The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-03-29
STRAIGHT TARIFF
MEASURE MINUS
ANY TRIMMINGS
Bill to 60 to President Taft
Without Income Tax, In
heritance Tax, Stamp Tax,
Or Other Features.
ESPECIAL TAXATION
is NOT DESIRABLE
No Man Can Tell What Form
Payne Bill Will Present
When 1t Emerges From the
Fierce Melee.
(By Sheldon S. Cline.)

Washington, March eff the pres
ent state of mind of the republican
leaders in congress holds untu the
work of the extra session is completed
a tariff bill, and tariff bill alone.
will be sent to President Taft for his
There will be no provision
for an income tax. nor an inheritance
tax, nor for stamp taxes. nor for spec
ial taxation of any kind. There will
not even be a tax on coffee. though
tea may have to stand tax of from
six to eight cents pound.
Is Hard Problem.
The simple fact is that special tax
nation is at peace and there is no
prospect of war is too big problem
to be solved without the most careful
consideration. And there is no oppor-
tunity for such consideration when ev-
cry congressional nerve is attuned to
the wrangle over schedules. No man
can know what form the Payne tariff
bill will finally take until it energies
from conference and the conference
report has been approved by the two
houses. No man, therefore, can even
approximately guess the revenue the
bill will produce until the measure is
ready for the presidents signature. 1t
would be worse than futile, in the
opinion of party leaders, to fight out
the question of special taxation until
it is known how much of a treasury
1nfinif ic cyoin0 IN no Union tho
Payne bill is in operation.
The Present Program.
The present program is simply to
pass tariff bill at the extra session.
and then adjourn. When the bill has
been passed and the exports of the
treasury have had chance to study 1t
they will be able to tell within a few
thousand dollar0 how much revenue 1t
will produce. Then, by figuring the
increase of expenditures on the pres
ent scale, they will be able to make a
close guess at the annual deficit.
This will not necessarily mean, how
ever, that the whole of the estimated
deficit will have to be made up by
special taxation. For the first time
within the memory of man there is
serious determination in congress to
cut down expenditures. The senate
budget committee. which marks the
greatest forward step in a generation
Of congressional evolution, is expected
to lop many millions from the annual
appropriation bills. 1t will hardly be
able to save enough to wipe out the
deficit, but until it has demonstrated
what it can do in the way of effecting
economics the leaders are not dispos-
ed to take any unusual means of rails
ing revenue.
The program. therefore, contem-
plates the awaiting on two things.
First, to see how much of a revenue
raiser the new tariff bill will be and.
by economies in appropriations. 1t
will be time enough then. the leaders
believe, to take unusual steps for rails
ing revenue.
Is Which Considered.
What unusual means of raising rev.
enue will finally be adopted cannot of
course, be foretold, but the income tax
is coming for a lot of consideration
just now, at the hands of both the ad-
ministration and the republican lead
ers in congress. 1t would be no sur
prise to see all the other forms of un-
usual taxation discarded in favor OF
the income tax. The proposed inherit
ance tax is meeting with a lot of op-
position, especially from states which
have levied state taxes on inheritance.
1t is certain the democrats would
make lot OF political capital out of it
should tariff tax be levied on cot.
fee and stamp tax that extended to
bank checks and other negotiable pa
per would cause endless dissatisfac-
ton while a stamp tax applying only
to patent medicines. playing cards and
the like would not be much of a rev.
enue raiser.
All things considered, therefore. an
income tax which would stand the
supreme court test of constitutionality
would likely prove least Objectionable
of any form of special taxation. The
most the democrats could say about
it was that it was democratic policy
which had been appropriated by the
republicans and the voters have
shown in the past that they have lit
tie regard for this particular argu-
ment.
1A0 Sunrise Or EalN.