Page 3 Advertisements Column 1

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 307, 11 December 1936, Page 3

CAESARS INVENTION ; HISTORY OF DEATH DUTIES. HIGH YIELD FOR EXCHEQUER. “Death duties gave uS . . . the highest yield ever obtained since they began," said the Chancellor in his Budget speech, write* Frank Longworth in the Daily Mail.: \ 5 He was referring, of course, to death duties in this country, But ‘hey are no Itew. thing. ’Two thousand years ago Julius Caesar thought that death duties W€re ''it great idea,\ though he did not fc’tf! then! by such an obvious name. jSo ioiig ago as 55 8.C., when the Roman Emperor first cast envious eyes on the shores of England, he was rathei low -h* funds, but the temptation to tfcfiquft ttie land Of the white cliffs was frHßSisWbre. tri d hromeht Of brilliant KfMtioii he decided to levy a fine on the death of any member of the wealthy dWel ' It was an original method, but a thousand years later William the Conqueror. nearly on the verge of bankffiptcy after his spectacular invasion of 1066. revived thd tax. More genteel than CSfew. he’ levied not death duties, but the same thing under another name . fines from young men 1 vfrfio carhe before him to claim the esti'tes of. their deceased fathers. These fines were gradually increased as .the old kings launched their Crusades Mnd othfer Overseas campaigns. Morethey attracted the attention of the 'Mff cjf.the t&mors. who in turn impoeed fines on all copyholders who inherited lands within their domains. ; • This fatter '‘jh-gctic'e continued even until Its, at the end of which year this peculiar kind of land tenure was abolYet it was not until 1694 that death dirties benefited the national Exihtqlier.' .‘ln that year Parliament, ordained that on the death of any person who was possessed of an estate, no mattdr hoW tArge or small, a nominal sum should bt* paid to the State. Another 85 years were to elapse before it occurred to a Chancellor that a sliding scale of duties’ would be mote profitable and it has beep sliding eve# since, though always in an upward direction. To-day tb*r possessor of more than £2,000.000 must make provision for 50 per cent, of it t£ Be paid to the' State within a few daySofhis death. Caesar fotted the seed, but he would have been jealous if he could have seen the fruit that others have fieked from the tree.

ORGANISED GAIETY LATEST RUSSIAN PLAN. WHEN WORK WILL HUM. ■Soviet Russia’s rulers are firm believers in the devices of modern advertising, and can “put over”' a slogan more quickly •nd effectually than any private advertiser could dream Of doing, writes DemBess from Moscow to the Christian Science Monitor.- The Soviet process of introducing a nationwide catchphrase \is how familiar. Joseph Stalin includes if hi one Of his infrequent speeches. The immense propaganda machine immediately carries it to every part of the land. Mr. Stalin’S riioSt recent slogan is also hiaf iriost popular. In a Speech to a conferehce Of shpck workers he declared:— “Life has become better, comrades, life has become more joyous. And when life is'jdyous, Work hwiis?

These words have sihce been repeated innumerable times in Soviet newspapers, magazines and books, and over radio broadcasting stations. They have; been echoed and re-echoed, interpreted and reinterpreted by Communist speakers in every school, factory and office, oh every collective farm. They have become a part Of the common speech. One. naturally seeks to discover why Mr. Stalin arid his associates have laid Midi Ofnphasis upon these words at a time When,, they profess to believe that the dangers of war are greater than ever before, when they are treating the largest army in Europe and the largest civilian military reserve in the world, tails slogan Has accompanied the introduction of the Stakhanoff movement, through which Soviet workers are being persuaded or compelled to redouble their efforts in order to strengthen the indusfriai machine which is SO important in Siodern war. If we reverse Mr. Stalin’s words we probably get closer to his real meaning: “Work hums if life becomes more joyctb for workers." In other words, workers do not willingly increase their efforts unless their leisure hours become more

Joybtrs. So thfe Kremlin has introduced organised gaiety. Festival and carefree belebrations are occurring in every part of the country. Dance halls with jazz operated by the Government, have Appeared not only in cities, but. in agricultural villages. State trusts have multiplied the number of travelling circuses, bands of troubadours', and vaudeville tfoupes. Theatrical and motion picture trusts have been instructed to replace grim propaganda plays with comedies grid light entertainment. ' The most Sober-minded Communists, With an air of bewilderment, are drawn Into the campaign for universal gaiety. The Government leaders, a Very earnest set of men, are photographed almost daily With broad smiles on their faces, joking the visiting girl “shock-workers” from Central isia or the Caucasus, slapping each other on the back. The common people are delighted with these, changes; this is one campaign into which Jhey have entered wholeheartedly. iTor years . they have submitted with pathfif tiisjgnation to burdens imposed They have endured shqrt rations, overcrowding, have wasted hours every, day standing in line to obtain their simple needs from badlyorganised State shops, and to secure innumerable “documents” from bureau- . Always they have been assured that "better times are Coming?* Now Mr Italia; himself assures them that the more' joyoua life is here, and organise* Bieht for Their leisure to prove 11 S’. 1 jvemeht shows once mote the •.shrewd understanding of i‘ elieving that the danger of war thg, Sdvifet leaders must make •aura of something more than half-hearted irtrppbrt’’faf thefr regime. They can asSUte' loyalty most quickly by giving the people, a “more joyous life” than they haVe experienced for many years. So the campaign for organised gaiety is as de'flfitte iTtfteasare for defence as rhe enlarged Red Army, , ■' ' 7? - ■