Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-03
CONGRESS- WILL FACE
LEAN PURSE; MANY
PLANS TO FATTEN IT
Growing Opposition Among
Democrats May Keep Rev
enue Issue Out of the
Coming Session
LEADERS SEEK SOLUTION

v,,sttrNGTON. Dec. 3-When Con-
Zee onons It will face q lean pocket
toL ,n1 the prospect of bigger eXpendi-
.,,,ns ina, over before. Democratic lead
ers have been racklng their brains for
weeks trying to devise the best plan for
,oisinp revenues to fatten the national
eXcheguer.
ooratic marty to the plan to Keep the
so,,oruo issue out of Congress, and as far
as nossible out Of the campaign, by Is
s,ipc rho 100000 900 Panama Canal bonds,
nbirh are available, has become so mark
al that there are signs Of abandonment
~ tho plan. If this Is done, the Ad-
nninIstration will be face to face, on the
owe of the campaign opening, with the
necessity of raising more than s2OOOJO.OOO
revenue.
rrtination of the steps the administra-
tion will take to meet the emergency has
bsen given from time to time. Figures
as TO the amount that could be raised by
reducing the exemption under the income
tox law by $1,000 have been prepared for
Secretary of the Treasury MCAdoo. Fig
ures have been fathered also as to the
production and expectation of munitions
of war
Talk of a Federal inheritance tax has
been renewed, but the one thing believed
TO be aUSOlultlE N'l N'ilu - NlitNA tll'i =
will be no material revision of the I'm
derwood tariff Senator Underwood has
been holding many conferences with the
President trying to find n solution for
the problem. The Senator does not he
Heve that n bond issue would meet the
situation, so far as the increased ma
t,onal defense requirements are con-
cerned. 1t is proposed to make the in
creased expenditures permanent, he
points out, and he docs not believe II
good policy to issue bonds to meet cur
rent expenses.
Continuing the tax on sugar and re-
enacting the war tax bill will fall far
short of meeting the situation. These
measures will simply maintain the present
income, whereas 1t Ia proposed to spend
approximately 900 more for tho
army and navy and S5O.00O,000 under the
ship purchase plan, while the total deficit
for the present year. which must be con-
sdered in estimating how much revenue
will be needed Will be SG5,0000 900. IL ex-
pendtures on the Panama Canal are in
cuded.
The need OF revenue has started talk OF
q war munltion tax among certain Demo-
cratic leaders The latest suggestion in
this connection is special tax upon the
incomes of the corporations directly bene-
fitting through the sale of war munitions
A 20 per cent. war munttion tax would
give the Government at least $500, 900, 000
according to figures of the Department of
Commerce. The total increased value of
the exports Of war munitions from the
United States during the first nine months
Of this year was $l,O99, 100000.
On the Republican side, Senator Norris.
Of Nebraska. has ideas about the way to
raise more revenues II would increase
the income tax on large incomes, say
above $4,000" he says. And l would
impose an inheritance tax like the amend
ment | proposed to the Underwood tariff
Dill. In that l excepted inheritances of
less than $4,000, but had the rate pro-
gresslve until on very large lnheritances
1t would be one-half the total"