New Britain herald., 1917-11-08
FOSTER HAS PLAN
 l TO SIMPLIFY TAX
Secretary of Giants FaYorS Sale
 of Stamps to Cover Law

New York, Nov. s.-A baseball pass IT the future will cost the holder %s.16. according to John B. Foster, secretary of the Giants, who has sug- 4Eested plan for sim nplifying the col lection of the government war tax on Amusements, which, if perfected and adopted, might work to the conven- lance of tho government. tine amuse- 0Ant promote and the patrons alike
 Ike suggests the sale and circula- Non of stamp books of the various de- 1ominations necessary to meet the 0ineront admission prices, which could bc. used at all amusement places and would probably be very much like the present postage stamp.
 The idea is that these stamps could bo used at q ball game, a theater or other amusement place, and the hold erwould have less trouble. while the government would have a uniform
 y1tem of collection. At the same 4nos the amusement promoter would Lave m easier time accounting for the tx. Inc only thing necessary for tAe guocess of tho plan would be aonae means of oancelling the stamps, O prevent their use over again.
 Dots of Trouble.
 AN wsAAahing the collection of the tax at thA pass gate at the Polo Grounds
 sElng some of the recent football tQnMaes played there. It took two men with . great boxful of small change - make the collection from a very 1aited number who came in on
 we will certai4iy have to devise 0qnO better means than that for this DAng gate when the baseball season opens next year, or we will be all day collecting the tax" said Foster. Gan y0u imagine the task of making change for the number of people who Oosne through here on Saturday, md the confusion that would follow?"
 It is not, of course, the intention to follow the present method of mak- l lng change at the gate. Unless some l nther means as, for instance. the one l lnggested above Is adopted. all passes n$Amp. which will have to be paid for l when the pass Is issued.
 This same tax. by the way. Is the i anly really good thing the war has done for baseball. The club owners 1 Ere glad to see 1t come, whether they l admit 1t or not. They regard 1t as l the biggest aid they have ever had Tn reducing the number of requests 1 teh passes. ..-...
 Ehe increase in the number of passes issued since the beginning of | the Federal league rumpus has finally become a matter of serious consider Rtion with the magnates. The pass has become an evil. It represents one of the main channels through which profits are drained and losses incur red. Yet it has been 8 difficult thing to cut down the number of passes without offending persons whose i friendship the clubs wished to keep. l
 Fewer Applicants.
 But the addition of a tax of 10 per :! cent will no doubt have the effect of i roducing the number of applicants. i Next season 1t will cost the holder of . season book $6.16 for his book. For the man who attends many games this will not be big tax. and he will likely pay it willingly. But for the 1 man who desires pass chiefly to show his standing with the club of hcials and to have to pass around to his friends there will not be so much willingness to pay. And then there Are many pass holders who resent the very thought of having to pay any thing to get into any amusement place. They are the ones who con- hdor themselu0s specially privileged characters.
 There Is no question but what the mA9nateS intend to seize upon the present situation to cut down their pass lists. The necessity of economy md, ,retrenchment all along the line will be used as the argument for cutting many names off the list. Tn> war tax will help to keep others off Inc list The i'll winds have at least blown baseball some little good.