Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-24

sion bill to the House, Tuesday the
i Democrats of the ways and means COM
Il mittee recommended Il radical read
justment of the entire fiscal policy Of
/ the nation. They proposed to make
an income tax the means of accurate
! ly adjusting the funds to be raised by
taxation to correspond with necessities
for government expenditures.
The report, submitted by Chairman
Underwood, after outlining the opera
tons of the proposed income tax, said:
THE revenues from all income
taxes readily respond to changes OF
rates and the latter can be raised II
lowered within a few days time with
out business disturbances such ds gei-
/ eral tariff changes OCCASION 1t IS be-
| lieved that budget or other effective
system by which Congress may be anle
| closely to calculate and determine IN
| advance forthcoming expenditures will
soon be devised, in which event it
should become easy to maintain CLOSE
| balance between expenditures ard
revenues such as is practiced in most
other civilized countries. With other
/
| est and fixed basis, and the incona
tax permanent part of our revenue
! system and at all times affording q
substantial amount of revenue, Con-
/ gress could and. if necessary, SHOULD
annually raise or lower the income
| tax rates in such manner as would
prevent either deficit or surplus in
the treasury. This combined tax sys-
tenn would afford justice in taxation,
| fiexibility and stability of revenue and
| rigid economy in expenditures
The Democrats. outlining their pol
| icy in the preparation of the bill, an
| nounced an absolute disregard for the
| cost of production theory as regula-
| tory of tariff rates and declared that
/ in the pending bill they had attempt
| ed:
] ITO eliminate protection of profits
and to cut off duties which enabled in
| dustrial managers to exact bonus
| for which no equivalent was rendered
tie Introduce in every line of in
| dustry a competitive tariff basis pro-
viding for substantial amount of inn
portation to the end that no con-
Germ shall be able to feel that it has a
monopoly of the home market gained
| other than through the fact that it is
able 60 furnish better goods at lower
| prices than others"
| (Which Is the wiser course for oul
| government to take?" the report asked
| the one that demands the protection
| of profits, the continued policy of hot
| house growth of our industries-ths
i sta gnation of development that fol
1 lows where competition ceases-or. or
| the other hand, the gradual and insis-
| lent reduction of our tariff laws TO q
| basis where the American manufac-
! turer must meet honest competition
! where he must develop his business
| along the best and most economical
| lines, where, when he fights at home
| to control his market, he is forging the
way iii the development of his bust
/ ness to extend his trade in the mar
kets of the world. In our Judgment, the
future growth of our great industries
!. lies beyond the seas
A detailed table was presented show
ing by schedules the total revenue Sc
lcured under the Payne law for 1872
and the estimated revenue under the
Inew bill for 12-month period. The
table showed that in 1912. 1888 POS. 915
worth of imports paid s3O4.597, OBS in
duties at an equivalent average ad
valorem rate of 4012 per cent 1t is
ESTIMATED that under the new bill ST.
e00, 800 900 worth of imports would pay
$3.50, 701 900 in duties at an average ad
1 yalorem rate of 29.60 per cent, Thus
the new bill would raise $37, $4,000 less
than the present law.
THE saving thus made in revenue
collections" said the report, .is only
suggestive of the immensely greater
Saving secured to the public by the
probable change in prices resulting
from the removal Of the excessive
rates of the present law" 81 %
at is a striking fact" the report de-
fclared, that during the years subse-
louent to the renewal of the policy of
Thigh protection in 1897, there has been
In radical transformation of American
economic life in many directions and
that in most cases a connection be-
tween the rates of protection and the
development of unfair or Objectionable
conditions has been fully established.
"The increased cost of living was
mentioned as the most striking econo-
mic change needing adjustment
Through the uA0 q tebcAS = 80 49,
United showing the percentage OF in
lcrease in wholesale prices of many art
licles in the period from 1897 to 1910
Irhe table gave the percentage of in
crease since 1897 to 1910 in farm prod
lucts as 1872 per cent; food 46.7 per
lcent.; clothing 35.S: metals and imple-
Ifnents 49,; drugs and chemicals 2S9;
house furnishing goods 242; miscel-
llaneous 44.5, an average increase in
such commodities of 46.7 per cent
In close conjunction with the high
cost of living the report suggested the
development of trusts and Industrial
| combinations during the same period
and gave a list of 226 such combina-
4 lions organized since 1897. controlling
thousands of plants and with an ag-
| gregate capital of many billions. IL
also referred to the rapid exhaustion
Of natural resources and said that the
protective system has been greatly IN
fiuentiaI in maintaining too rapla
rate of depletion of natural resources
in order to satisfy the constantly m