The silver state news. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1907-1909, 1909-04-03
NEWS OF NATIONS
CAPITAL
BY Sheldon s. Cline.


present state of mind of the republican
leaders in congress holds until the work
OF the extra session is completed, a
tariff bill, and tariff bill alone,e will
be sent to President Taft for his ap-
proval. There vii be no provision for
an income tax, nor an inheritance tax,
or for stamp taxes, nor for special
taxation of any kind. There will not
even be tax on coffee, though tea may
have to stand tax of from six to
eight cents a pound.
The simple fact is that special taxa
tion of any kind at time when the
nation is at peace and there is no pros
pect of war is too big problem to be
solved without the most careful con-
sideration. And there 10 no opportuni-
ty for such consideration when every
congressional nerve is attuned to the
wrangle over schedules. No man can
know what form the Payne tariff bill
will finally take until it emerges from
conference and the conference report
has been approved by the two houses.
No man, therefore, can even approx
mately guess the revenue the bill win
produce until the measure Is ready for
the presidents signature. It 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 treasury deficit there
is going to be when the Payne bill 10
in operation.
The present program is simply to
pass tariff bin at the extra session.
and then adjourn. When the bill has
been passed and the experts ftha
treasury have had chance to study it
they will be able to tell within few
thousand dollars how much revenue it
will produce. Then, by figuring the in
crease of expenditures ON the present
scale, they will be able to make q close
guess at thhe 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 con-
gressional evolution, expected to lop
many millions from the annual appro-
priation bills. It win 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 econom-
les the leaders are not disposed to take
any unusual means Of raising revenue.
The program, therefore, contemplates
the awaiting on two things. First, to
see how much Of a revenue-raiser the
new tariff bill will be and, second, to
see how much can be saved by econo-
mics in appropriations. 1t win be time
enough then, the leaders believe, to
take unusual steps for raising revenue.
What unusual means Of raising reve-
nue. will finally be adopted cannot, Of
coure, be foretold, but the income tax
is coming for lot of consideration just
now, at the hands of both the admins.
tration and the republican leaders in
congress. 1t would be no surprise to
ese all the other forms Of unusual taxa
tion discarded in favor Of the income
tax. The proposed inheritance tax 10
meeting with lot Of opposition, e.
pecially from states which have levied
state taxes on Inheritance. It ID Ger.
tain the democrats would make lot
of political capital out Of it should .
tariff tax be levied on coffee, and q
stamp tax extended to bank checkse
and other negotiable paper would cause
endless dissatisfaction while stamp
tax applying only to patent medicines,
playing cards and the like would not
be much of revenue raiser.
All things considered, therefore, IN
income tax which would stand the su-
preme court test of constitutionality
would likely prove least Objectionable
of any form of special taxation. The
most the democrats could say about it
was thatsit was a democratic policy
which had been appropriated by the
republicans, and the voters have shown
in the past that they have little re-
gard for this particular argument.
This plan of waiting until the fiscal
atmosphere clears doesn't promise any
early relief for the distressed treas
ury, but there always is bond issue to
fall back upon. Treasury officials and
republican leaders in congress are not
nearly so frightened at the prospect of