Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-12-11
The Ways and Means Committee
Adopts the Measure Making
$40, 900, 900 Cut.
SIGNED BY ALL REPUBLICAN MEMBERS.
Excess of That Suggested by Sec
rotary Gnsc-Grout Oleomargarine
BILL Passes the HOuse-More Bnttle-
ships Wanted.

| publican members, in favor of the bill
reducing the war revenue taxes about
| $40,000,000. The report says in part:
War Revenue Still Needed.
| while our war, for which these addition
al taxes were levied, is ended, the train of
extraordinary expenditures has not ter
minated with the close of actual hostilities.
| We find 1t still necessary to maintain an
army of 100000 men until law and order is
| fully restored in all our possessions. We
| find 1t also necessary to provide troops to
man the Qualifications which we have been
building the past few years, and also to pro-
vide a sufficient force in the navy to man
the vessels We have recently added. The in
creaSing navy, too, brings new necessities,
all of which call for a greater drain upon
our resources.
According to the report of the secretary
of the treasury, the receipts from all
sources for the fiscal year ended June 80.
| 1900, were 1868, 595, 431, while the total ex-
penditures were S59O.O6S.S7l, showing sur
| plus of S79,527060. He also estimates the
receipts for the fiscal year ending June 80,
1901, upon the basis of existing laws at
1857, 253, and the expenditures at s60777S,-
253, which would leave an estimated surplus
of 900. For the fiscal year ending
June 3d. 1902, the secretary of the treas
ury estimates the revenues at SILT, 1888, 042.
and the expenditures at $3.50, 3i4 ,S04, leaving
Will Stand Reduction.
at will be seen that for 1902 there is an
estimated increase in the revenue of $780,
100000 over the previous year, and an in
crease of expenditures of nearly $50, O00,O 600.
The committee are inclined to take more
conservative view of the amount of ex-
penditures necessary for the year ending
June 80, 1902; at the same time, they are
anxious to avoid any deficiency in the flu
ture. They deem it safe to make reduce
ton Of about $4,000, 600, while the secretary
Of the treasury in his report suggests re-
/ duction of only $50 600. 600 in the revenue.
SIN making the reductions in the bill re-
i ported, the committee have sought to re-
move the more annoying taxes in the war
revenue act by the entire abolition of those
which were most VeXations and by re-
duction of those which seemed to have
proved a great burden upon the several
branches of trade to which they are APP
piled.
Relief for Brewers.
ION beer war tax of So cents barrel
was added to the tax of one dollar barrel
previously imposed. The committee recog-
nize that the manufacturers of beer have
some claim in the general reduction of the
war revenue, and they believe that the
amendment proposed in section ! of the
bill making a net reduction of % cents per
barrel gives them all the relief to which
they are entitled in view of the reduction
carried by the bill.
On Cigars.
I'm the war revenue act the tax upon
: N Ht % tffe rnvusaltEasI4.thEse-p pounds
Thts 90 cents per thousand was very oner-
Gus to the manufacturers, especially those
engaged In small way, and making the
! cheaper grade of cigars It has been i'm
maknE 20 oroa ta any Of this 60
factories have had to bear the entire tax of
over 50, 900, 900 last year. The committee
,l,SAo
ducing this tax at the rate of 60 cents per |
thousand.
other Changes.
The report then gives the changes in de-
tail. with estimated amount of reduction,
which has heretofore appeared. 1t contin-
ues: 1.-THE two-cent stamps on bank
checks, certificates of deposit, drafts, pos
tai money orders, ETC., are very annoying
to large class of people. and much COM
| plant has been made to the committee,
! especially from the smaller towns and from
| farmers. Another source of annoyance has
been the tax of one cent on express re-
ceipts and telegraph messages. There Is no
doubt but that this taxation has caused
more widespread annoyance and trouble
| than anything else in the act. The COM
mittee therefore have stricken these taxes
from the law. The tax upon deeds and 4
conveyances has been quite burdensome in
numerous instances, as well as the tax upon
issory notes and mortgages has been very
onerous upon the debtor class. 1t has
seemed to them that it was enough to pay
| interest without paying tribute to the
government upon every transaction of this
\ kind. These are the principal items in
amount that are stricken from the sched-
ule. While the other taxes of like charac-
ter are small in amount and present an OBJ
| vious reason for their repeal.
1.-The committee have repealed all of
| schedule B, excepting the tax upon wines
| This includes the tax upon proprietary
medicines and articles of similar ma
| ture. There has been greater protest
| against the enforcement of this tax than
any other in the whole law. II would APP
pear that the tax was much greater in Sc
verify than congress anticipated when the
law was enacted. While the per cent, OF
| taxation is small upon the retail price of
the article sold. 1t has fallen upon the
| manufacturer to large degree. and has
| been in the aggregate large percentage OF
taxation upon the wholesale price.
| After giving the reductions in detail ag-
| gregating s40OOO,346. the report says: "In
making the foregoing reductions your COM
mittee believe that the bill goes as far as 1t
| ia safe to go in reducing the revenue They
| also believe that they have made the reduc-
lions SO as to do away with the most an
1 noying and vexat!ous taxes under the act,
| and also TO relieve such business as is most
4
| stances While regretting that they can.
4 not at this time make report finally dis
| posing OF the war taxes. except such as con-
| gress may deem IL wise hereafter to keep
| upon the statute book. yet they congratu-
| late the country they are able to report a
| bill striking off 40 per cent of this kind of
| taxation.
After this reduction of $40. 600, 600 shall
| take effect, leaving revenue of S65, 900 900
| under the war revenue act, that sum will
1 be barely sufficient to meet the train of
| extraordinary expenditures which follow
| the close of actual hostilities. We are cers
| tainly justified In maintaining the war rev.
| enues up to a point equal to the extrao rdi-
nary expenses entailed by the war"
1 House PASSES Oleomargarine Bill.
Washington. Dec. 10.-The house
| passed the Grout oleomargarine bill
by vote of 1913 to 90. The substitute
offered by the minority of the COM
mittee on agriculture, which imposed
additional restrictions on the sale of
/ oleomargarine to prevent its fraudu-
lent sale as butter and increased the
penalties for violators, was defeated
by vote of 113 to 17s,
House Session,
Washington, Dec. 10.-Under spe-
, cial order adopted at the last session,
the house devoted Saturday after ons
o'clock to paying tribute to the mem
DRY of the late Representative Alfred
c. Hammer, of Pennsylvania. When the
house met a bill was passed to include
cherries in the list of fruits from which
brandy can be, distilled under section
snff Dn,, = RI L