The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-02-03
THEY SHY AT IT.
New Tax Bill Proving a veri-
table BugaboO.
Members of Political Parties
Avoid Responsibility.
FUSIONISTS REFUSE.
Don't Want Places on the Tax
alton Committee.
FUSIONISTS REFUSE.
Senator Smith Makes Partial
Reputation of Measure.

All parties seem to be afraid of the
taxation question. This is only natural
/ for no matter what sort of a tax bill is
formulated a great many people will Oh
1 jeet to it and viii work against the
party which passes it. If those who are
now escaping taxation are compelled
to pay they viii be against the parry
that makes them do it. And if a bill
is passed which lets some people or the
corporations escape. those who have to
pay VIII be down on the party which
( lets the others escape.
For this reason Chairman Albaugh.
/ Governor Bailey and other Republican
/ leaders refused to adopt the proposed
/ tax bill as Republican measure in the
campaign last fan. For the same rea-
son they sat down on the scheme of
those who wanted to force the tax bill
/ through the legislature as q Republican
caucus measure.
Now the Republicans are anxious to
I escape having the tax bill passed ever.
along party lines, and the fuSiOnists are
Just as anxious to saddle it upon them.
/ InlS is why Senator Smith. taxation
( leader in the senate, who is largely re-
sponslble for the bill formulated by the
( taxation commission. virtually repud.
! lated his own measure by moving tina t
q joint committee of ten from the senate
and p from the house, on which the
minority should have due representation
should be appointed to get up a new tax
Dill This was to place part Of the re
sDonslbility on the fusionists.
1t was openly stated in the house
that the enlargement of the committee
was solely for the purpose of giving the
fusionists larger representation. Last
night the fusionists held a caucus and
I voted that they wouldn't have any
such representation and that they
/ wouldn't play on any taxation com
placing the responsibility solely with
the Republicans.
This in itself would be poor politics,
/ because 1t would give the Republicans
a chance to say that the fusionists
4 were given an opportunity to do some
thing and refused to do it. To block
any such move as this the fusionists
( decided to get up a taxation measure
/ having it passed but to compel the Re
/ publicans to pass theirs without any
help from the fusionists.
When Senator Smith made the pro-
position for the joint committee to
formulate a new tax bill, Senator Nc
MILAN started a move to make the Re
publican senators formally kill their
own bill. He moved to make it a spe-
cial order to Wednesday. He read from
the report Of the tax commission the
following statement. The length of
time it has taken the commission to
formulate this bill has proven cOnclus-
livery lnHL II WOulQ De Impossible Tor
any legislature, in the brief time al
/ lowed by the length of its session, to
successfully prepare such a measure.
1t is we'll known that numerous at
tempts have heretofore been made by
the legislative committees on taxation,
and their failure led to a tax commits
sion to sit in vacation for the purpose
/ Of formulating a bill.'
McMillan's motion was, of course. vo-
ted down, just as he expected it would
be
The reason I did that" said Senator
/ Mcmillan today, was to Dut the Re-
4 pubrcans on record and make them ad-
NIT that their taxation commission was
/ a failure. They refused to give the mi
nOrity any representation on it, and
now that it has fallen down I want
them to admit it is failure. The COM
mission was in session 81 DAYS and spent
Sc 600 of the states money. I under
stand a deficiency bill is to be brought
in some time during this session to pay
the bills that the other appropriation
/ would not meet"
The present system of assessment and
taxation certainly needs revision. Ii
would be pretty hard to stumble on to
anything more unequal than the plan
{ now in use in Kansas. But the way to
meet the issue is to meet it. and man
or party who is big enough to formu-
late a plan which shall prove satisfac-
tory after due trial win be entitled to
the lasting gratitude of the people OF
{ lne STATE
Representa- tives Waggener. Gobe1 and
Bowman. and Senator Gabriel are in re-
volt against the action of the minority
caucus in voting TO refuse to act on the
join taxation committee. They We're EOi
present at the fusion caucus last night
and they say they will go ahead and act
on the committee regardless of the eau
Gus action.
we are here to work. said Wag-
gener today, and I propose to do what
I can to help instead of holding back. 81
INCREASE SENATE COMMITTEE
In the senate this morning Governor
Hanna named the members of the joint
tax committee appointed specially for
the consideration of the new tax law
the product of the tax revision COM
missions labOrs. There are twenty
five members on the two committees
er and Gabriel are from the minority
The minority is dead against the tax
measure and doesn't want to have any
thing to do with it. 1t is to the minor
ity's interest to do everything possible
to make the tax bill look like a Repub-
lican party measure, which it is Wher
his name was announced Sena tol
Householder tried to withdraw from
service upon the committee. Following
are those named from the senate.
Senator's Smith. HurreI Peterson
Morrow, White. Carpenter Mcknight
Fitzpatrick, Householder and Gabriel
There viii be a meeting of the joint
committee at 8 o'clock tonight.