The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-15
SENATE CAUCUS
 COMPLETES NEW REVENUE BILL
IndOrSeS Measure That Is Planned to Yield $205, ,0O0,0 900
 a Year.


 crats of the Senate. In caucus at an early hour this morning completed their consideration of the General Revenoc bill, passed by the House, and 1t will be presented to the Repub- licah, members of the Finance Com mittee in order to comply with the perfunctory requirements of parlia- faaentary courtesy. The measure will be reported te the Senate by the Fi- nance Committee without delay and brought tip for consideration as soon as the pending Ship Purchase bill is disposed of.
 While the caucus stood by the Dem. ocratic members of the Finance Com mittee in their revision of the House bill, one Important change which will cause considefa ble disappointment 10 those in favor of scientific revision of the tariff was made by the caucus This was to feduce to $7,500 each>the salaries to be paid to members of the permanent Tafiff Commission which the bill creates.
 The House had provided salaries for the Tafiff Commissioners of that amount, but, in response to censider- able sentiment for more liberal treat mert,> the Democratic members of the Senate Finance Cornmittse reeem-
 mended to the cauciis that the salary of each commissioner be $1o,0Oo. The caucus had an economical mood, and restored the lower house figure.
 It was expected that the caucus would be lively as Senator Underwood of Alabama, author of the present tar in law, promised a determined fight to defeat the Tariff Commission and the dyestuffs schedule. He had indi- cated that he would endeavor to have these provisions eliminated from the Dill on the ground that. the Tariff Commission was hot necessary, and that the prppbsed duties on dyestuffs
 fecognized the protection principle to posed.
 Much to the surprise, however, of
 nds fellow Senators, MT. Underwood did hot attend to the caucus, and there was no contest worthy of the name over the provisions to which he ob- jected .7 The provision creating Tariff Com fnissiUh Was amended on motion of
 Senator Hoke, Smith of Georgia, so
 asf to restrict the commission from
 renting office quarters for more than two years Senator Smiths action
 was construed t6 mean that he was not
 in sympathy with the idea of making
 the commission a permanent body.
 The dyestuf section of the bill, as proposed by the finance committee,
 was approved with proviso offered by the committee that the duties fixed
 should not become effective until af-
 ter the end of the European war. The duties on. dyes as incorporated in the amended bill are: Two and one-half cents a pound specific duty and Is per cent. ad valorem duty on intermediate dyes; cents a pound specific duty and 80 per cent. ad va iorem duty on finished dyes, with the exception of natural indigo on which the duty will be 30 per cent ad valor- elm of1ly
 A considerable portion of the session of the caucus was devoted to discuss ing the wine schedule. The caucus | approved the section as written by the 1 finance Committee, the principal item from controversial standpoint being | an increase from 10 cents per gallon, as provided in the House bill, to 55 cents per gallon on brandies used in | fortified wines. A contest over the | ifiefease In the duties on brandies Used in fortified wines has been waged be- tween the Ohio and the Calif6r- f1ia wine makers.
 Tn view of the adoption last night of the license tax on stock of corpor- atiohs, the caucus voted to eliminate stamp taxes on express and freight bills of lading and telephone and tele- graph messages Stamp taxes are retained. However, on bonds, deben- lures and certificates of indebtedness, conveyances, Custom House receir2s, insurance policies, foreign steamship tickets and Pullman car seats and bertl1s.
 The revenue measure, leaders esti- mate, will yield $2O5, 5000, ,0OO annually,
 an increase of s7.5o0,000 over the es- timated revenue as it passed the House.