Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-05-16
WHAT
CONGRESS IS DOING
INCOME TAX TO STAND.
Tariff Commission Is Defeated by Vote
of 1874 to 81.

AAAuI NommlSblou IS OSAcALeu w NoIe
of 1874 to 81.
Washington.-The overwhelming Dem.
0cratic majority in the house swept
through the free list, bowled over all op-
position to free wool, free meats and 9th.
er necessities and. passed on to consid.
Grafton Of the 500, 900 income tax
feature of the Underwood tariff bill
Not a dent was made in the bill as ap-
proved by the ways and means commit
tee majority.
All day there was sparring across the
aisle, dividing the Democrats and the
Republicans. Many amendments were
offered by Republicans in a forlorn ef-
fort to put many free listed articles
back on the dutiable list, but all were
voted down with a regularity that
brought smiels from the minority.
Finally when the last of the proposed
changes had been rejected, Representa-.
tive Payne precipiptated a lively rules
fight by offering a brand-new amend
ment to create a tariff commission.
Instantly all the parliamentary sharps
on both sides were astir. Speaker Clark
sat next to Democratic Leader Under
wood ut the front OF the speakers ros-
trum, where Mr.. Underwood has been
conducting consideration of the bill. Rep
rcsentative Fitzgerald of New York
rushed in from the appropriations com
mittee, armed with presidents and fol-
lowed by Representatives Sherley OF
Kentucky and flardwick of Georgia, who
Joined in the majority protest against
admitting the amendment. On the Re-
publican side Leader Mann, Representa-
tie Gardner Of Massachusetts, Represen-
tative Payne of New York and Others
conferred and addressed the house.
1t was all over quickly, Representative
Garrett of Tennessee, in the chair, sus-
tanning a point Of order made by Mr..
Underwood that the tariff commission
amendment WAS not germane to the bill.
When Representative Mann appealed
from the decision the house sustained the
chair-164 to 81.
Representative Hull of Tennessee,
chief craftsman Of the income tax fea-
ture Of the tariff bill, prepared to resist
a campaign by the minority to amend
the details of the proposed law. He ex-
pected a hard fight on behalf of the
mutual fire insurance companies, which
would be ia xed one per cent under the
measure. Provisions affecting insurance
companies were taken almost verbatim
from the corporation tax law already in
effect, but to avoid any possible ques-
ton, committee amendments were pre-
pared to eliminate even the slightest
variation from the existing law.
Regular reading of the income provis-
ion for amendment was completed in
short order. Perfecting amendments Of
fered by the ways and means committee
and adopted included a provision exempt
ing returned investments in insurance
and a clause changing the terms regard
ing mutual fire insurance companies so
as to allow them to deduct from their
gross incomes the amount required under
the state laws to be placed in their re-
serve fund. Another amendment changed
the language of the provision imposing a
tax of one per cent on the net profits OF
insurance companies, so as to make the
bill conform literally to the present cor
poration tax law.
Represe ntative Mann, for Resident
Commissioner Quezon of the Philippines,
offered an amendment to tax the Chi
nese, Japanese and other foreign resi-
dents Of the Philippines as well as the
FilipinoS and Americans in the islands.
The committee agreed to take this under
consideration. The Philippine commits
sioner unsuccessfully sought to relieve
the Fill pinos of any income tax on the
ground that they could not vote on this
legislation.