Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-26
Some Tax Preferences

An argument frequently used I'm the dis
cussion Of the tax bill ran like this: you
cannot vote for the conscripton Of men to
risk their lives for their country and then
refuse 10 vote taxes to pay for the war"
That kind Of reasoning appealed to every
one, but many Of the House members OBJ
iccted to the bill because it went too far
in taxing some particular interests and
did not go far enough in taxing others
It was charged that the Ways and Means
Committee, in its desire to show a united
front to please the President, had shaped
up its hill without hearings and had hur-
ried il into the House 10 avoid tho onrush
Of public protests that such a measure
would arouse. The hill did tax certain in
terests heavily and avoided taxing others,
1t taxed coffee and tea, but gave a special
status To sugar. 1t did not tax petroleum
or it's by-products. including gasoline, al
though the Government does a great deal
for the oil exporters in war-risk insurance
and river and harbor improvements. The
refusal to tax gasoline may he credited
largely to the farmer influence because of
the use Of the automobile and autotruCk a
farm necessities Moreover. kerosene Is
largely used for lighting purposes in the
south and West, But light and heat gem
Grated by gas and electric light companies
taxed per cent, The consumers of light
and heat i'm the big cities are to pay this
tax: not the gas or light companies. It
may be observed that artificial light and
heat are used more extensively in large
northern cities than they aie IN Warmer
climates.
The Power of Cotton
Likewise cotton is not taxed in the bill
except as II is proposed to tax foreign raw
cotton that would compete with American
raw cotton American raw cotton is free.
The 1916 crop Of cotton produced $l,5OO-
600 900 Of wealth. Much of II went into
war munitions. II paid the producer well.
| The cotton producer has never been more
prosperous than he is now but cotton goes
untaxed. All manufactured cotton contrib
utes TO the revenues; all incomes derived
from manufactured cotton, all capital in
| vested in cotton manufactures, are taxed,
| and taxed high, but raw cotton with all its
| wealth production goes unscathed. And
| there are reasons for it--even though they
| be selfish or sectional Grain did not care
| to vote for a cotton tax because grain might
come next; tobacco, coal, petroleum and
| other raw products had the same sympa-
| thetic feeling So cotton, producing approx
| imately billion and half of wealth a
| year. Is exempt. And yet Pennsylvania
| Daid S44SO0, 900 into the United States
! Treasury in 1916, and Alabama paid S667,-
| OOO New York paid $l05,000,000, and
| Texas paid Si,0OO,0OO; New Jersey paid
| Sls,6OO, 600, and Mississippi paid $304. 900
| Massachusetts, paid S16.000.O0 and Iowa
| paid So, 500, 900. Under the new tariff bill
| as passed by, the House, the taxes on the
| blg-paying States will be doubled and
| trebled. such unfair proportions as these
| helped to create dissatisfaction with the
| tax measure that Congress must finally
| pass an some form or other 10 meet the inn
| mediate financial demands of the war
J. HAMPTON MOORE.