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170 each, we consider it doubtful whether the people of the United States, disregarding the farmers, can as a whole produce enough by the labor of only eight hours per day to afford themselves the present scale of living and make such savings as are necessary for the extension of national facilities. We deprecate the increasing tendency to refrain from doing work on Saturday and to increase the number of other holidays. We do not believe that the credit balance between national income and national living expense permits such an. abstention from work in general, and hold that those classes of workers that have won such privileges have done so at the expense of all other classes of workers.

Reliable investigations show a steady increase in the cost of government, even after deducting the charges remaining on account of the war and after allowing for the increased cost of materials and wages for labor. This appears in increased taxation and implies a growing diversion of labor from the production of capital goods and consumers’ goods to service. While there is need for increased service in accordance with increase in population, undue diversion is bound to detract from the ability of the people to save even if the increase in total production be commensurate with the increase in population, and this detraction may be more than the people can well afford. We fear that something of this kind is happening now and we urge upon governments—federal, state, county, municipal and town—the need for strict economy and great care in planning extensions and improvements.

Closely allied with the subject of cost of government is that of taxation. Some of the service of government, as for example the post office and the supply of water