Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-02-06
WASHINGTON LETTER.
from our Regular Correspondent

WASHINGTON. FeDruary 5, lSUZ.
The bill providing for the establishment
of the Department of Commerce and
Labor was passed by the Senate this week
and the House passed bill providing for
permanent Census Bureau, but the most
important step taken at the Capitol was the
action of theWays & MeansC Committee deter
mining upon the repeal of the war revenue
tax bill enacted at the time of the Spanish
War.
Representative Claude A. Swanson, of
| Virginia, prominent member of the Ways
and Means Committee, made the following
statement to your correspondent apropos of
the action of the committee:
''The Democratic party, at the time the
Spanish war was declared insisted that the
special tax bill would provide sufficient
revenue without the sale of bonds and ac-
cordingly the party voted against the sec
ton authorizing such sale. Events have
demonstrated the correctness of the Demo-
cratic contention. The war tax, the Ding
| ley bill, and the sale of bonds have COM
bined to produce a surplus in the Treasury
which has proved a serious menace to bust
ness. In fact, financial disaster has been
prevented only by the purchase of bonds at
high premium and the deposits of vast
sums in the National Banks of the country,
on which, of course, the government re-
ceived no interest. The government has
paid millions of dollars in premiums which
might have been saved had the Democratic
policy been pursued. The position of the
Republicans is complete ratification of
the policy advocated by the Democrats at
that time.
THE Democrats will vote for the repeal
of the War taxes because they realize that
the present vast surplus is dangerous to
business interests and to the government.
They would prefer reform of the entire
the system, including tariff and internal
revenue taxes We believe that food and
clothing, in a word, the necessities pur-
chased by the whole people, are entitled to
at least as much reduction as the Republi-
can party is extending to bank capital, the
sugar trust, the Standard Oil trust circuses,
theatres, bucket-shops and SPECTATORS All
these are relived while the extortionate
rates of the Dingley bill are continued on
all the necessities of the people.
The Democrats on this Committee have
insisted that all trust-made goods, which are
so protected by the Dingley bill as to enable
the trusts to charge the American consumer
double the prices asked abroad, should be
allowed to come into the country free
This would have destroyed many monopo-
lies; but the Republicans would not permit
it. They are determined to ignore the adj
vice given by Mr. Mckinley in his Buffalo
speech, to reform the tariff and so enlarge
our foreign markets The Republican party
is determined to persist in policy which is
breeding trusts, which is glaring in its inc
qualities and which is bound to destroy our
foreign markets The only possibility of
reform lies in Democratic supremacy, which
would permit the Democrats to remodel the
system of taxation along the lines of Justice
and equality"
When the recommendation to abolish the
war taxes was before the committee, Mr..
Francis G. Newlands, of Nevada, offered an
amendment providing that every industrial
corporation engaged in manufacturing
whose annual receipts exceeded 81, 900, 900,
should be compelled to pay special tax of
one-tenth of one per cent on all gross re-
ceipts in excess of 81 900, 600 per annum
The amendment further provided that cor
porations of the above magnitude should
render, at the close of the year, a complete
statement of its capital and surplus, re-
ceipts, expenses and profits, and amount
and rates of wages paid, the statistics so
provided to be classified and published by
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue
The amendment was rejected by party
vote but Mr.. Newlands told us yesterday
that he would offer it again when the meas
ure was called up in the House. ''The
amendment is in complete accord with
President Roosevelt's recommendation of
publicity for the trusts" said Mr. New
lands. SIT would insure contribution
| frin cxxhi oh fho
is protecting at rate averaging close to so
per cent of between $4,000 600 and $10,-
600, 600 year to the Federal expenses, and
would insure that publicity the President
so strongly advocates and which is essential
before intelligent legislation can be enacted,
either for the control of the trusts or
the adjustment of the tariff rates
If the war revenue tax be repealed
without the adoption of this amendment
such giant monopolies as the sugar trust
and the Standard Oil trust will be left in a
position where they contribute nothing to
the support of the government which deals
so bountifully with them, while the neces-
saries of life will be heavily taxed and the
burden, from which corporate wealth is
exempted, will fall on the poor and middle
classes"
which surged about Chairman Payne as
soon as the action of his committee became
known that, after conference with the
Speaker, he issued an official statement set
ting forth that the committee had no inten-
ton of blocking the way to Cuban reci-
procity by its revenue reduction policy, as
had been charged. He protests that the
committee has had no conference in regard
to the Cuban matter and that its action was
the result of belief that -FOUR own people
should be relieved from the burden coca
stoned by the war before the needs of for
eignors were considered" Little faith is
accorded Mr.. Payne's statement, however
even by the members of his own party.
The President is known to have informed
the members of his Cabinet on Friday that
he was firmly convinced of the necessity Of
affording relief to Cuba, that nothing had
shaken his conception of the moral obliga-
tions of the United States and that he pro-
posed to use every effort to secure the full
fillment of the pledges made by Mr.. Nc
Kinley. Under the circumstances it would
surprise no one if a somewhat forcible mes
sage were received by Congress on the sub
ject in the not distant future.
The question of Southern elections, repre-
sentation, etc., still continue to agitate the
Republicans and caucus to define a policy
has been called for this evening. 1t is not
expected that it will result in any action
of Importance as it is impossible for the
Republicans to get together an any line Of
action calculated to produce material
results.