projects. He is for federal sickness and oldage benefits, unemployment insurance, health insur ance, aids to education, housing and a rash of sim ilar experiments. These adventures capture the sup port of vast numbers of socalled underprivileged voters. At the moment, taxes levied for welfare purposes actually exceed by billions the sums paid out—the result of a fraudulent gimmick inserted in the laws by the Roosevelt Administration on the pretense of creating reserves, which socalled "reserves" are promptly spent by the government for all sorts of things unconnected with welfare. And they have a powerful votegetting value which Bismarck saw, and which Eisenhower also can see. The case of militarism—to which Mr. Eisen hower now wishes to add the institution of uni versal military training permanently—is easily measured here. Bismarck's militarism was "pea nuts" compared with ours. The expenditures by the United States government in the year ending June 30, 1954, were $70,902,000,000. The Department of Defense, including the Army, Air Force and Navy, expended roughly $40 billion, while another $7 bil lion was spent on materials, atomic energy and the Mutual Security Agency—a total of $48,720,000, 000. But there are other auxiliary activities—our international and veterans' interests. The full total is: Military and allied services .............$48,720.000,000 Other international activities ...............1,637 000.000 Veterans' services ................................................. .......................................................4,190,000,000 54,547,000,000 To this, of course, must be added the interest on the public debt—now $273 billion. The interest is $6.525,000,000, making a total of more than $61 billion spent by the government in wages, salaries, materials, and interest on loans, all directly or in directly associated with our military institutions— $61 billion on militarism and only $9 billion on all the other activities of government. This is the racket on which Bismarck built the prosperity of Germany in the last century. This is the racket on which the New Deal and Mr. Eisenhower's Admin istration are building our insane prosperity today — a prosperity which beeins to exhibit a certain pallor as of approaching illness. The Central Evils The Number One issue in the United States today is the question of debt and taxes—inextricably entangled not in mere socialistic experiments, but in those two fatal evils: (1) militarism and its handmaidens—international adventures and the vast military outlays involved, and (2) "welfare" splurges of the federal government to please nu merous groups of voters—social security, farmers' subsidies, handouts to all sorts of groups, publichousing, federal aid to education, public electric power, and a large variety deserving 128 of gifts TH E to FREEM AN voters. And at the root of all are two central evils. One is the incometax system which enables the govern
ment to take a cut on every man's wages, salaries and profits, and the system of public debt which now engulfs us in an interest charge of eighteen million dollars a day—both of which make possible the orgy of spending and waste and the invasion of the private affairs of the citizens. Mr. Eisen hower is willing to use these two evil weapons to the limit to engage in vast international activities, inviting wars on various continents, and to promote welfare for votegetting purposes at home—boon doggling in the U. S. and globaloney all over the map. All this is supposed to be something new. It is just about as new as the ambitions and follies of Bismarck eighty years ago, which have wrecked the German people twice in a century.
Booklets on Inflation John Flynn's article calls to mind two booklets, among others, worth reading on this inflation danger. The first is by Pelatiah Webster, a wise but littlej known patriot who is credited by James Madison and others with first having advocated the constitutional convention. The inflation which in his day had made money "not worth a continental" finally moved him, in 1780, to use strong and wise words in telling the story of these tragic mistakes. In an essay recently brought to light, Webster tried to tell mankind how to avoid in the future the fiscal suffering his countrymen had brought upon themselves. In the other, F. A. Harper explains why inflation occurs, and how the inflators have changed their technique over the years. Only by knowing this can we prevent inflation. Once it has been allowed to happen, inflation is like a severed limb in that then it is too late for a cure. The author explains how economic justice results only from free exchange, and why problems which have led repeatedly to inflation during nearly four thousand years of known governmental interference can be solved only by free exchange. What is the sole cause of surpluses or shortages? The answer is given on page 19 of this booklet in the form of a simple chart. These booklets are "Not Worth A Continental," by Pelatiah Webster ; and "Inflation," by F. A. Harper. Single copies may be obtained free of charge from The Foundation for Economic Education IrvingtononHudson, New York