The herald., 1898-05-20
ON A BILL TO RAISE NEEDED
REVENUE
HOUSE PosTPoNEs ACTION
the Labor Arbitration
Bill
Associated Press Special Wire

measure were passed over tOOdy LUZ Autus .
consideration, excellent progress was
made by the senate in the consideration of
the bill. Two-thirds Of the measure had
been read, the committee amendments
generally having been agreed to. Nc
taurin of South Carolina, Democrat,
opened the debate today in carefully
prepared speech.
The proposition to place a stamp tax
upon proprietary articles and perfumeries
now in stock aroused another debate and
was opposed by many senators. The par
agraph has not been disposed Of finally.
The death of Mr.. Gladstone was made
the theme of the chaplain's invocation at
the opening of the senate today.
A resolution presented by MIR. Mills of
Texas was passed. 1t calls upon the Sec
retary of War for plans and specifications
for the Improvement of Arkansas Harbor,
the removal of the bar and the improve
ment of the channel. making 1t twenty feet
deep and $50 feet wide at the bottom.
At the conclusion of the morning busi-
ness consideration of the war revenue bill
was resumed. Mr.. McLaurin of South Car
olina delivered a set speech. Speaking of
the bringing OF the war in which we are
now engaged, he said Spain had supposed
that commercial greed had stifled patriot
Ism. This, to her sorrow, she had learned
at Manila was not the fact. She had real
ICED that Admiral Dewey was worthy
successor to Decatur and Perry.
He was ready, he said, to vote for any
measure that would tend to bring the war
10 q successful conclusion. People on the
island of Cuba are dying every hour. Their
condition is beyond description. Every
DAY now means the loss of hundreds, per-
haps thousands, Of lives in Cuba, McLaur-
In declared. Liberty on the island is at
btake, and the war has placed our own
national prestige at stake.
'There is an army in this country" said
he, "just as anxoius to raid the United
States treasury as our volunteers are to
laid the island of Cuba. To the army re-
ter to no volunteers are needed These
tobbers and spectators form a greater
menace to us than the war with SPAIN"
At the conclusion of McLaurins speech
the clerk proceeded with the reading Of the
bill.
-.- When the paragraph providing for q
stamp tax upon all transfers of stock was
considered Bacon of Georgia said the COM
tnittee had carefully covered agreements
to sell stock, and that If it should be es-
tablished that Agreements to SELF should
not bear stamps unless an actual transfer
of stock took place, agreements might be
made and then settlement effected be-
twene the parties without an actual trans
Of stock. The paragraph was amended so
as to clearly cover all agreements to sell
stock whether the stock actually was
transferred OF not.
German thought transfers of small
amounts ought not to be required to bear
stamps.
Aldrich, in reply. said that the elimina-
tion of checks for small amounts would re-
duce the revenue from this source about
k3,00O,00O The tax, he said, did not bear
upon small depositors heavily, and upon
savings banks depositors who drew mon-
ey on their books it bore not at ALL
Clay of Georgia moved to strike out the
requirement of a tax of cents upon each
promissory note Of 500 or less. 1t was
rejected.
Bacon moved to so modify the provision
for tax on inland bills t1s exchange as to
relieve bills of less than 800 in value from
the requirements, and to fix the rate at
cents where the value Is between 500 and
$500.
Wolcott objected to the change, saying
that there was no real foundation for the
objection to the proposed tax except upon
the stamp.
German suggested that II the bill was to
pass as reported it would carry too much
revenue and that taxes such as these now
under consideration could be eliminated.
He urge that the Democratic amendments
be taken up now.
Allison suggested that If the Democratic
amendments were to be included in the
bill as 1t should become law 1t would
carry more revenue than was needed, but
there was no way yet of knowing how this
would be, but If they were included in the
final action Of the senate it would be easy
enough to return to other items.
Aldrich opposed any change in the order
of proceeding with the bill.
Teller said the difficulty was that the
committee was divided as to the sum that
should be raised as revenue under the bill.
He did not believe that the bill would pro
duce as much as Allison had estimated,
but as for himself he wanted 5000, 900 900
tax. Continuing, he said he thought the
country did not only need to provide reve-
nue. for the present war, but also for the
next. Teller said that the indications were
that the war with Spain would not long
continue, but to him the signs were equally
strong tnat Wltnln a rev yearS Wo would
be involved In another war which mign
and probably would be Of far more serious
consequences than the conquest with the
''seven by nine country with which we are
now contending.'
Upon roll call the Bacon amendment
was lost by vote of 13 to Al.
Mallory of Florida believed that the tax
on telephone messages would be difficult
to collect.
Allison explained that the requirements
of receipt for messages did not apply to
residence telephones, but to pay stations.
of which there were thousands in all large
cities.
On all other telephone transactions the
books of the companies would exhibit the
facts and secure payment of the tax to the
government. At the suggestion of VOL
colt the entire amendment relating to ex-
press, freight and telephone taxes was laid
pver for future consideration.
The committee amendment relating to