Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1902-02-06
WAsHN0os. Feb. 3. 10


important step taken at she Capitol
was the action Of the Ways and
Meas Committee determining upon
the repeal of the war revenue tas
bill enacted at the time o. he Spanss
ish War.
Repre sentative Claude A. Swan
SOD, Of Virginia, a prom nent mem
Der Of ths Ways and Means Commit
tee, made the following statement
TO your correspondent apropos Of
the action Of the committee:
The Democratic patty, ut the
time the Span sh war WIS dee Jared,
insisted that the spec al tex bill
would provide suffice 1t revenue
without be saleof bonds, and accord
ingly tie patty voted against the
section authorizings uch ale. vents
have demonstrated the CORE ctness
Of the Democratic conte ltion The
war tax the Dingley bill, ard the
sale Of bonds nave comb ned % pro-
duce a surplus in thu Treasury
which has proved serious menace
to business. In fact, financial dis
aster has been prevented orly by
the purchase Of bords at high pre-
MUM ard the deposits o. vast sums
in the National Banks of he country,
on which, of course, the government
received no interest. The govern
ment has paid millions Of dollars in
premiums which might have been
saved had the democratic policy
been pursued. The position of the
republicans is acomplete ratification
of the policy advocated by the dem
Ocrats at that time.
THE democrats viii vote for the
repeal OF the war taxes because they
realize that the present vast surplus
is dangerous to businesses interests
and TO the government. They would
much prefer a reform of the entire
tax system, including tariff and in
ternal revenue taxes. We believe
that food and clothing, in word the
necessities purchased by the whole
people, are entitled to at least as
much reduction as the republican
party is extending TO bank capital,
the sugar trust, the Standard Oil
trusts, circuses, theatres, bucket
shops and spectators. All these are
relieved while theextortionate rates
of the Dingley bill are continued on
all the necessities Of the people.
"The Democrats on this Committee
have insisted that all trustmade
goods, which are SO protected by
the Dingley bin as to enable the
trusts to charge the American con-
sumer double the prices asked abroad
should be allowed 10 come into the
country free. This would have de-
stroyed many monopolies; but the
republicans would not permit it.
They are determined to ignore the
advice 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 a policy
which is breeding trusts, which is
glaring in its inequalities and which
is bound to destroy our foreign mar
kets. The only possibility of reform
lies in democratic supremacy, which
would permit the democrats toremod-
ell the system Of taxation along the
lines of justice and equality. /"
When the recommendation to abol-
ish the war taxes was before the
Committee. Mr.. FrancisG. Newlands
of Nevada offered an amendment
providing that every industrial cor
poration engaged in manufacturing,
whose annual receipts exceeded 81,
600, 900, should be compelled to pay
special tax IL one-tenth OF one per-
cent on all gross receipts in excess
ofSl 900, 0O0perannum. The amend
ment futher provided that corpora
tons of the above magnitude should
render, at the close of each year, a
complete statement OF its capital
and surplus, receipts, expenses and
profits, and amount and rates of
wages paid. the statistics so provid-
ed TO be classified and published by
the Commissioner of Internal Reve-
nue..
The amendment was rejected by a
party vote but Mr.. Newlands told
me yesterday that he would offer it
again when the measure was called
up in the House. THE amendment
is in complete accord with President
Roosevelt's recommendation of pub
licity for the trusts, said Mr.. New
lands. 1T would insure contri-
button from those industries which
the government is protecting at n
rate averaging close to 80 per cent
of between 5000, 900 and so, O0O, 600
a year to the federal expenses, and
would insure that publicity the
President so strongly advocates and
which is essential before iptelli0enf