large, so entirely incompre
hensible, that it cannot apply to us.
It cannot be our debt. But it is, and
we and our progeny will pay it,
each in proportion to what he con
sumes. In the end it is the consum
ers who pay the taxes through which
that debt will be liquidated.
For each one of the 134 million
of us—men, women and children
—who now constitute the Ameri
can people, it means an average
indebtedness of $3,765. For each
family of five it means $18,825.
The baby, when born, enters upon
life with a charge of $3,765 against
it. In the purchase of its diapers
and the blankets with which to keep
the child warm, there is included
in the price, a payment on that debt.
A portion of the price paid repre
sented taxes the producer and the
merchants had, of necessity, passed
along to the consumer.
Throughout its lifetime that child
will continue to make payments on
that national debt. Anything it may
purchase, or that may be purchased
for it, will carry as a part of the
price a contribution to the taxes out
of which that debt will be paid.
That will be true of food, of clothing,
of fuel, shelter and any luxuries it
may enjoy. When that child has
reached its alloted years and passes
away, the price of the casket in
which it is buried will include a final
contribution.
When the child marries and
establishes a family, that fami
ly, unto the third, fourth or
more generations, will start
with an unseen mortgage on
which it will continue to pay
with every purchase that is
made, a portion of the price of
each being taxes.
Incomprehensible as such a sum
may be, and is, that 500 billion dol
lars does concern each and all of
us. When broken down to the indi
vidual and the family we can under
stand it. We can visualize the pay
ing, and paying, and paying through
several generations. We of this gen
eration will not pay all of it. Much
of it must be faced by our children
and our children’s children, genera
tions yet unborn. It is a legacy of
debt they will inherit from us.
Under such conditions our inter
est in economy in government is
fully warranted. Every unnecessary
dollar that is spent means not alone
more for us to pay, a higher price
for the things we buy, but It means
passing along more for those who
follow us to pay.
The consumer will pay, and must
pay, if production and distribution
are to continue. Taxes are a part
of the cost of production and distri
bution, and tSxes are a part of the
price we pay for what we buy. Any
policy of “soaking” industry and
distribution is but taking the tax
money out of the consumer’s pocket.
Such are truly the hidden taxes
with which that 500 billion dollar
debt will be paid.
* • •
GOVERNMENT OPERATION
RED OR BLACK INK?
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY
NEEDED.to pay interest on fee pub-
approximately fixed. These expenses
sere paid by taxes. The rate of fed
eral taxation has varied with the
amount of the national income.
When that amount is high the rate
to produce needed revenue can be
low.- We have been assured of low
er tax rates. To insure that result
we must have full employment at
high wages, with higher prices for
products. These things will produce
an increase in the national income.
For the year 1939 the national in
come was approximately 80 billion
dollars. To insure a government in
come, following the war, sufficient to
meet interest payments and operat
ing costs from a lowered tax rate,
we must have a national income of
approximately 160 billion dollars.
That is an even greater income than
we have had in the war years. If
we lower the rate, as promised, and
do not make the income grade gov
ernment will continue to be in the
red.
• • *
PAID SI.BO FOR A THREE AND
A QUARTER POUND, cold storage,
stewing chicken. Seems only a few
years ago when any chicken could
be bought for two bits, and, if you
were lucky, it might weigh up to six
pounds. That SI.BO price looks like
we are having a bit of inflation in
the matter of chickens. Wonder how
much of that increase the man who
raised the chicken received?
* • *
GENERAL MacARTHUR’S prom
ise to return to the Philippines was
no idle threat.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
DEBUNKER
By John Harvey Furbay, Ph.D.
[FORTUNE TELLIWS IS A
RACKET
It is surprising to know that, in
this enlightened age, there are sev
eral thousand fortune tellers bleed
ing the people of this country. It is
impossible for anyone to really fore
tell the events of any person’s life,
and it is pure waste of money to
pay these people to “open up your
future.” Fortune tellers hand out
generalities and vagaries which are
nothing but bunk. Save your money
and drive these racketeers out of
business.
Ledger Syndicate.—WNU Features.
Poisonous Plant
Deathcamas, which is related to
the lilies and onions, is also called
poison sago, swamp camas, alkali.
grass, and poison onion. Closely re
sembling wild onion, it has grass
like leaves arising from a deeply
buried bulb, but can be distinguished
from wild onion by the lack of the
characteristic onion odor. The flow
ers are yellowish-white and are
borne in close clusters at the top of
a tall stalk.
Deathcamas is found on sandy
plains, as well as in the foothills
and mountains. Investigations have
shown that all parts of the plant are
poisonous, and that small amounts
are sufficient to ca.use poisoning.
Even a few tops are enough to cause
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CECIL B. DE MILLE has been
called a combination of Napo
leon, Belasco and Beau Brummel,
but P. T. Barnum would be much
better, because De Mille, like Bar
num, is a great showman.
His record is unbelievable. His
films have earned a shocking
amount of money—more than $200,-
000,000. This doesn’t include returns
from his latest,
“The Story of Dr.
Wassell,” which
stars Gary Coop
*er and which
Paramount
claims will make
more money than
any other Para
mount picture
with one excep
tion, perhaps—
“ Reap the Wild
Wind,” in which
Cecil B. De Mille
I got my puss for a smart quarter
of an hour.
