Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-12-20
A HOT DEBATE ON TAXES.
Amendments Are Made to The
Revenue Law.
LIVELY WAR ON BEER RATES.
Mr.. Payno's Committee Secures = Rate
of SLIGO Barrel on Beer, but Also
Meets Defeat-Tsx on Express Com
panies Urged.

washington, ID. T., Dec. 17.-The
house of representatives disposed of
the perplexing question OF the reduc-
ton of the tax on beer, deciding upon
the motion of Mr.. Payne, chairman of
the ways and means committee, to
make the rate SLIGO barrel fiat, in
stead of 50, with rebate of 20 per
cent, as proposed in the bill which he
introduced. The house also in COM
mittee of the whole voted down Rep
resentative Newlands' proposition to
make the tax S1.20 barrel and de-
feated Mr.. Bartholdt's (Mo) PROPOSE
ton, which is understood to have been
the brewers amendment, to make the
tax $1.50. Representatives Boutell,
Prince and Smith of the Illinois dele
CATION, favored the latter, while Rep
resentatives Main and Reeves OPP
posed it. The committee, however,
sustained two signal defeats. In con-
nection with the beer tax Mr.. Payne
offered an amendment in the language
of the bill passed by the house last
session designed to abolish the use OF
small beer packages ne-sixteenth
and one-eighth barrels-but it was de-
feated by So to "a after charges that
its purpose was to crush out the small
brewers.
To Tax Express Companies.
Another defeat occurred in connec-
ton with the amendment offered by
Henry c. Smith (Mich.). The bill
abolished the 1-cent-stamp tax on ex-
press receipts and telegraph messages,
but retained the tax on railroad and
steamship. freight receipts. Mr.. Smiths
amendment restored the tax on ex-
press receipts and altered the form OF
the section so as to compel the COM
pany instead of the shipper to pay the
tax. The amendment precipitated
lively debate in the course of which
Mr.. Smith made a personal allusion
to United States senator who is con-
nected with one of the express COM
panies. Mr.. Payne vigorously fought
the amendment, but it was carried
1913 to 6.
Representative Hopkins (nl.), chair
man of the census committee, to-day
introduced a reapportionment bill
based upon a ratio Of 2OS,S6S popula-
ton to each congressional district.
Under his bill the states of Illinois,
Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey,
New York and West Virginia will each
gain one member and the State of
Texas two, while the states of Indi-
ana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Neb-
raska, Ohio, South Carolina and Vir-
ginia will each lose a member. Mr.
Hopkins favors this plan because he
Is opposed to increasing the member
ship of the house. Those states that
would suffer loss are vigorously op-
posing it, Representative Brosius Pa.)
introduced a bill to amend the consti-
tuition by providing that hereafter the
house Of representatives shall consist
of 357 members. AS the country grows
in population and as new states are
admitted to the Union the ratio of rep
resentation would increase so that the
house would retain its present size.
Talk of an Extra Session.
Suggestions are being heard about
the senate corridors of an extra ses-
sion of congress next spring IL the
steamship subsidy bill fail to pass this
winter.