WHO'LL PAY THE PIPER?

The cynics who have disparaged the patriotic activities of the American Legion as the capitalist-fostered stupidities of militaristic yokels will be agreeably jolted by the campaign to enact a wealth-draft law. That the rich should contribute wealth when the poor contribute blood is, on the surface, a reasonable proposal, but certainly Judge Gary would not care to be labeled as its instigator. The American Bankers' Association, which has hitherto relied upon the American Legion in its "Red"-hunt, will be forced to denounce its partner.

Unfortunately, the resolution of the former soldier to see the treasures of capitalists offered in measure equal to his own sacrifice of flesh and blood, bred by a war's bitter experience, can hardly be undone by any number of conservative journals or by any deluge of warning editorials. American veterans seem unanimous in their intention to exact this un-bankerlike concession from the next congress, as it forced the bonus from the last. The Legion may still be led on the still-hunt for indigo-colored witches; but in the matter of the payment of war, it knows its own mind, and woe be to the quaking financiers who oppose it. If the former soldiers embark on such a tempestuous career of political change, they will soon be labeled "socialistic" by their former allies, and the great Fascist alliance of American capital and ex-soldiery will be split asunder. It the Legion is to be congratulated on its vigorous advocacy of a measure which will distribute more justly the burden of war, the association of standpatters and bogey-hunters is to be condoled with upon its loss of a capable if strongheaded ally.