THE MOST IMPORTAI{T WAR IIIDUSTRY

.I PERSONAITY CONSIDER TIIE II'MBEB IIIIDUSTNY fiIE Mosr IMPORTAT{I wAR II{DUsrnY IN TIIE coItNTBy. Ir pro- vides the wherewithcl lor troop housing, for the constructio-n of shilx'_mcnulccturin_g plgnts, cnd hospitals. And, rincrly, no ccceptcrble substitute has been devised to box, pcrck crnd &cne the cmrmunition, the bombs, the torpedoes, the guns, the tcnrks, the automotive equipment, the lood, the clothing, the other impedi- mentq oI wcrr necesscry to_get to the ligrhting fronts not orly to properly equip our lorces, but to kill the enemy."

(Ertrrct froyt, rgcer*^speech by _col. F. c. sh.errill, chiel ol the Materials and Eqwipment Sectior4 Opera,tions tr:ft;fi2:ffion' Dioision'ol the U. S;. Cirps

(Continued from Page 9) ber. So far as the greater cost of the synthetic rubber is concerned, he calls attention to the fact that the poorestpaid most poverty-stricken laborers on earth were the rubber workers in the British and Dutch islands of the \tt/estern Pacific. If, after the war, we fulfill our promises to extend freedom from want and decent wages and living conditions to the workers of those climes, natural rubber will cost as much as synthetic; that it is the ten cents a day wages paid laborers on the rubber plantations that made the cost of natural rubber tires so low. They won't be any more; or shouldn't, at any rate.

And now, friends "rra r.iroJ "rtrr.rr", we are about to try another novelty in government; taxation by expectation' It has never been tried or even thought of-before in all the tide of times. Taxing a man on his property is almost as old as property itself. Taxing a man for what he makes has been with us for a generation, and is generally understood and approved. But, come September fifteenth this year of our Lord, we're going to start taxing people for what they expect to make four months in advance; and we're going to collect those taxes in advance. That's where the novelty comes in.

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If you are single and make over $2,700 a year, or married and make over $3,500 a year, you become one of the taxation by expectation group. On or before September fifteenth you must file an income tax report for the year that will be just two-thirds over. You must show in this report not only what you have earned to that date, but likewise you are compelled to estimate what you are going to make between then and the last day of the year; and you must pay the tax, not only on what you have earned but also on what you expect to earn. That's why I call it taxation by expectation.

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Being human and therefore subject to the laws that rule humanity, you may die before the ink on the report is cold' Many will do iust that. That would make your report decidedly inaccurate. Or something may happen in the way of illness or accident that lays you up for the rest of the year, thus knocking your estimate of your earnings all out of kilter. You and your family may incur great medical expense before the year ends, which is deductible. It will happen to many. Or, you may suffer heavy financial losses for the rest of the year, instead of gains. All such things can-and to many, will-happen. Contrariwise' you malr strike money-making opportunities in some way during the balance of the year, and gleatly upset your September estimate. If that happens you will probably have to Pay the government a penalty for under-guessing. Nevertheless the law says that you are compelled to indulge in prognosticating, in prophecying, in sooth-saying about the future. And you must n"t 1,TT your guesses.

I highly approve of the pay-as-you-go system of income tax collection. But when I consider the mechanics of this new law we are now struggling with, I am appalled. No wonder thinking men threw rocks at it from every direction when it first came out of the legislative hopper last spring. Taxation without representation filled Boston harbor with good old English tea a long time ago; inspire{ Paul'Revere to founder a good saddle horse; and caused many a patriotic American eye to glance down a musket barrel until they saw redcoats in front of the muzzles at Bunker Hill. But what about taxation on expectation? Friends, what a mess of strange and laborious bookkeeping that new thought is going to engender in the next few months ! As this is written millions of willing taxpayers are scratching their heads trying to figure out the mechanics of compliance with this law (especially in community property states), and only getting a headache for their pains thus far. It will work out, of course; but what a job ! The fellow I feel sorry for right now is the treasury employee who has to try and answer so many apparently unanswerablequestions.

"Coming in on a wing and a prayer" is a popular song that has brought much joy to music lovers. But coming in on a rim with no spare-Boy! Try and find any happiness in that!