Evening star., 1918-08-18
JOSEPH w. FORDNEY,
Ranking republican member Of committee

augmenting the public revenues, but
the plan rarely included higher taxes
for himself.
The motion picture artists for ex-
ample. as they call themselves. join
ing with the motion picture photo
from Los Angeles, who pleaded for q
reduction in the taxes laid on earned
incomes. 1t was just. he said. heavily
to tax unearned incomes-that Is, in
comes received by men, after years
of toiling and saving. from rents, in
terest and dividends.
When reminded of the reports that
paid prodigious salaries. he replied
that most of this talk about big
salaries is press agent stuff" Then
he went on to show the risks taken
by motion picture actors, the women
among them, especially. A woman,
he pointed out, might get q scar on
her face and be put out Of business
permanently. .
"T have heard some of the members
say" Chairman Kitchin gravely OBJ
served. in the soft notes of North
Carolina. referring to his committee.
that they would be willing to be
SCARED up quite bit for 100000 q
give the government half of it."
Long ago, under Charles II Of Eng
land, a tax was proposed in parlia-
ment on '.playhouses." 1t was oppos-
ed by the courtiers, who argued that
"the players are the kings servants
and part of his pleasure" The tax
ing of actors is an ancient matter.
Manufacturers Of soda water also
gave their judgments to Mr.. Kitchin
and his .twenty-one associates. j.
Hampton Moore, the member from
Philadelphia. a man of shrewdness.
with some wit to give 1t cutting
quality. remarked to one of them
that 1--WE have heard from other gem
tlemen who have come here on the
soda water businessand most of them
have rather taken the view of put
ting the tax on the consumer"
X \
That theory, putting the tax on
the consumer" as has been noted.
ran. like a large and glaring thread
through all the testimony and ora
tory of those who came before the
committee. The jewelers., 1000 whole
salers and manufacturers and $4,000
retailers, through their unchellenged
representatives, gave voice to the
opinion that a high tax on gems and
80 on would reduce the sales OF those
articles, and, therefore, the money
collected by the government. whereas
a moderate tax. charged to the con-
sumer, would keep the sales at at the e
current volume. some $500.000.000
yearly, and maintain the public rev.
enue at the present figure.
A dealer in automobiles, one from
among the $4,000 in the country,
thought that tax, ranging from 70
to $25 per car. on the users OF AUTO
mobiles, some 100000 all toia, =,
bring $65.000,000 of new money into
the treasury. Passing the buck" as
Charles A. otis, one of the millionaire
dollar r-a-year war-workers IN wash
ington, would say. was the favorite
indoor sport witnessed by the ways
and means committee.
Lawyers elucidated their schemes at
length. They went back into history,
but overlooked the game of. Henry
VII, who, pretending there was 10 be
a war with France, had Morton. his
chancellor. lay tax on the people OF
England.
The commissio toner's, charged with
collecting the tax, were instructed by
Morton to "employ dilemma In which
every one might be comprehended.' IL
the victim "iived frugally," he was
told that his "parsimony must have
necessarily enriched him; 4 his
method Of living were splendid ana
opulent. This Device" says Hume.
"was by some called Chancellor Nor
toms fork and by others his crutch.'
All of the twelve democrats on the
ways and means committee but one
are lawyers. George White of Ohio.
cum and natural gas. Six of the ten
renuhlicans are lawyers; one Ia q