The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-10-05
AIR FLEET Of
10000 PLANES
BEING BUILT
Will Be Ready for Great
Spring Drive
PLENTY OF AVIATORS
Young Men are Being Trained in a
Dozen Camps For Air
Service.

Washington, Oct. 4.-Contracts
have been let by the war department
for the construction of 10000 airplanes
for use in the war against Germany.
This is practically the whole number
of airplanes for which provision was
made in the $640,00O,OO aviation bill.
One-fourth, or about 5000, of these
will be built abroad, the other $4,000
built in this country.
Aviators are being trained in "a fly
ing schools and in a NUMBER of ground
schools. Their final training will be on
foreign soil The plans of the army
contemplate the delivery of motors,
planes, equipment and men so that all
may be available as rapidly as one ii
ready for the other.
A great number of American await
ors have been sent abroad, where they
are now undergoing intensive train
ing behind several of the battle
fronts. More than 80 allied air ex-
perts are in this country, composing
what may be called an international
aviation general staff, in connection
with the development of Americas
great military aerial force. When the
first American military .airplane is
sent to Europe. and SECRETARY Baker
says this will be done within reasona-
Bile time, 1t will be OF American manu-
facture from the tip of its Dropellers
to the engine, machine gun and cam
era
These are some of the facts that
stand out in a statement issued by
Secretary of War Baker summarizing
as far as it can without giving away
military secrets, the progress thus
far made with the aviation program
adopted under the 40,000,000 ap-
preparation.
Washington Oct 4.-Hidden mean
ings of the complicated provisions
of that portion of the war revenue
law relating to excess profits continue
to come to light. Today the discovery
was made that although the joint
Conference committee of the senate
and house write into the bill behind
closed doors a provision, applying the
excess profits tax of per cent, to all
earnings of individuals in excess of
$500 year. care was taken TO see
that members of congress were not
subject to this provision, as far as it
applied to their official salaries.
The first exemption made in the law
under the excess profits section re-
lieyes senators and representatives OF
the payment of the tax of s per cent.
on their salaries in excess of $4,000.
The salary of a senator or repre-
sentative is $500 year The doctor
or lawyer who has an income of that
amount derived from his professional
earnings must pay the government,
in addition to the individual income
tax, Sl20 which is s per cent. of $500,
the difference between $4,000 and ST.
900. But the Senator or representa-
tive who had part in framing the pro-
vision applying the excess profits tax
to individual earnings of private citi-
ems will save this $120 So will all
officers of the government who re-
ceive salaries in excess Of $4,000
There are very few of these outside
of members of congress.
The exemption section of the excess
profits title and the exemption apply
ing to members of congress read as
follows:
This title shall apply to all trades
or businesses of whatever description,
whether continuously carried on or
not, except
(a) In the case of officers and en-
ployees under the United States or
any state, territory, or local sub-divis-
ion thereof, the compensation or fees
received by them as such officers or
employees.
In different portion of the bill the
conferees slipped in a provision that
"the terms trade and business in
clude profession and occupation :"
This made the excess profits tax apply
to doctors, lawyers. in fact, everybody
who earns more than $4,000 n year,
without regard to whether he pays as
a member of a partnership or stock
holder of corporation the tax of 8
per cent on the profits of his busi-
ness
The provision that individuals hav-
ing incomes of more than $4,000 year
shall pay the excess profits tax of s
per cent on incomes over that amount
was also slipped into the measure be-
hind the closed doors of the confer
ence committee after the two houses
had disposed of the bill and sent it
to conference to have the differences
between senate and house harmonic