Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-06-02
THE WAR TAX BILL.

When the bill for war revenues was be-
fore the u. s. Senate on Wednesday last,
the views Of the majority of the Com
mittee on Finance were presented by
Senator Turpie of Indiana in one of his
speeches which have helped make his high
reputation as both statesman and orator.
The differences between the majority and
Che minority of the Committee, he said,
were only differences of method. All
Senators wanted to provide the means for
war purposes. As to the Dingley act, it
was not intended to produce revenue, at
least for the public treasury
It had been laid down on different lines
1t had already become useless and Tin
some sense) unserviceable. The pending
bill was intended to close the Incident of
the Dingley deficit"
The estimates of the Secretary eff War
and Navy were that 500 600, 900 was neces-
sary TO prosecute the war and pay the ex-
penses of their departments during the
next fiscal year. Adding to that amount
$30,O00,OO0 tor the probable contingencies,
the whole cost of prosecuting the campaign
would be $300,00O00O. And that amount
embraced the transportation to the Phil
ppines, the largest item. 1t embraced also
the recruitment of the regular army up TO
its full war limit.
How was that sum to be raised On that
the Finance Committee was unanimous
$15,O00,000 was to be raise by taxation, and
$15O,0O0,000 by other means
Taking mp the question of the proposed
tax on inheritances, Mr. Turpie defended
it as q tax on accommodations, while the tax
on beer and tobacco was tax on active
industry. He hoped that the inheritance
tax would receive the unanimous assent Of
Senators.
He also defended the proposed tax on the
gross receipts of corporations, and criticized
Mr.. Allison's argument against it, He esti
mated that the inheritance tax would pro-
duce $50,O09, 900, and tax on corporations
$dO0O00000; so that these two sources
will furnish the $50 10000 to be derived
from taxation. The other Sl50,000,O00 was
to be furnished by the silver seigniorage
and by the issue Of legal tender notes
The section for the issue of $3.50 .000,000
of notes was offered as a substitute for the
bond section of the House bill AS to the
policy of the free and unrestricted coinage
of silver, that benefcient measure of relief
and reform was Knitted for the present to
the domain of public discussion and the
ballot, with the assurance that sooner or
later it would become the policy not only
of this country, but of the majority of the
countries of the world.
Speaking of the issue of paper money
during the civil war. Mr.. Turpie said that
although, through the operation of specu-
iators in gold, such notes had been at
large discount, they had appreciated and
approached par before the war closed and
bad come to par after the surrender at APP
pomattox. These notes" be said, were
at par and remained at par long before the
pretended legislation for contraction and
resumption, for which the credit was
claimed OF bringing them to par, and long
before the recent system of selling bonds
for gold and [satirically] thus strengthing
the public credit by an increase of the
b 'nded debt"
He spoke of the bond syndicate as
pernicious and devious cabal" that wished
for new issue of United States bonds for
investment purposes; bat" said be. the
issue of legal tender notes is more
patriotic and less costly kind of public
loan. 1t is voluntary loan of $150,000,000
by the people of the Government for the
next fiscal year." Aud they lose nothing
in thus serving their country, for the
money goes into the everyday business
currency of the people the same as the
other money they thus use and for which
they ask no interest other than the earnings
of the business into which it is put.