The Harrison times., 1917-02-03
MUST RAISE MONEY
CONGRESS is EXERCISED OVER
NECESSITY OF PROVIDING
MORE REVENUE.
MANY PLANS ARE SUGGESTED
Increased Income Tax Will Help Meet
the Big Deficit--House Committee Is
Considering Methods, Including
Higher Tariff.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

BY GEORGE CLINTON.
WaShingtOn.-Congress is hard at
the appropriation bills. During the
three weeks Of the session Immediately
| preceding the Christmas holidays the
proper committees of the house did a
fairly comprehensive work in the
framing Of the supply bills, and on the
recOnyening matters were so adjusted
that with comparatively little effort,
the bills to pay the governments ex-
penses now can be put through
1t is going to cost a huge amount
of money TO run the government next
year. Everybody knows this and the
reasons therefor. 1t costs us a lot to
keep the National Guard on the border
and to carry on the Mexican opera
tiOns, If one is in mood to call them
operations. The expenditures of the
next fiscal year will be much heavier
than those of the one which is pass
ing. Money, as is virtually admitted
by members of all parties, must be
raised for absolute necessities, and so,
therefore, the country probably with
becoming grace will accept the inevita-
bic increase in the means for raising
money to pay the governments debts.
AS yet no one knows definitely just
what form the new means of revenue
raising will take Members of con-
greSs have suggested certain means
and the secretary of the treasury has
suggested other means. Between these
two suggesting forces no less than
twenty-five methods of getting money
for Uncle Sam have been given con-
sideratiOn.
Suggestion to Increase Tariff.
One member of the house has sug-
gested that 5 per cent duty be put on
every article imported into the United
States and which is now on the free
list. In addition to this he has sug-
gested that the rate of duty on every
dutiable article be advanced 10 per
cent. This would bring in much of the
revenue that Is needed to run the gov
ernment under its additional expenses,
but 1t Is, of course, regarded by some
members Of congress as suggesting
something more than a tariff for rev.
enue only, This plan has not met with
the appreciation of the administration.
The revenue next year from the in
come tax will be virtually double that
of the preceding year. 1t is Clse Of
2 per cent on the excess over $1,000 for
single men and over the $4,000 for mar
ried men, where it has been / per cent
hitherto. A greater increase, of course,
will affect those who have much larg-
er incomes than the ones just set forth.
1t is estimated that considerable addi-
tiOnal revenue will come from this in
come tax source, but it will not be
enough by long odds.
An increase in the tax on whisky
and beer has been suggested. There
is also a blanket suggestion of a re-
turn to the stamp taxes of the war
with Spain days and possibly even an
enlargement of this field Of revenue
raising. A good many men look on
coffee, tea and cocoa as being in sense
luxuries. Therefore it has been sug-
gested that an import duty of 3 cents
a pound be laid on coffee and one of 10
cents pound be laid on tea, with the
amount to be laid on cocoa as tea a
matter for later consideration.
Coffee and Tea Necessities2
There is strong opposition, however,
to this coffee, tea and cocoa tax sug-
gestion. BY some men, perhaps ma
jority of men if one can judge by the
little crowd Of individuals Immediately
about him. coffee and tea are regarded
as necessities. Concerning cocoa no.
body seems to be able to give definite
idea whether it is necessity or lux
ury for out Of seven men who were
asked concerning it not one Of them
had tasted it, Cocoa was put on the
free list by the Payne-Aldrich tariff
bin which preceded the Underwood
Simmons bill which Is now in force.
The Democratic measure retained it on
the list of nondutlable goods.
1t is in the main this revenue rails
ing matter which makes possible the
necessity of an extra session of con-
gresS.
The ways and means committee Of
the house is considering means of rails
ing revenue, including tariff means. 1t
Is some time now since tariff bill was
passed, but the scenes in the commit
tee room are said to resemble those of
the days when tariff measures were
under consideration. Members of the
committee and, Of course, the other
members Of congress with them, are
more or less insistent that If the rate
is to be raised on any particular i'm
port II shall be on one which will give
an additional protection to the dis
triets from which the members come,
AS for the other districts they ace not
so particular.
The tariff as local issue has its