The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-06-02
D0IpCS' Of CONGRESS
Abstract Of the Important Pro
AZ
ceedings.

war revenue bill was considered. On
| the latter day the paragraphs relating
| to corporation taxes were under con-
| sideration, the pending question being
| an amendment of Mr.. McEnery tLouisi-
ana,) exempting from the corporation tax
| limited liability commercial partnerships
or corporations and companies or corpora
tons of limited liability conducting plant
| ing or farming business or preparing Tor
market products of the SOIL"
Mr.. Allen (Nebraska) thought if the
| amendment included the big sugar corpo-
rations it ought not to be adopted.
| MIR. Daniel (Virginia) expressed his oppo-
| sitiOn to the amendment, saying that he
| thought the genuine farming and planting
interests were sufficiently protected in the
| pending bill.
Mr. Frye (Maine) declared that the pro-
posed tax on corporations was good
| scheme to encourage enlistment in tho
| United States Army. 81 fully and firmly
believe" said he, that if this feature of
| the bill be enacted into law 1 .OOO, 900 of
| men will be out of work."
| Mr.. Plat Connecticut, member of
| the Finance Committee, declared that the
| corporation tax was unnecessary, and he
| believed it unconstitutional. A fair esti-
mate OF the amount OF revenue that would
| be raised by the bill as it came from tho
| House was, he thought, Sis, O0O, 900.
That, with the proper issue of bonds,
| would supply ample funds for the conduct
of the war.
Mr.. Lindsay tKentucky), in the course
| of an extended legal argument upon the
| corporation tax feature of the bill, said
no man pretended to insist that corporate
| property ought not to be taxed, If the
| taxation were necessary, but the question
here presented was whether the tax pro-
| posed to be levied was fair and equitable.
n m a hnf nf
| wisdom for Congress to enact only such
| legislation as would be beyond contro-
versy in the courts.
| In an argument in favor of the issue of
| bonds as provided for by the amendment
offered by the minority of the Finance
4 Committee Mr.. Lindsay said the payment
| of the bonds could not be demanded until
| after 20 years, their payment being OPP
| tional with the Government after 10 years.
| Within that time the people of the United
| States might, IL it were so decided 20 to a
| silver basis.
| He maintained that the paper money
| issued during the civil war was the dear
| est kind of money. The largest part of it
bore interest at or per cent, while the
bonds proposed in the pending bill called
| for Only per cent. interest. If this bill
| should become a law as it stands, Mr..
Lindsay urged, the Republican Admins
| tratiOn would redeem the greenback
| issued under it in gold, and would, if
necessary, sell bonds, under the act of
| 1875, in order to get gold. He further
maintained that by the proposed issue of
| legal-tender notes the demands in favor of
such issue were simply placing more
power in the hands of spectators to raid
the gold reserve of the Government.
In conclusion Mr.. Lindsay said "The
| war will not go on for two or three years
unless we break down our credit at the
| Start. The issue of legal-tender notes
proposed here would have that effect"
We'll" interrupted Mr.. Tillman, Gin
what kind of money will the bonds you
| propose to issue be paid?"
| The bonds issued replied Mr.. Lindsay
will be sold for money as good as gold
and the funds SO raised will be used to
pay the boys who are to be sent to Cuba to
| face Spanish bullets and yellow fever.
| Our credit will be as good as gold, and at
| the end OF the warwe will have conducted
| it on the very cheapest possible basis.
| We may become involved with con tinental
| powers, and the time may come when we
| cannot go further on coin basis, either
! gold or silver, and when we will be com
PEELED to come to the issue of greenbacks.
| When that time comes whatever ne
| ceSsity demands will be done. 1t will be
done without complaint. Those who are
| alive at the end Of the war will be charged
| up with the debt. But we cannot promote
| that state OF affairs. We cannot discredit
ourselves at the very outset by resorting
| forced loan by issuing notes payable on
| demand and putting no money in the
Treasury to pay them upon demand"
In the Senate, on May IS, Senator Stewart
made lengthy free-silver speech when
the war revenue measure was taken up.
He declared that the revenue bill as it
passed the House Of Representatives, was
"the most miserable, viIlainous piece of
legislation ever enacted by any legislative
body" He attacked vigorously the bond
proposition OF the minority of the Finance
Committee, and urged the coinage of the
silver seigniorage and the issue of legal
tender notes. With those provisions in
corporated IN the proposed law, he said
the people of the United States would be
able easily to furnish all the money, how
ever heavy the Governments demand
might be, to prosecute the war with Spain
Mr.. Allen, in opening his speech said
that if the wishes of some, at least. of the
advocates of the pending bill were con-
suited, it would carry only a provision for
the issue of bonds, and would not place a
cent OF taxation upon the people. The
Senate is being flooded he said. with
protests from the various interests taxed
by the measure, as if they were being
imposed upon simply because they hap
pened to exist. He thought people ought
| to regard 1t as patriotic privilege on the
supporting the Government in an emer-
| gency such as now existed. He did not
regard taxes a burden when thew were
Justly and equitably assessed
MIR. Allen maintained that there was no
| property and no Individual which the
| Government could not tax, whatever the
conditions might be. He declared there
| was not the slightest necessity for the
| bonds at this time. The debts created by
| the war ought TO be liqudated without
| the creation of debt
| In concluding his speech, Mr. Allen too
l nSt ..II:-
| ance between tn country and Great Brit
| am, declaring that he would oppose it with
all his power until England should give to
Ireland what the United States gave it's
| people-home rule
Mr.. Caffery, of Louisiana, presented an
! extended legal argument against the pro-
| posed tax upon corporations.
| Mr.. Morgan, of Ala bama, moved to lay
| the pending amendment, that of Mr.
| McEnery, exempting from the corporation
tax limited liability corporations engaged
in farming and planting, upon the table
| The motion prepailed-36 to TO-
The negative votes were: Allen, Popu-
list; Bacon, Caffery{ Cay Cockrell, Faux
ner, McEnery and Vest, Democrats, and
| Chandler and Hale, republicans.
| In the House a bill was passed granting
| certain lands to the Territory of New
| Mexico for common school, college, uni
versity, charitable institutions, public
| buildings, irrigating, and Rio Grande River
| improvement purposes. The bill is in
| tended to convey partial grant of the
| lands to which the Territory would be en-
| titled upon its admissi ion into the Union,