Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1917-06-16
TAKING NEWSPAPER RIVTNuE.


featuring business OF a peculiar char
acter. The publisher has but two arti-
cles to sell: the paper to subscribers;
space in this paper to advertisers.
Probably no other manufacturing
business is conducted on a profit so
small compared to the gross receipts
of newspaper.
OF every dollar the railroads receive
65 cents only is used for the conduct
OF traffic and for all Of the incidental
expenses of the transportation BUSH
ness; 35 cents goes to pay taxes and
to capital in some form; that is the
business is conducted upon basis of
so per cent. gross profit.
Yet il is proposed in Congress to
impose upon the publisher 2 per
cent. tax on advertising, the chief
source of its income. The proposition
as applied to gross receipts for cos
metics, chewing gum and automobiles
was abandoned. No one has heard Of
any proposition to tax the gross earn
ings Of banks, commercial houses or
the great manufacturing interests Of
America. The publishing business is
singled out for an excessive and an
exclusive tax on gross receipts.
The publishers are not asking ex-
emptions of any kind. They are per-
fectly willing to stand any tax deem
ed necessary by the government, pro-
vided always that like tax is impos-
ed upon men in other branches Of
business .--
| The tax on gross receipts precedes
any tax on income; in some cases it
would make any income impossible,
and in all cases will reduce the in
come OF newspaper seriously. Alarge
part of all the government gets from
this tax on gross receipts it will lose
by reduction of income.
The injustice of this taxmust be ap-
parent, as there is no possible way Of
fixing the ratio of expense to income.
In other words, the tax will fall with
: different weight upon every news
paper establishment
: II is not conceivable that members
, of Congress will look TO this item as a
revenue item. II is a punitive meas
ure, primarily. 1t originated in the
bureaus of the Postoffice, who Cor &c
: years have been arraigning the news
! paper business in an effort to make
q its use ofpthe mails impossible.
!. The Senate Finance Committee re
iected the suggestion that the tax bill
be used for the purpose of recon
O structingthe business of the Postoffice
d 1t must, therefore, be considered sole
i ly as tax measure, and as tax
measure it is onerous, discriminative,
unequal, unjust and mostinjurious to
perfectly legitimate business, the
greater part of whose revenue goes to
the employment of labor.
If.any one would suggest tax of 2
- per cent. on the gross earnings Of
!. coal, regardless of where the coal was
], produced or whether it was hard OF
tsoft coal his suggestion would receive
s no consideration. In 1916 the aver
: age" price Of. coalri in the bituminoui
: field was $1.0l. In the anthracite felc
1 it was about o.; but il varied in differ
d ent mines. in different sections of the
: country andin the different section.
; tof the State, A q per cent. tax
3. amounting TO about 2 cents bushel
i would be4nost unjust and as reye
,:atnue PROPOSITION most burdensome
There would be no excuse for such
2 tax Certainly no one would single
:; out the coal business as an object o
IA wrath, and ills used IS an illustra
. ton of the injustice of the PROPOSE
tion. 1l w. ~ rs;.,f.- '.~f
sji III would seemimpossible that sucl
: a measure would seriously be report
3 ed to the Senate. 1t ought to be i'm
7 possible to suppose that an act of thi
Y kind, conceived in malice and brough
!. forth in injustice, would be accepted