Washington sentinel., 1901-01-19
BREWERS,
The Sen
Brewers LOOK ate Finance
to senate. ~ ,-,II u IL nol,;, VI , . .,i. IS

brewers LOOK ate Finance
Eou,+o Committee
10 senate. will begin this
Thursday morning the final con
sideration ofthe House bill for the
reduction Of war taxes. As the
measure came from the lower
house It contains many provisions
that are not favored by the Senate
for instance, the repeal OF the
check tax which, as we showed last
week, exacted from a huge indus
try like the Armour packing " orks
the insignificant sum of 81 zoo per
annum through the check tax,
while a small brewer of
10000 barrels Of beer a year was
mulcted through The beer tax in
the enormous sum OF $4,000.
The tax on proprietary prepara
tions and that on kilograms, both
Of which were repealed by the
House measure, are not deemed
by many Senators 6t objects for
repeal. And in this position the
Senate viii have the support Of inn
partial people everywhere.
The object oil the War Reduction
bill is not merely to stop the col
lection Of unnecessary taxes from
the people, but to do it in such a
way as will, in accordance with the
suggestion Of the President in his
annual message, relieve those in
dustries on which that tax imposes
the heaviest burdens. The object
is to give relief where relief IS
needed-not where it is merely de-
sired.
In this spirit the SENTINEL asks
the attention Of Senators to the
beer tax and offers a few reasons
for its repeal, or at least its sub
stantial reduction in double the
sum allowed by the House. Our
aim will be to show that the brew
ing industry is deserving Of relief,
and that the condition OF the fn-
ances will justify a decrease Of
50 cents a barrel in place Of IS
cents.
There was no just reason why,
at the outbreak ofthe SPAN sh war
beer should be saddled with a
share Of the burdens Of that con-
Aict because that industry was
paying a war tax Of 81 a barrel all
ready, imposed when beer was
bringing double the price It brings
today, unless receipts from other
sources should have fallen below
the needs Of tn Government,
when an extra ordinary levy would
have been looked for. such a con-
tingencY did not occur lhe fact
really being that every ne -essarY
expense conseq lent on that strug-
gle could have been provided for
without the collection Of a penny
from beer. II proof Of this were
asked it will be found in the state
ment that from the passage OF the
War Revenue bill down to the
close Of the fiscal year ending June
80, 10oo--a period OF a lttle over
two Years-the total war -ax paid
BY beer was in round numbers
$4,000 900, while the surplus from
that same war tax for the same
time vas reported to be SSo, ,ooo. >.
coo. These are Treasury figures
anG are presumed to be correct
They bear out the assertion thai
the levy IN beer was entirely un.
necessary, except as a precaution,
ary measure. Even this excuse
no longer exists
The present is a. era Of expau.
SION, and we must loCt Tor expen.
ditures in keeping wits our new
position and the responsibilities il
entails. But with the proposed
lavish approPriations--on an im.
Derialistic scale --Ior the creatio.
OF an American merchant marine
to build an Isthmian Canal to con
acct the oceans, to prevent river
and harbors from drying up o.