Ever since C. B. founded Holly
wood as the movie capital of the
world (in 1913 with “The Squaw
Man”) his astute showmanship has
been apparent. “The Sign of the
'Cross,” “King of Kings” (which still
is the most played film in history),
and “The Ten Commandments” still
are milestones in this picture busi
ness of ours.
King for a Day
De Mille is a wise and gay man
rich with wisdom and experience.
At 63 years he’s become spokesman
for the film capital. He reaches
40,000,000 people weekly on his radio
show. When he recently went to
Washington, D. C., to participate in
the premiere of “The Story of Dr.
Wassell” he was given the No. 1
treatment reserved invariably for
visiting potentates. He got pomp
and circumstance from the Presi
dent down the line to foreign am
bassadors. In other words, for one
day the most discussed man back
there was C. B. De Mille. He set the
stage and they gave him the works.
Many entertaining stories have
grown up about him —many of them
true, too. There was, for instance,
the' time De Mille was making
“Cleopatra,” and the sequence
called for Claudette Colbert to grasp
an asp (that’s a snake, dearie) to
her breast and let it do her in. De
Mille knew Claudette loathed snakes.
He knew if he asked her to hold one
she’d walk off the set—or faint
Well, two weeks before the scene De
Mille rented a huge boa constrictor
from a local zoo, had it brought on
to be brave, to try to get used to
its presence. Then one day before
the scene was scheduled De Mille
had a tiny asp brought in. “What’s
that?” asked Claudette. “This little
thing is just an asp,” De Mille re
plied, looking at Claudette. “Why,
that itty-bitty thing couldn’t hurt
anybody,” said Claudette, picking
up the asp and looking sideways at
the huge reptile in the box. “Who
could be afraid of a little thing like
you?” Claudette said as she did the
scene; and De Mille smiled wisely
Well, What Else?
During “North West Mounted Po
lice” De Mille was doing a scene
of a group of supposedly badly
wounded Mounties returning to their
barracks, which were aflame. For
। hours his assistant rehearsed the
men. After many rehearsals, what
with being bound up with bandages,
splints, crutches, carrying litters,
etc., the men were tired. De Mille
called for a final rehearsal. The
Mounties dragged themselves out of
camera range, then, summoning
• their waning strength, began to
march across the lot. De Mille
watched their weary progress. Sud
denly he shouted: “Stop! Stop! What
in heaven’s name do you men think
you are? A bunch of cripples?”
Hollywood’s pet story about De
Mille is the one about the great Los
Angeles earthquake of years back.
As the earth shook and rumbled and
the players were tossed from their
beds they awoke shouting. “Yes,
yes, Mr. De Mille!”
But his wife tells this one. It’s
her favorite story. Some years ago
he was in the back country around
New Orleans, and some natives,
hearing his name and voice, said,
“O, Mr. De Mille, you sure are
our favorite!” C. B. beamed and
asked, “Which of my pictures did
you like best?” “O, is you in pic
tures, too? We meant you is our
favorite on the radio.” And that,
my buddies, is his favorite, too. He’s
just a ham at heart—and aren’t we
all?
♦ ♦ *
Ready for Anything
William Demarest received a pis
tol from Winfield Sheehan. So on
location Gary Cooper’s teaching him
to shoot That came in handy when
Demarest woke up at the crack of
dawn and heard voices outside. He
looked out, and there was a great
big guy trying to get through his
gate. He grabbed his pistol, ran
downstairs, opened the door, and
said, “Stick ’em up!” The fellow
turned out to be a merchant seaman,
a bit fuzzy and lost. Demarest ended
up cooking breakfast for him. .
Joan Fontaine tells it on herself.
When she was in training for nurses’
aid, she was in the psychopathic
ward of a hospital here. A resident
nurse said to a passing physician,
“Do you know who that girl is in
there? That’s J° an FontaineXJHe
SNAPPY FACTS !
ABOUT M
RUBBER JI
Commercial motor vehicles in
the U. S., based on gasoline
allotments, are expected to
run 56 billion miles a year. |
Reduced to truck tire wear,
that represents a tremendous
number of tires. --
Pie rubber used In gas masks Is
now 100 per cent synthetic.
Never use a tube in a tire
larger, or smaller, than that
for which it was designed by
the manufacturer. Premature §
failure will result if you do.
to return full mileage, syn- ||
thetic tubes must be lubri
cated with vegetable oil soap
solution whe.i mounted on
rims.
Get Your War Bonds ★
★ To Help Ax the Axis
Quickly Relieves Distress of
Head Colds
A little Va-tro-nol up ...
each nostril effectively „ ’J?
and promptly relieves «“. .£“7
distress of head colds- sJI?
makes breathing easier 2;’!, J?”
... also helps prevent "S’*?
many colds from (level- ”*
oping if used in time.
Try it! You’ll like it! Fol- £
low directions in folder. r—fl
VICKS VA-TRO-NOL
It doesn’t pay to let bruises,
cuts or burns go untended ...
even minor ones. Play safe ...
cleanse at once, and dress with
Dr .Porter’s Antiseptic Oil. This
old reliable stand-by . . . the
formula of a long-experienced
railroad surgeon ... is wonder
fully soothing, and tends to
promote nature’s healing pro
cesses. Keep it on hand for
emergency use in taking care
of minor bums, bruises, abra
sions, chafing, sunburn, non
poisonous insect bites. Use only
as directed. Three different
sizes at your drugstore. I
’ I -W