The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-12-26

people of the country of the additional
moneys that have been expended. If you
should take the roll calls of this body and
the roll calls of the House at the other
end of the capitol, and compare the
votes on that side of the chamber with
the votes on this side of the chamber
when the legislation was enacted into law
that increased expenditures, l think it
would be shown that the percentage of
votes on that side of the chamber for the
new legislation was equally as great as,
if not create rhan the percentage of votes
in favor of it on this side of the chamber.
1t matters not what sum is carried in
an appropria ton bill, when you put laws
on the statute books providing for build
ing new railroads in Alaska, the creation
of a federel reserve bank system, or other
expenditures for public improvements, the
additional cost must be met. If you assist
by your votes in enacting laws which re-
euire the expenditure or money, you must
stand responsible for the increased ex-
penditures, or be willing to confess that
YOU voted for legislation in order to en-
barrass your political opponents.
| say that the expenditures of the gov
eminent today have very greatly in
creased over what the expenditures of the
government were when the existing fisca,
legislation was written that it was writ
ten to meet the expenditures of the gov
eminent in 1918, not for the fiscal year
1916.
But it is claimed that even for the year
1 1913 the revenues produced We're not suf-
ficient to take care of the government S
expenditures. There never was claim
made in this body that was so little JUS
titled by the facts as that statement.
There can be no question as to what the
facts are, because they are disclosed in
the governmental reports that are fur-
nished to all of u.s. ] do not refer to the
receipts of the postoffice department and
the receipts of the postoffice department
are expected to take care of the eXpendi-
lures of the postoffice department, because
the receipts of the postoffice department
are expected to take care of the expendi-
lures of that branch of the government;
and in recent years they have in the
main done So 1t was assumed at the
time the present law was written that
postal receipts would take care of postal
expenditures. and l believe that can pc
assumed to be a fact today and for the
immediate future. But counting all other
receipts as ordinary receipts, we find that
the reports of the Secretary of the Treas
ury show that al ordinary receipts for
the fiscal year 1912 amounted to S69l, us, 40
for the fiscal year 1918, to S24lll,229; ana
for the fiscal year 1914 the first year that
the present revenue law was on the stat
ute books, to S734 S43,7
WITH PAYNE LAW
In other words, Mr.. President, compar-
ing the last year that the Payne law was
on the statute books with the first year
after the present law was enacted, count
ing all ordinary receipts--and, mark YOU
the law was the same as to the COLLECTION
of taxes except where the present law
modified the Payne tariff law-there was
an increase of s10,23 All in revenue col
lected under the present law as compared
with that collected under the Payne Ia"
the last year it was on the statute books
and s4s, sos 235 more revenue than was pro-
duced under the Payne law in 1872
The difference in the law is the change
of taxes levied at the custom house on
| imports, and the writing oftan income
tax in place of the corporation tax which
was placed in the Payne bill. | challenge
any man on the floor of the Senate, or