New-York tribune., 1903-03-13
THE LIQUOR TAX BILL.
INTRODUCED By RATNES.
Gouernor Says 1t VIII Not Lose Re
publican Votes.
[BY TELEGRAPH rc THE rRrBuNE.I

Albany March 12-The bill to amend the Liquor
Tax law by increasing by so per cent the Incense
fees for the sale of liquor all grades OF hcetseS
throughout the State was introduced In the Den
ate to-day by Senator Raines and in the Assembly
by Assemblyman Stevens. Hearings on it by JOINT
committee will be given in the Senate CHAMBER
Wednesday afternoon March 1s
Governor Odel said to-day that the criticism
that the Republican party would lose votes ana
public support BY increasing this tax was rioicu-
lous. He said:
Every decent. law abiding citizen in the State state
s r. t bS dnne n @ no3hnc as else "S has at least
ceeded in reducing greatly the number n e praees
thousands of places that were mensces to public pnhlic
morals; and has succeeded in reducing "ur priso"
Now, take the criminal statistics SINCE the pres pres
that the number of commitments for drunkenness
has fallen from 53230 in 1897. TO SO 2S in 1901 r.
pears that the commitments for Assaults rob rob
From af6 the prso Of
easily learned that The number Of crlmnais ga hen
It T reached s7s but diminishing through the years
nee II the @ of the ts Gr f
beexe that still further hetterment @ Of the morai
The Governo- added that he entirely salts
fed with the situation in the legislature as the
result of TIE Senate and Assembly caucuses on
mortgage and liquor taxation He was hopelui
Governor 0del viii 60 to Newburs @ to- to,morrow or
IS icq that If he quor Tax act
the Mortgage Tax act pass the State will have a
yearly surplus Of $5oOO6OO. 1t also said that
canal improvements till 1907 In the interval $4,000
OO0 a year could be used for road improvements.
good roads A similar sum would be expended by
the localities where the roads were situated Inus
$50 900 600 would be expended on road
The present plan Of the advocates OF the improve
ment OF the roads was to expeno *0V'V'oV" uPoh
the roads.
sary expend S5O000O in the construction OF new
hospitals for the insane 1t thus will have use tor
collect hv the passage or 1nOlreCL
taxation bills The indirect revenues OF the State
amount S170000C0 year and the annual expendi-
lures OF the State s2s OoOoO There thus must IL be
obtained if direct taxation is to be avoided IS COO
600. It is proposed by indirect taxation acts 10
obtain this money.
Republican leaders IN both houses are conhdent
that they have votes enough TO pass the two ao-
ministration measures the one providing lot lhe
mortgage tax and the other increasing by 50 per
cfent to pass the bills. accepted the caucus de-
cisions and the leaders hope to be able to brlne
Senator Hill INTO line before the test arrives.
RSpeaker Nixon also said to-day that he was as
sured of S6 for the measures or ten more
| than enough 20 pass them
Senator Green OF Binghamton. chairman of the
Senate Committee Taxation and Retrenchment
! who will have charge of the bills in the senate
end who has from the beginning been in the con-
| to-day that there nothing surprising IN the
! opposition to the mortgage tax proposition. He
said:
The letters which [ have received by scores or
this subject in tIcate clearly. two things: First
| that much of the opposition to the mortgage taN
nropostion, which the caucus definitely abandoned
and second. tiat the objections TO me mortsaSt tS
tag itself are due to M bs t 1n
| of the measure.