The courier-index., 1918-10-25
|cARAWAY TALKS ON
PROPOSED COTTON TAX
,,,Es cAUSTICALLY TO SPUR
,o,Is ARGUMENTS MADE BY
roNcRESSMEN WHO FAVOR
oeMAtlzING THE SOUTH.

"uowav of this district replied to
srguments made by a small colene
= ooneressmen who favor placing
~ on cotton. Mr.. Caraway said:
Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of
40 committee, take are said to be
unpopular, but that is only true
where the purpose for which they
40 raised is unjust or the manner in
.rh;cb they are levied is unfair. The
,roer;can people do not object to
having taxes if they approve the
nurnose for which they are assessed.
and the manner in which they are
,ov;ed Therefore | want to cOngratu
,oto.-J started to say the committee
that drafted the bill-but, rather,
congratulate the country, that In
framing this present tax measure the
rurnoses for which the tax is to be
raised are patriotic and the manner
in which they are distributed is just.
shall support the bill without apol-
ogy.
should not have said anything at
this time if it had not been for the
remarks Yesterday of the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr Moore) and
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr.
soan), who went out of their way in
order to. | take it, make political cap
ital in their own section by assert
ing that they wanted a special tax
levied on cotton. | am constrained
to believe that there is no man in
this house of the two or three who
have advocated that form of tax
and the two or three others who
have introduced bills looking toward
the taxation of cotton that expected
such measure would become a
law or that any respectable number
of the members of this house would
support it. | take it that from what
ever section the gentleman may
come he realizes that there are GER
tain fundamental, underlying prin-
ciples of fairness and justice that
would not warrant the laying of a
special tax upon special product of
a special section of this country.
Mr. BAER. Will the gentleman
yield?
Mr.. CARAWAY. Yes
Mr.. BAER. How about fixing pri-
ces on special product raised in
certain section and not on other
products?
Mr.. CARAWAY. That has never
been done. That is the answer to
that
And the only thing that | regret is
that this agitation for such tax dis
closes this, that there must be some
sentiment, however insignificant, in
the districts of those gentlemen that
persuades them to believe they may
make political capital and advance
their own interests by advocating a
tax on cotton.
To start with, want to make this
assertion, that there is no section OF
our country that has profited so little
In financial way by this war as
the cotton growing section. There
is no section of this country where
the people have felt the burdens Of
this war so heavily individually as
tne cotton growing people. The cot
ton crop of 1914, the second largest
crop this country ever grew, was
produced at cost of ten to twelve
cents a pound and sold at five or
SIX cents a pound. The cotton
growers of the south lost in 1914,
on account of the conditions incident
TO this war, more money on that one
crop than this tax bill will cost the
people of their states.
The cotton growers appealed to the
government for one of two things.
They wanted transportation to move
the crop or they wanted money to
enable them to carry the crop until
conditions would make 1t possible to
market the crop at something near
'ne cost of its production. They
were denied both. l know of many
men whose every dollar, the accumu-
iatons of lifetime, was swept away
in tnat one crop, because they could
get neither transportation to move
'he crop nor money to carry 1t over
until conditions should be such as
would enable them to market it.
NOW, | want to answer the gentle
man (Mr. Baer) right here who
asked me about fixing the price of
products in one section and not fixing
.ne price of products in other sec
'ions. A long time ago, without any
excuse on earth except the desire to
Oenefit the people of another section
tax was laid on oleomargarine, a
,oou substance made almost exclusive
Oh cotton seed products. 1t has
oost the cotton growers more than a
nniion dollars a year Whatever re-
turns 1t yielded went into the pocket
- 'ne dairy people of another section
never thought 1t was quite fair, but
never had any patience with any
oouy who would whine about a dis
Or'mination in one section as against