The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-24

The tax falls mainly on the poor and
the rich are in the main exempt Beer
and tobacco are consumed by the poor.
and ii is the consumer who in the end
pays the tax. The consigner and not the
corporation pays for the stamps for the
transmission of freight, messages, and
packages. A lease for cottage is taxed
as much as one for mansion a bank
check for five dollars the same as one
for a million. and bill of lading for a
barrel of potatoes as much as one for a
| cargo or a train load of provisions.
The rich are reached to a small extent
through the tax on legacies, banking cap
ital. bonds. etc, the total of which can
hardly aggregate eight million dollars
year.
number of bills were introduced in
the first session of the Fifty-sixth Con-
gress to repeal the war tax in whole or
in part, but these were all put to sleep
in the committees to which they were re-
| ferred. The Republican Administration
| would not even permit them TO come be-
| fore the House for vote.
A small tax is imposed on telephone
companies. petroleum. and sugar refine T.
les. pipe lines, palace and parlor car
! companies, but there is nothing in III ;
| law to prevent these rich corporations
| from incNasing prices or charges, thus
shifting the burden from their own
shoulders to those of the patron or con
sumner; even the tax on legacies can in
part be avoided by ante norton distritu-
ton.
According TO the United States census
bulletin No. 9S. issued January a. 1898,
the rich, who constitute only per cent
of our population, own II per cent of the
wealth 1t therefore appears that the few
rich who own more than thirds of
everything pay only about one-sixteenth
/ of the war tax while the middle and
wage eargning classes, who constitute 81
per cent of the people and who own less
than one-thiro of the wealth pay about
een-sixteenths of it.
As such discrimination in a monarchy
would be tyranny, SO in Republic it is
nothing less
Attitude of the Parties.
The Republicans opposed and the Demo-
Gratis favored the repeal of the war tax.
This is shown by the following taken from
the Congressional Record of May %,
1900:
"Mr. Payne-Mr. Speaker. l am author
lied by the Committee on Ways and Means
to present the following resolution and
ask unanimous consent for its present
consideration.
1.-THE Clerk read as follows:
Resolved, That the Committee on Ways
and Means have leave TO sit during the
recess to consider the subject of the re-
vision and reduction of the war revenue
taxes.
THE question has been asked why bill
was not brought in at this session for the
reduction of the revenue. will state
briefly the reason why We are adjourning
without doing it.
THE committee have had some hearings
of various interests in the country. press
ing forward to be heard, on the subject of
the reduction of the war revenue; and
after the committee had got into those
hearings they found that nearly every
person who had to pay any of the war
revenue taxes was not only willing but
anxious to have those taxes removed from
his particular industry.
so that the committee found that il
they wished to please ali the people OF
the United States who think themselves
injured by this war reveue act. who have
complained of the taxes paid under If. We
would have virtually TO repeal this war
revenue act, or wipe out from the statute
books more than 100000, 900 annually OF
taxation That would result. OF course.
in a deficit to the Treasury OF the United
States.
These are some OF the considerations,
Mr.. Speaker which have led the commit
feet a revenue bill during the recess, when
a bill may be framed that may be brought
in next December and passed through the
House
''Mr. Richardson wish to say that In
my opinion this Congress ought not to
adjourn until some provision is made frr
the reduction of the war taxes. We can
get along without the enormous sum now
being collected under the war tax measure.
~ rf1a TraQ Fg
BY his report to Congress that the surplus
at the end of the present fiscal year viii
amount to nearly $9G.000.e90. Now. Mr.
Speaker, that being true, the gentleman
from New York may juggle with figures.
he may use figures TO disguise this fact,
but his Secretary of the Treasury tells US
that there will be an enormous surplus
growing out of the revenues for the pres
ent fiscal year. This being true, this Con
gress ought not to adjourn, l say, until it
makes provision for some relief to the
people from these onerous taxes.
Il know when the war tax measure
passed it was claimed that is was
an emergency measure. The war
came suddenly. and 1t was nee
essary to enact hasty legislation; but,
Mr.. Speaker, this Congress has been in
session six or seven months in time OF
profound peace, and no effort whatever has
been Dut lOfln Dy lhe " bAfS
the people any kind of relief from this
burden of taxation. And now they pro-
pose to adjourn.
THE gentleman from New York has made
a statement about what occurred in COM
mittee. I do not like Usually TO do any
thing OF that kind. but he has said that
this motion to adjourn met with no oppo-
sition from the minority after voting on
certain preliminary motions.
Now. one of these preliminary motions,
Mr.. Speaker, was a resolution instructing
that committee to report resolution or
bin forthwith to reduce the war taxes 80
per cent before we adjourn, the bill to take
effect July !, 1900 That they will not
agree TO do. That would give some
measure Of relief to the people. Why
not pass such a resolution? II can be
passed in forty-eight hours or less time.
Then IL the gentleman admits that the war
tax measure was hastily prepared, and
that IL will take time to prepare a measure
to take it's place, then If he thinks 1t is
necessary for the Ways and Means Com
mittee to sit during the recess in order to
prepare a safe and wise measure making
further reduction, this side of the House
would not object to it, l venture to say. We
are for any measure or any resolution and
for any fair and reasonable steps that will
reduce the burden Of taxation now rest
ing upon the people. [Applause.l"