Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1906-12-15
NAY Be AN EXTRA SESSION
Tariff Revision Likely to be Dis
cussed Next Spring.
WHAT WILL BE NEXT lSSUE7
congressman Discussing the Question
Among Themselves at the
Capital.
special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
Washington, d. c., Dec. S.-Mem-
bers of congress have just awakened
to the fact that the Presidents mes
sage plainly proposes that the subjects
of an inheritance tax and an income
tax, both of which, if enacted into
law, would produce large revenues, be
considered when the question comes
up as to revising the tariff, and that
the president leaves high in the air the
matter of tariff revision.
In his discussion of the inheritance
tax and income tax ideas the President
says these should be considered when
the revenues of the government are up
for revision.
Therefore, when will the tariff be re-
vised, and when will the inheritance
and income tax questions come before
! Congress in such an earnest way as to
presage a genuine attempt to do some.
thing?
| Evidently the president left the
whole thing to crystalize; to get the
| opinions of the people SO that he would
| know when to proceed with his char
acteristic vigor. According to the
presidents views there will be no in
| heritance and income tax laws until
the tariff is formally revised. One
| could not we'll be taken up without the
| other.
Logically, this is a correct attitude,
republicans assert, although the lead
ers of the party differ as to details. IL
| is admitted that if the income and in
heritance tax laws are put upon the
books they viii produce large
| revenue to the government which is
already burdened with money the es-
Inmates for the surplus for this fiscal
year running as high as $4,000, 900.
| The government has so much money
on hand that it has millions of dollars
on deposit with the national banks and
will be able at the close of the year
| to pay off $116,000,000 of maturing A
per cent bonds. Even then it will
have on deposit nearly $100000,000
with national banks that could be
drawn upon in case of need.
would not be business policy to in
| crease the revenues TO large exte1r.
When the rich men are plucked for
some portion of their wealth as a con-
tribution to taxes some other source of
taxation can be reduced. VIII the pol
| icy of the president be to advocate a
lowering of excessive duties ON articles
of import, especially where this lower.
ing would result in less duties to the
| government? Tariff experts claim that
when customs duties are lowered the
result is a large increase in exports
and more revenue for the government,
/ but the president probably has in mind
schedules of the tariff on which the
/, duties could be abolished altogethel
and goods admitted free.
At any rate the passage of laws re-
| quiring wealth to pay goodly portion
of taxation means that the government
must get rid of some of it's revenues
How to do it will be the problem for
the party in power.
Massachusetts republicans, some OF
those from Indiana and the western
states are demanding an extra session
for tariff revision. With this would
come inheritance ana income laws, in
all probability. If there is no extra
session the tariff question would go to
the next regular session, which would
fall on the eve of the presidential cleo
ton of 1908. No republican leader
would stand for this. Not even the
president.
In the light of this the conclusion is
reached that the tariff will have to be
! revised in extra session next spring
i and summer or the revision will have
to go over until the congress following
the election of a president. What does
the president really want? Is he adroit-
ly moving to make the three questions
tariff revision, inheritance tax, in
| come tax-the issues for 1908, whether
he is or is not a candidate to succeed
himself? Several hundred COMPRESSION
al leaders believe that is his plan.
|
| c<n.,eL ~ Eorira