Evening star., 1918-09-12
TRYING TO FRAME
A FAIR RENTS LAW
Continued from First Pase.)


CONTINUED from First Page.)
bill threatens the real profiteers more
seriously than the House bill. pun
| tshing them even with Imprisonment
If the Senate bill is.e as alleged, so
worded as to permit a profiteering
! corporation to escape Imprisonment
through its officers, II convicted. this
inadvertent defect in the bill will Of
| course be remedied in conference.
The Senate bill is framed nlong the
lines Of fair rents war legislation in
| Great Britain. New Zealand, New
South Wales, 1t IN based upon the
while it has faults Ito be corrected
in conference), 1t so far surpasses
the House bill as the nucleus of s
| workable practical remedy for rent
ais prof1teering that. there is no COM
parison between the two measures.
No Comfort for Real ProAteers.
The real rentals pronteer gets NO
biii. It is not. however, class leg1s-
lation. solely in the interest Of the
tenant. 1t is not legislation of ten
| ants, by tenants and for tenants. 1t
approximates much more closely than
the House bill fair-rents law, as
the British and colonial statutes are
| termed. It does not seek to destroy
| utterly either landlord or tenant, but
to do equity between them.
When the issue is squarely presented
| to the House one may confidently an
ticipate. therefore, acceptance by 1t
| in the public interest Of the sub
| stance and principle of the Senate
proposition, reserving and enforcing'
1 - It. G~H h a
! improvement of that measure in con-
ference.
| The House, which has accepted. the
salisbury resolution (section of the
Senate bilD. will logically accept at
least such other parts of the Senate
bill as go naturally with the Sauls-
| bury resolution, round 1t out ana rem
der it equitable.
Tax Camoufage and Rentals Usury
The original johnson proposition
| Of anti-profiteering legislation was
novel, unfair and unworkhble, vlo-
any a5s the 1eteey eae on the ies @
Instead Of defining and fixing fair
rents and establishing a tribunal to
apply the law eQuitably and to pun.
ish violations Of it, the johnson bill
come tax out Of its national and gen.
era1 application and diverted and per-
verted it to apply only locally and to
apply only to excess profits In rentals.
The bill coupled with this bogus eX-
cess profits income tax the device of
q rentals usury misdemeanor, CORE
spending to that of interest usury,
except that trial by jury and other
constitutional safeguards are denied
to him who is accused of rentals
usury. though enjoyed by him who is
accused of interest usury as misde-
meanor.
The tax provision is legislative
false pretense. 1t is confessedly an
attempt to disguise a fine Imposed as
the penalty for rentals profiteering OF
rentals usury, in order originally
that this misdemeanor might be pun
ished retroactively, in evasion of the
constitutional prohibition of ex post
facto laws, and In order that those ac-
be convicted and punished without
trial by jury and the other safeguards
of Individual rights guaranteed by the
Constitution.
Not a War Excess Profits Tax.
1t is not war excess profits tax.
The latter tax is borne cheerfully be-
cause it is applied uniformly to all
Americans and because the nation
reaps the benefit of it and is strength
ened thereby to win the war. There
is no merit in such a tax if applied
locally outside of its national rela-
tion, and If it brings none of its pro-
ceeds into the national war chest.
Congress Is now considering a new
country. If some special war excess
profits tax should be exacted from
prof1teers in rentals, either in connec-
tion with similar tax on other
profiteering or alone, let an Lrelli-
gently framed provision apply such
<av fo al ronfalS nrofitoara tho conn.
try over. and let the proceeds go to
the nation to help win the war. Do
not unnecessarily and wantonly throw
cogs into the complicated and deli.
cate District tax machinery by ap-
plying locally, on discriminatory and
absolutely unfair lines, this tax, which
will injure the community and from
which the government will receive
for war purposes not penny.
Fine Camouhaged as Tax.
1t is not u domestic tax, either for
war or peace. The sO.called tax has
none of the earmarks of genuine and
Just taxation. No revenues will flow
the so-called tax makes unlawful the
transaction out of which it must
arise. If 1T were In good faith a tax
1T is obnoxious. 1t bristles with In
justices. INEQUALITIES. grossly inequita-
Obviously and confessed1y the House
bill disguises the penalty to be paid
to the government for the ofRense. of
rentals usufy as an ssincOme tax" The
false pretense Of tax imposition
should be eliminated.
Rentals and Interest Usury.
If rentals prof1teering is to be pre-
vented or punished as rentals usury
(and the suggestion has merit) put
this misdemeanor on the same basis