The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-04-03
WAR TAXES TALKED OF

!
Washington. April 2-secretary Gage
| and Representative Dingley of Maine,
chairman of the house ways and means
! committee, were summoned by the pres
ident during the forenoon and were soon
| on conference with him on business that,
while they would not discuss it but left
| it to conjecture, can be safely said to have
related 10 the national finances and to
| measures TO put the treasury on war
| footing, involving. as hostile operations
Will, if once begun, largely increased ex-
pendiIures and appropriations. 1t is
thought this phase of the question may
! figure to some extent in the presidents
message Although an appropriation bill
in the regular order would go TO the COM
mittee on appropriations, there was rea-
son for the belief that war revenue
measure mad been under consideration,
and it seemed not altogether improbable
that a bill of this character might be in
troduced at the same time if it was not
indeed made a part of the expected bill
or resolution authorizing the president to
intervene forcibly TO put a stop to the
hostiHties in Cuba. No definite plan or
even an outline of a plan to raise war
revenue from internal revenue sources
had yet been formulated but 1t was the
belief of persons who necessarily would
be consulted in the matter, that legislation
for an additional tax on beer was almost
certain, in the event of hostilities, 10 he
recommended TO congress. Whisky, it was
said, also would come in for share Of the
increase, but for the fact that the pres
ent rate of $1-10 per gallon, in the Opin-
ion of the experienced revenue officials,
is really above the maximum revenue
producing point. There is no reasonable
doubt that quite list of articles such as
are admittedly Iuxuries will be considered
by the ways and means committee as OBJ
iects of revenue legislation, in case any
large amount of funds is needed to carry
on the war which nearly all visitors to
the White House said now seemed in
evitable. Treasury experts had estimated
that the increase of the tax on beer f1s-n
81 to 81 per barrel would result in a gain
of approximately S4O,OOO,OO0 a year to the
revenues, but whether so heavy an in
crease as that was contemplated was not
known.
The question of laying a small internal
revenue tax on tea and coffee is also under
consideration.
IT is thought that tax of something
less than 10 cents pound on ca and about
9 cents a pound on coffee would bring in
a large revenue, possibly s35,000,OOO or $40
900 900 a year. This tax, it is thought,
would not result in materially increasing
the price to the consumer of either tea
or coffee, except possibly in the begin
ming. The combined revenues from beer,
tea and coffee, it is thought, would APP
proximate 500 900 year, and possibly
$50, OOO, 900.
The president had not actually begun
the work of writing his message, which
will be sent to congress either on next
Monday or Tuesday. He was giving it,
however. thoughtful consideration and
was getting the views of members of his
cabinet and of congress on all of the
questions involved. It had not yet bean
definitely decided whether the correspond
ence which had passed between the two
countries on the subject of Cuba would
accompany the message or not.
Representative McAIillin, the ranking
Democratic member of the ways and
means committee, called while Chairman
Dingley was in conference with the presi
dent but remained only a few minutes.