Washington sentinel., 1901-05-11
4TRsoF ADvER nsINe:
$25,OO0,OOO SAVED.

The Treasury Can now AFFORD Bee
Tax Repeal VIII it be done2
10 his IL Paso speech the Presi
dent made use of the followin,
words:
While we have authority to rai7e ;
hundred thousand troops, the necessit,
does not exist Tor that number, and We
DO not propose to raise but IS 600.
This declaration is important
from the assurance it seems to
carry that conditions at home and
abroad are OF such a pacific char
acter as to obviate the necessity Of
recruiting the army to its full
strength OF 100, 900. 1t will be
hailed with satisfaction by all
classes, because our people are
pretty well surfeited with wars and
bloodshed, and the expense which
such things entail. And to no class
will this announcement bring
greater pleasure than to the men
engaged in the brewing business,
on whose shoulders has fallen the
burden Of providing almost the en-
tire cost of our military establish
ment.
The last Congress provided Tor
an army of 100, 900 men at a cost
in round numbers OF SIoo, 900, 600
Ian average OF 81 900 per man,
Mr.. McKinley's assurance that an
army Of IS, 900 will be sufficient for
our needs opens way for the Gov
ernment to reduce its yearly ex.
penditures by S25, 900 900 and to
devote that sum to further tax re.
duction. in the distribution OF
which brewers may we'll hope to
share.
Brewers appreciate the frank
ness with which Mckinley handles
the question of a third term and
allays the ghost Of Imperialism, as
he did in his FL Paso speech. These
are subjects IN which they are in
terested equally with all other cit
izens. But a matter which con-
Germs them particularly as business
men, and upon which they seek en-
lightenment, is whether, now that |
the Government is in a position 20
afford it, Congress will extend |
them the relief they asked tor last
winter, but which was refused on
the ground that the Treasury could |
not stand it. The question Of the
moment with brewers is, When
will the war tax be repealed
When the War Revenue bill was
under discussion the President, in
a message to Congress, advised
that reduction should be secured
by the r mission OF those taxes
which experience has shown to be
the most burdensome to the indus.
tries of the people"
In all the arguments in support
OF tax reduction before the com.
mittees OF Congress no other in
dustry was able to present, in sup
port OF its claims for reliei, figures
to prove that the war tax absorbed
the outrageous amount oi 40 per
cent Of the selling price OF the ari.
Gle taxed, as could the brewers.
No other industry was in a posi-.
ton to say that when the Spanish
war tax was levied, it was already
paying heavy impost for military
purposes left over from our Civil
war, as could the brewers.
No other industry was able to
say that economic conditions were
such, at the outbreak OF the Span
ish war, that business was being
conducted at about the point
where cost and selling price coun-
terbalanced each other-where
profits had almost disappeared
as could the brewers.
In word, no other industry was
able TO say that the extra tax i'm
posed by reason OF the Spanish
war wiped out profits altogether
and brought its business to the
verge OF collapse, which uas about
the position in which brewers
Iound themselves in June, rsoS, and
therefore no other industry found
itself in a position to say that the
imposition Of the war levy was
burdensome to the same degree as
was the war tax on beer.
The question OF importance to