Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-08-28
Tension Over War Tax Bill Isl
High and Effort Is Made to
CurtaiI Discussion at EarIi-
est Possible Date.
A. A JONES DEFENDS
ACTION OF COMMITTEE
Sharp Attacks Are Made on
Proposed Postal Rates by
Mcclellan, HardWiCk and
Ponerene,

tsr MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED wlesl
Washington, Aug. Extension in
the senate's struggle over the war tax
bill mounted so high today with open
ing of the tnnd week of debate that
the leaders began paving the way for
applying the cloture rule to curtail
discussion and negotiations were set
afoot with the hope of compromising
the varying opinions over higher tax
alton of war profits and incomes.
The senate spent the day in talk
without action on the pending post
age sections Of the bill. They hoped
to dispose of the 1-cent letter postage
increase and the publishers tax pro-
visions tomorrow, but there was no
certainty that 1t could be accomplish
ed and the war profits section reached
Wednesday.
Petition for Uoturc.
Petitions for cloture which tonight
had more than fifty senator's sigma
tures-only few less than the neces-
sary two-thirds to put cloture into cf-
fect--were circulated after = Senator
simmons failed to. secure unanimous
consent to fix date for final voting
Several senators signed with the un-
derstanding that the cloture rule
would not be sought unless filibuster
developed. Presentation of the petit
lions is not planned by Senator Sim
mons for several DAYS
In today's debate on the postage
taxes, Senators Hardwick, Pomerene
and McKellar led the attack on the
bill's provisions advocating higher
postal rates for newspapers and mag
azines. Senators Harding, Nc
Cumber. and others opposed higher
postal rates while Senators Borah
Townsend and others urged entire
elimination of postage taxes from the
bill.
A. A. Jones Speaks.
Senator Jones of New Mexico de-
Tended the action of the committee
in levying a postal tax. He declared
the committee had no intention of ad-
justing second class postage rates, but
acted purely with the intention of
raising as much revenue as possible.
The committees action was de-
nounced by Senator Townsend. who
declared there are thousands of arti-
cles that could have been taxed to
bring in the same revenues without
imposing such hardship. He also
said the proposed per cent excess in
come tax on publishers was unjustifia-
ble and that in some quarters it was
said to be a penalty.
Smoot After Publishers.
Senator Smoot said every protest
against the postal tax received by the
committee had come from publishers
and that he did not think the people
would object to the payment of an eX-
ira cent every time they mailed let
ter.
This is. only temporary war meas
ure, he added, and will be repealed as
soon as the war ends. The commit
tee in fixing the tax rates, he said,
did not take the word Of the publish
ers regarding their incomes, but OBJ
tanned it's information from the treas
ury department He asserted the pub
fishers profits in 1915 had been enor-
nous, and for that reason the COM
mittee believed it could take part of
the profits without destroying them.
Excmpts Postcards.
The house provision, eliminated by
the finance committee, taxing picture
and other private post cards one cent
Senator Smoot declared, would have
resulted in a $10,000,000 revenue be-
fore loss by decreased use of cards
AS to the publishers tax. Senator
McCumber said the publishers had
been built up under the governments
promise in 1870 or reduced mail rates
to enlighten the public.
They have been encouraged by our
laws and shall We now, during the
war, strike death to any business that
we can keep going?' he asked.
I'VE want to get at the publishers
making enormous profits by the spe-
cial income tax and the small postage
increase will not ruin any publisher"