The Mena weekly star., 1917-06-07
SENATE PASSES
 FOUR WAR BILLS
Hoarding or Manipulation of Food or Necessaries Is Made a Felony Broad Powers Given to the
 President.

Washington, June 3.-Congress finished another war week with real action yesterday, disposing of four important emergency measures.
 The Senate passed the 10 million dollar Food Production Bill.
 The Senate adopted the confer ence report ef the s, 300, GOO GOO war budget and the i40 million dollar civil bills, appropriating funds for the army and navy and establishing miscellaneous government proposi- tions
 The House passed the War Risk Insurance bill appropriating 30 mil lion dollars for insuring officers and sailors manning American mer- chantmen during the war;
 Shipping Provisions Unchanged.
 President Wilson retains broad powers for carrying on the proposed emergency shipping program under the War Budget Bill finally agreed upon. The shipping provision is substantially as passed originally by the Senate.
 The conferees made one change in the bill authorizing army appropri- ations for soldiers, who will be free from service four months after peace is declared, or as soon there after as transportation facilities can be secured"
 Under the food bill passed by the Senate, there is a provision author izing the President to close grain ex- changes in case of urgent need, when those exchanges are found to be dealing in futures of wheat or other necessaries of life.
 Numerous amendments were at taehed to the Food Production Bill, which provides for a food survey and for crop stimulation, and it was sent to conference. where the diff ferences will be thrashed out while the two houses are considering the second administration measure providing for food control and fix ing prices.
 Hoarding or storage of food, fuel or other necessities of life in order to limit the supply or to affect prices would be made a felony under the Senate hoarding amendment, but farmers who hold their own product would be excepted.
 Besides providing for preferen- tial treatment of shipments of ne- cessities, the measure would penal ize heavily obstruction of interstate commerce. The railroads would be required to maintain in Washington during the war a joint commission of officers to carry out orders of the President in regulating transporta- tion.
 Urge a Tax on Advertising.
 Washington, June 3.--War taxa tion of publishers advertising re- ceipts rather than increase of their postage rates was vigorously urged yesterday by representatives of na- tional publishing interests at an ln- formal conference with senators who are redrafting the War Tax Bill.
 newspapers, llldbdLtutSs u ddNs VI ligious, farm and many other pub fishing interests, joined in the plea which will be reported to the finance committee Monday when it resumes revision of the House war tax meas ure. A confidential draft of commit tee changes is being printed, and the committee plans to decide how pub lications shall be taxed, to place the bill in final form, and to report 1t to the Senate before the end of this week.
 The increased postage rates would put many publishers out of Dusi- ness and could not be passed along, the committee was told, while tax on advertising receipts could be met by increasing advertising rates.
 Tn asking the publishers views, Senator Simmons made it clear that the committee was determined to levy war taxes of some sort upon publishers.