Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-04-29
REPUBLICANS DECIDE UPON FIFTY
AMENDMENTS.
SOME OF MUCH IMPORTANCE
ALL PAY TELEPHONE MESSAGES
ARE TO BE TAXED.
Proposed Tax on Chewing Gum Re-
duced - Changes in Insurance
Taxation Features-LittIe
Interest in the Debate
on the Bill.

Washington. April 2S-The Republican
members of the ways and means commit
| tee held meeting to-day at which fifty
| amendments to the war revenue bill were
agreed to. These will be offered in the
| house tomorrow. Many of them are mere
| verbal amendments. but some are of con-
| siderable Importance. One of these eX-
| empts mutual and cooperative life insur-
ance companies from taxation. The tax
! on insurance companies is transferred from
the policies to the premiums. In this the
| amendment conforms to the law of 1866.
| The tax on marine, inland and fire insur-
| ance policies is extended to cover employ
| ers' liability associations, title insurance
| companies. glass and all other special in
surance companies, of which many classes
| have grown up in the past few years.
Railroad telegraphic messages and all
other leased wire messages are exempted
| by an amendment limiting the tax to mes
| sages ION which the companies charges
| are to be paid or to be collected" The
| tax on chewing gum is reduced from 1
cent on scent package to 4 cent. The
| tax on beer is extended to include beer
| stored The amendment was deemed
| necessary to cover beer in storage. The
| license of dealers in leaf tobacco is re-
duced from s24 to s12 on those whose sales
| do not exceed $4,000 per annum and from
s4S to s24 on dealers whose sales exceed that
| amount.
The most important amendment was one
| which levies tax of 1 cent upon all pay
! telephone messages costing below 25 cents.
| The original provision exempted messages
for a distance below thirty miles. Mr..
| Tawney, of Minnesota, estimates that this
amendment, which will cover all city and
| suburban business, will raise s5.OOO,OOO
| The general debate on the war expense
bill in the house closed tonight, after eight
and half hours of speechmaking. The
| debate to-day lacked both spirit and inter-
| est. There was little discussion of the in
| ternal revenue features of the bill. The
Democrats continued their assaults on the
bond feature and their advocacy of the in
come tax. The latter was ridiculed as a
substitute proposition by the Republicans.
| A.iC " boIIOW IlOHey was ueIeHQ-
ed by them as absolutely necessary.
There is a difference of opinion on the
Democratic side as to whether the bill
should be voted for upon its final passage
| after the minority amendments are voted
down. A number of the Democrats. led by
Mr.. Mcclellan, of New York, have an
nounced their purpose of so voting, but the
| 10
| could not justify a vote for a bond ISSUE
An effort is being made to avoid an aye
and may vote on the final passage, to pre-
vent an exhibition of this division, and to-
night it seems probable that it will be
successful. There may be some difficulty
about the committee amendments decided
upon to-day, as, under the order, the bond
features Of the bill must first be taken
up under the five minute rule tomorrow.
If the amendments to these sections should
exhaust the time before o'clock, the COM
mittee amendments would be ruled out,
and would have to be inserted by the SEN
ate.
Before the debate upon the war revenue
bill was resumed in the house to-day. an
uISeHcy WdT uiedSuTe was passed. Dy unanl-
nous consent to repeal the limitations upon
the purchase of quartermasters' supplies
during the existing war with Spain.
Mr.. Payne. Republican. of New York, a
member of the ways and means committee,
was the first speaker on the war revenue
bill to-day.
In the course of his remarks Mr.. Payne
| cafl hat in Nd
soned soldiers, Spain at present had the
advantage, and that it was, therefore, the
part of prudence to supply the government
with all the pecuniary means necessary to
recruit and prepare our army for the field.
He combatted the opinion of Mr.. Sayers
that $3Oo.OOO,0oO would be sufficient. Our
war preparations were costing s25, 900 a
month. With armies in the field the ex-
penditure would be much greater.
Mr.. Wheeler. Democrat. of Alabama, a
member of the committee, announced his
opposition to the bond provision. but said
if it was not stricken out he would feel
impelled to vote for the measure.
Mr.. Dockery. Democrat. of Missouri. dis
cussed the condition of the treasury. He
objected to the leaders of the majority
side picturing to the country bankrupt
treasury in order to lay a foundation for
| bond issues
Mr.. Dalzell Republican. of Pennsylvania,
in support of the bill. said that the loans
proposed to be f1oated by the pending bill
could not be avoided. The ordinary and
extraordinary revenues of the government
would not be sufficient to prosecute a great
war. He regarded the bond provision of
the bill as its most beneficent feature. 1t
opened the door to patriotism by giving
those who could not go to the front an
opportunity to share the glory of support
ing the government.
Mr.. McMllin. Democrat. of Tennessee,
criticised some of the internal revenue
features of the bill as especially onerous
upon the poor and argued that the wealth
of the country should bear n greater pro-
portion of the war taxes He quoted Sec
retary Gage as saying that $500. 600 900 was
sufficient to prosecute the war. AS there
was now in the treasury $780, 0O0, 600, he