Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-14
MAGAZINE TAX
SEEN AS BLOW
FOR BUSINESS
Not a War Levy, But Con-
fiscatory Measure, Says
C.. H. X. Curtis
soo PER CENT INCREASE

N.,osed fax on periodicals provided
Ing ,,,ar revenue bill now before the
" ross Is nothing short OF conilscatory
Sose, menace to business, according 10
In snu II X. Curtis. president or the Cur
A. ~ furnishing Company, or TINS CITY Mr
C,r,is speaks for the periodicaI traoe Oh
.u ~ ao,ntry As the publisher of the three
the,t the magazines of the United states,
Fsu F,nh contribute huge sums yearly to the
,u.e of the Government-the Ladles
IT, Journal the Saturday Evening Post
"a the country Gentleman-he voices the
.n,hnents NV of the business men with I'M
ause interests. and in speaking for himself
.iso speaks the thought OF the perloulcal
sr.ds of the country at large.
AZ Curtis sets forth thac the proposed
.aor nlacod on periodicals Ia mot war
-" or a revenue measure. IL Is merely
nos,aI regulation which increases rates
s,ore than 500 per cent. 1t is not tax
~ nrof1ts. nor a measure such as business
San arc willing to pay TO meet patriotic
emergency. IL IL n deft stab at great
,hrIvng and popular industry.
MR. CURTIs's STATEMENT
Mr. Curtis is quoted on the bill and its
eurposes as follows
Every one who reads the new revenue
Nil carefully WILL ] think. get the i'm.
nrassion that il is guesswork. patch
chairman Kitchin's defense of It to dis
moi this impression. Though l cannot
sneak with full knowledge of any other
business | am reasonably familiar with
periodicals and newspaper publishing
conditions. And If Won Tirpitz himself
had drawn this revenue bill 1t could not
declare more ruthless warfare on the
periodicals. of the country
II is. so far as 1t applies to them in
Of hA
measure on its face it is postal legis-
lation-not a special tax imposed for the
period of the war. but an increase in the
postal rate of more than 500 per cent
that will not be repealed at the end of
the war. No periodical published. so far
as know. objects to any tax being inn
posed on profits that Congress sees fit to
levy on manufacturers. We will shoulder
such burden cheerfully. But the pro-
posed postal increase is not n war tax on
profits, but a destructive tax on the
machinery of the periodical business, and
therefore it cannot be productive of addi-
tional revenue to the Government
Government differs from other private
business in this important particular:
When it bunders, some one else falls As
that some one is you and me. we can't
afford to have Congress make changes or
take chances which will react disastrously
on the machinery of business Least OF
oil can we afford il right now. when that
machinery must not only be kept run
ming, but raised to the high power of eil-
cheney if ii is to meet the strain Of the
war and the struggle that will follow it,
Yet in this emergency the Ways and
Means Committee of the House has re-
ported confessedly hasty and ill-con-
sidered measure, levying additional taxes
Of almost 1000. 900. 900 on the people OF
the country and part of them, at least on
the machinery of business.
HITS EVERYBODY
1t is a mistake for the average man to
suppose that this revenue bill does not
concern him. Every provision Of IL. no
matter how directly it may seem to be
simed at the other fellow. gets him, too
.-takes something from his pocket. IL il
taken wisely, equitably and without
9npalring the efficiency of the tools by
which he produces, no patriotic man will
epJect III It is taken inequitably uniustly
ana without prudent regard for the flu
ture OF business, every patriotic man must
protest.
Mr.. Taft on his election found a maga-
slhe press almost unitedly disposed in his
tavor The tide turned when he made his
Winona speech and his defense of Aldrich
NO sooner no later; but that was a
good many months before Mr Taft rec
ommended an increase in the periodical
postage rates
Inc Hughes Commission reported that
on the basis of the apportionment of ex-
peilses as made by the Postoffice De-
partment the cost of carrying second
class mail matter was slightly in excess
OF five cents a pound, but this appor-
uonment was largely arbitrary and was
not based upon definite information, for
such information was not obtainable
Moreover. since that time the expense
OF carrying second class mail matter has
oeen largely reduced by the system of
shipping magazines by freight instead of
IN regular mail cars. by the packing.
making up and routing of mails by the
publishers themselves and by reductions
IN the rates paid to the railroads.
FIGURES BASED ON FACTS
Eypn a ba 80