The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1909-03-03
WANTED-$130,0 900, 900.

How to make his financial trousers meet his shoes is the
problem which is troubling Uncle Sam. There is a
difference of some $30000 between the rouser legs and
the shoe tops.
This is one reason William Howard Taft has had get
out wire hook and dog net to capture secretary of the
treasury. Secretaries hate treasury with hole in the
bottom People have way of holding the secretary
sponsible.
The new president and the new congress will have this
deficit their minds 1t will be their first important bust
when congress gets together 1t will be text for the
first presidential message and it may eventually
shadow the secret service and the honor of congress-
paramount issue
And yet the answer is not far to seek.
More taxes.
tax coffee of cents pound is part of what the
ways and means committee has framed up.
Other taxes contemplated On beer, so cents
BARREL stock transfers, stamp tax depending the
size of the transfers playing cards. patent medicines
etc. various small taxes; deeds and other forms of
veyance stamp taxes and possibly Inheritance and an
income tax
The cents pound tax coffee is the most popular
with the ways and means committee 1t would net the
government about $350O000O year. and would be tax
the poor breakfast table Anything that hits the
poor mans breakfast table and spares the rich mans
safety deposit vault is popular with certain kinds OF
statesmen.
1t is with some regret that the committee members feel
constrained to bring in bill to add so cents to the tax
barrel of beer. The brewing trust has had hard time
lately with the spread of prohibition But it would pro-
duce added $ 1000 to the revenues and ANYHOW it
is tax on luxuriesbeer being the poor mans luxury
Serene Payne chairman of the committee, is said to OPP
pose tax on stock transfers This would fall to certain
comes from New York. The amount this tax would net
would be about $15,000000
Altogether, these taxes would add only about $780,
100000 to the Which would still leave deficit
of about $40000000
1t is to meet this and desperate emergency that it
is thought necessary to think about income tax and
tax inhertances.
There plenty members Of congress who certain
that the court would not dare to rule against
income tax The membership of that has been
what altered since that decision made and it will be
more altered before long. Moreover has been brought
out since that decision that there is serious doubt the
authority OF the supreme court to veto the clearly
pressed purpose of congress- this any other legsla
tive matter.
The 'unconstutionaly of the supreme court" has be-
come live subject in quarters. And the fact that
judicial usurpaton be checked in this instance by
law increasing the membership of the supreme court
likely to have its weight with that body.
The inheritance tax has been declared unconstu
tonal by the supreme court and there reason why
tax on nhertances similar to those levied by all foreign
nations should not be applied in the United States As
pointed out by President Roosevelt this affords oppor
tuty for equalizng taxes, by reaching those large
mutations of wealth which are by grace of law held the
dead hand and passed down from generation generation
q Of Of e.