Bisbee daily review., 1917-05-15
WAR TAX ASSAILED BY REINSTATEMENT
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mean an added expenditure of more than S3,70O.00 in postage to members of that organization and ruination for many of them. i E. c. Meredith, of Des Moines. la. speaking for 45 of the leading farm publications, joined in the protest. He iargued that newspapers are a neces- sary asset of the country and that the government needs the circulation of every printed page possible. All agreed that there is no unwilling ness on the part of publishers to pay war taxes but they do not want tax that would be an unbearable burden. | D. w. Norris, of Marshalltown, Ia, representing several Iowa newspapers, said they could not stand a gross sales | tax of 20 per cent any better than the grocer.
 "This bill" he added, proposes an increase of per cent on luxuries and proposes an increase of over 300 per cent on the transportation of news papers"
 Plans had been made to finish the hearing of newspaper publishers this afternoon, but the program was changed. Tomorrow Samuel Gompers. president of the American Federation of Labor, will present the protest of the labor press and labor organizations which would be affected should news papers suspend
 This mornings session was devoted to hearing protests against the pro posed taxes on chewing gum, bonds and amusements.
 Opponents of the ways and means committees proposal greatly to in- crease postal rates on newspapers and magazines, showed such strength dur ing debate in the house on the war tax bill today that it appeared likely the postal section of the measure would be one of the few to be materially modi- fled before passage.
 Detection in Ranks.
 The attack brought the first de- lection from the ranks of the commit tee itself. Just before adjournment to- night, Representative Sloan, Repub- lican committeeman. told the house that while he would stand behind ev- cry other provision of the measure, he would not support postal increase amounting to "a punitive expedition against newspapers and magazines"
 we are raising money for this war instead of conducting a punitive expe dition against newspapers and maga- zines," said MT. Sloan.
 He opposed putting any more of the burden of the war on bond issues, de claring the young men who will be conscripted should not have to come home "and late in life be faced with paying the cost of the war,
 Amendments Proposed.
 General debate in the house will close at 4 o'clock tomorrow and the bill probably will be brought to a final vote before the end of the week. The committee hopes to put through most of its proposals without important amendment.
 Representative Meeker predicted that enactment of the proposed postal increases would mean the end of na- tional circulation for daily papers, and Representative Madden denounced the new rate schedule as 'the most unjust tax ever imposed by government
 Chairman Moon presented two amendments to cut down the proposed rates. Representative Mccormick sug- gested that the whole schedule should be rewritten so that the levies would fall on publications in proportion to their incomes. He predicted that the measure as a whole would work i'm measurable harm to industry.