Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-01-15
/ MAY NOT REVISE !,
THE TAXATION BILL
CONGRESS PROBABLY WILL DE.
eide THE LABOR TOO GREAT
FOR THE FEW CHANGES.
MEMBERS ARE NOT EXEMPT?
Representative William r. Green Of
iowa, Takes This Position and Asks
the Commissioner of Internal Rev.
enue to Rule Accordingly.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.

until after the holidays consideration
of ways and means to raise the addi-
uonal income needed for the next fis-
cal year. Mr.. McAdoo has set the sum
necessary in the balance figures.
There seems to be little reason to
believe that the lawmakers intend to
revise the taxation bill of last year to
any material degree, if they touch it at
all. There has been a good deal of
talk about the necessity of getting af-
ter the excess profit taxes, as some 9TH
er matters, but presumably the enor-
nous labor which would be involved to
secure comparatively few changes will
operate to prevent any reopening of
an old question.
Ihere is one taxation matter upon
which 1t probably will not be neces-
sary for congress to act 1t will be re-
membered that the senators and repre-
sentatives calmly exempted themselves
from the tax which would make their
salaries subject to the excess profits
provision of the law. This provision
nit the salaries of other men which
were in excess of a certain amount,
but left congress foot-loose of payment.
There has been great amount of
criticism of this exemption action of
the members. A jocose one asked why
1T was that the congressman exempted
themselves from this tax and he fur
nished his own answer when he said
because the hide of a hippopotamus
Is seven-eighths of an inch thick"
Their Expenses Are Heavy.
Some persons seem to think that the
personal experience of one member,
confronted with heavy expenses and
with the heava labor of making both
ends meet with his salary, Influenced
him to lend his unquestionably able aid
In securing the exemption for himself
and his colleagues.
There &c something TO be said in be-
half Of members of congress in this
matter of exemption from the excess
tax. A member is paid $500 a year
and this TO a great many men looks
like big salary, but senator's and rep
resentatives have TO indulge in eNpen-
ditures which people do not know any
thing about and of which they, of
course, cannot properly speak.
Members of congress are marks.
There is not a charity going. good
charity, Indifferent charity or bad char
ity, which does not send it's represen-
tatives to ask contributions of men,
bers. They must buy tickets to this
and to that thing and moreover, If the
personal "reminiscences of all of them
could be written and the account books
made public, it would be shown that
they contribute money out of pocket
day In and day cut to the INDECENT.
Representative John ]. Fitzgerald
of Brooklyn gave up his seat in the
house the other day because he could
not make both ends meet Here is a
man who as chairman of the commit
tee on appropriations has all the lime
light that anyone could wish, who has
the respect of congress for his grasp
of financial matters and for his keen
knowledge of parliamentary affairs,
and yet he prefers to give up public
life and the considerable honor which
has been accorded him in order that
he may make enough money. not only
to care properly for his family, but to
enable him to care for himself in the
future of old age.
Not Exempt, Says Green.
Representative William r. Green of
Iowa, a member of the ways and means
committee of the house, has written
letter to the commissioner of internal
revenue in which he includes the ar
gument that members of congress are
not exempt from the ruling of the in
come tax and he has asked the commits
siOner to rule accordingly. If the rul-
ing that Representative Green asks is
made, every senator and representative
in congress must pay the s per cent
excess profits tax proposed at the last
session on provisional incomes and in
comes derived from business in which
there is no investment of capital.
Representative Green in his letter
to the commissioner declares that
members of congress are not officers
of any state nor are they officers I'M
der the United States within the mean
ing of the war revenue act He holds
that if a statute intends that the term
"officers Of the United States" should
include members of the congress, there
must be something in the statute to
show that fact.
There are other members of congress
who believe that under the wording of
the taxation bill they are not exempt
from this tax. Many of them have suf-
fered under the criticism which came
because of the self exemption.
National Press Clubs Officers.
The National Press club, with an
active membership which includes
every newspaper mag, au-
thor and magazine writer in this
town, is marching on in the old
successful way despite the war which
has deprived it.of active members. and
despite prohibition, which some I'M
person said would kill the
club life in this city.
There never was much conviyiaIity