The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-27

ited but intellectual fight by the paci- fist element, the Democrats Of the House, in caucus last night, approved the Emergency Revenue bill as draft ed by the majority of the Ways and Means Committee. The title Of the bill justifies the measure on the ground of "preparedness.' The new revenue bill, designed to raise in excess of $200, 100000 by tax ation, increasing by 50 per cent. the present tax on inheritances, levies upon the ''excess profits of corpora tions and o-partnerships, provides for the issuance of $300,000,000 in short-time certificates of indebtedness to meet temporary deficits in the Treasury balance, and authorizes the sale of OO,OOO,OOO in bonds in addi- tion to S231 100000 in Panama Canal bonds which are already authoriz- ed.
 The Revenue bill was approved by the caucus by a vote of 122 to Is. All the dissenting Dempcrats reserved the right to vote against the bill, al- though it is not expected that more than half dozen of the number will oppose it on final passage. The bill will be introduced in the House to- morrow by Chairman Kitchin of the Ways and Means Committee and pass ed during the coming week. Opposition to the bill was based on the argument that additional revenue legislation would not be necessary ex- cept for the enormous appropriations for preparedness. Representatives Page of North Carolina, Bailey of i Pennsylvania, Galloway of Texas, Quinn of Mississippi and Sherwood of Ohio, were the leading opponents of the measure.
 Kitchin Defends the Bill. Chairman Kitchin contended that the inheritance and excess profits taxes would fall heavily on those ,"who have been clamoring for pre- paredness.'' Addressing the group of insurgent Southern Democrats, MT. Kitchin said:
 ''Yu can tell your people that prac- tically all of this tax will go north of Mason and Dixon's line. The pre- paredness agitation has it's hot-bed in such cities as New York. This bill levies tax on those who have been clamoring for preparedness and are benefiting because of preparedness ap- propriations."
 The revenue raising possibilities of the bill were outlined as follows by MT. Kitchin:
 Increased inheritage tax, $22,-
 000,000.
 Excess profits tax. $20o,000,-
 900.
 Sale of old Panama Canal
 Bonds, $231, 100000.
 Sale of new long-term bonds,
 $1OO, 100000.
 Certificates of indebtdness, de-
 signed to meet an impending de-
 felt in the Treasury during the
 last three months of the current
 fiscal year, $30o.o00,oo0. These
 certificates are redeemable with
 in 8 year, but probably will be re- deemed within three months, to
 savei interest. The new measure is entitled "A bill to provide increased revenue to defray the expenss of increased ap- propriations for the army and navy and extensions of fortifications.' It creates what is called a Prepared ness Fund" and the use of this phrase modified to some extent the group of Southern Democrats who tDlIIGIly lOuS1lL l1lesA I1lCdSuI0 dI Lu0 outset of the caucus.
 The insurgents planned to offer a resolution instructing the Military and NAval Committees to reduce the appropriations for preparedness, but this plan was abandoned when Chair. man Kitchin won over a number of the recalcitrants by the argument that the tax would fall mainly on the wealthier classes land those who have been yelling for preparedness"
 The 8 Democrats who stood out against the measure to the end did not say they would vote against the bill in the House, but reserved the right to do so. These Democrats were:
 Taylort of Arkansas. Galloway of Texas, Olney of Massachusetts, Thomas of Kentucky. Bailey of Penn sylvania, Dies of Texas, Thompson of Oklahoma, Page of North Carolina, Quin and Stevens of Mississippi, Bur- nett of Alabama, Doughton of North Caroina, and Sherwood of Ohio.
 The sections of the bill are arbi- 3trarily numbered by the House com mittee, and no confusion should re- sule to the reader because of the un- usual section numbers. Instead of numbering the, sections 1, 2 and 3, the committee numbers. the sections of the bill in hundreds, 200, 300 and 400. This, form was followed in the original draft of the revenue bill of last session. The full text of the bill follows:
 To provide increased revenue to de- fray the expenses of the increased ap- propriations for the army and navy and the extensions of Notifications, and for other purposes.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.
 Title Special Preparedness Fund
 Section 1. That the receipts from the tax imposed by Title IT. and one- third of the receipts from the tax inn posed by Title III. of this act shall constitute a separate fund in the Treasury to De used only for the ex- penditures incurred under the act en- titled "An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, and for other purposes" approved Aug. 29, 1911; the act entitled "An act making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, and for other pur- poses,'' approved Aug. 29, 1916, and the act entitled "An act making ap-