The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1916-09-12
CLARK
COMMENTS ON
9th CONGRESS

Washington, Sept. 9.-Before
leaving Washington for Missouri
today Speaker Champ Clark,
whom Minority Leadea. Mann has
characterized as the fairest and
best speaker the house ever had.
prepared an exclusive statement
Tor the Greensboro Daily News
correspondent reviewing at length
the constructive legislation en-
acted by the first session Of the
64th Congress which adjourned
Friday morning.
Mr. Clark thinks the income tax
the fairest method OF raising rev
enule ever proposed by any gov
ernment, declares the federal re-
serve act panic-prcof' and
thinks the rural credits law will
as nothing has done in hundred
years.
The eight-hour day legislation
the speaker believes-was neces-
sary to avoid a great public cal
amlty which was only avoided by
the timely action of Congress in
passing the bill which prevented
it.
The statement of Speaker ClarE:
follows:
Actions speak louder than
words. Here are some Of the
things we have done and on
which we stand:
I'VE passed a great tariff bill
the best ever placed on the stat
ute books. 1t contains many eX-
cellent changes from the old
Payne -Aldrich-Smoot monstrosity
and it contains one new feature
that would make it the best Of
all tariff bills, even il the rest of
it were as bad as the last Repub-
lican tariff bill, which most en-
phatically it is not. That new
feature is the income tax.
'The fairest and justest tax
ever levied since men invented a
tax system is a graduated income
tax with rraseilable exemptions
In the very first speech | made
in the House on the subject OF
tariff | stated that | was in favor
of a stiff graduated income tax
and as long as the world spins
on its axis and slides down tho
; ccliptic no political part is evc'
going to the country on prOpOSl
: ton to repeal the income tax. /
taxes men on what they have an(
not on what they consume.
raises necessary revenue from th'
abundance with which God ha
L blessed some Of us, and not ffon
g the wants Of the poor. They ma,
! pass a law to change it, rcmndc
it, to perfect it-but to repeal it
: never! 1t is not an experimen
among legislators. The Englls]
have had it ever since the Napol
= comic wars, except for two years
L Then thcv went back to it agar
and have reduced it to almost a
> exact science: III Germany the
derive large revenue from a
> income tax; it is d feature OF tn
fiscal system Of every clvlllzc
: country, and I predict that it WI
he permanent and pTomneI
. feature of our fiscal system S
long as time lasts.
:, s'In England they have a but
~ get. | do not know whether W
~ are ever going to have one or no
" A budget is simply an accoul
- stated-which any good busine:
= man or booEkeeper can unde
~ stand at a glance. They bring
IN a budget, and if they need mo-
Il money all they do is to slip l
the income tax d little. Ii Tho
~ have more money than they nee
!, = all they do is to scale down Il
income tax a little. 1t is ca:
10 to arrange, either to increase Il
vi income tax or to diminish the |
come tax.
e "We had for more than a hs
h' century a financial system
shreds and patches almost who'll
w devoid Of elasticity-one OF t
most necessary and valuable f(
Nv lures Of any correct currency s,
ie' TEN. The one we had was d stal
u ing invitation and temptation
- panic makers. Whenever It su
" ed their convenience they Great
panics and things went to sma
" producing stupendOus loss a
an+ an widespread suffering.
W cit is wonder we got alO
= with it as well as we did. Fol
.I IN generation our Republican frler
',le had been tinkering it-alw;
- promising but never achlevl
~ currency reform.
: s'The Democrats, with the
sistance of patriotic Progtessl
hn and patriotic contingent Of
ed publicans, placed on the stat
Fri book the national rescrve-bs
to act, which is now praised by
l.: Il ,-h