New-York tribune., 1918-09-15
House to Dispose
OF Revenue Bill bv
End of This Week
kitchin Closes General De-
bate and Will Start Detail
ed Discussion Tomorrow
Especial Dispatch to The T,ibunc)


WASHINGTON, Sept. 14.-Aftcr a
dreary debate, relieved for time bv
the thrilling speech of Representative
Reavis, of Nebraska, not on the rev.
cnue bill, but on America at war, Chair
man Kitchin Of the Ways and Means
committee announced this afternoon
that the general debate on the. bill was
ended, and made the necessary parlia-
mentary arrangements for clear road
Tor the consideration of the bin, para
eraph by paragraph, beginning Monday
morning. 1t is Mr.. Kitchin's hope to
put the bill through the House next
week without any important amend
ments.
ABOUT the only speech of the day that
was not for the most part on something
other than the bill before the House
was Representative Platts Of New
YORK, who criticised the measure Sc
vercly. He held that it seemed to be
drawn much on the same lines as the
present law and to be aimed Mt succcss
Il
trlbutlon of the burden. He complained
that 1T made no distinction between
earned and uncarned income, that the
surtaXeS were excessively high and
mat the luxury taxes were largely a
Dluif lnasmuch as the minimums in
the semi-luXury class were too high to
realize much revenue
Mr.: Platt complained that even un-
der the present. law the tax on business
was so great that the War Finance
corporation had to lend money to
munitions makers, whose financial
strength had been strained by their
tax burdens, and that this anomaly
would be common under the proposed
law lie also complained of the treat
ment of the brick industry by the rail
way and fuel administrations, citing a
case of one Hudson River plant worth
SIb,OOO that had been taken on n
$4,000 mortgage, though it had $l4 900
worth OF brick on hand that it could
not transport to waiting market, be
cause 1T was not permitted the use
OF bargcs for that purpose.
Senate Committee Meets
The Senate Finance Committee met
this afternoon and listened to Assist
ant Secretary Letfingwel explain the
bond relief measure. The committee
hopes to be able to report the bill i'm
medlately after it is introduced in the
Senate on Tuesday,
In the hearings before the Finance
Committee this morning Philip II.
Gadsden, of Washington, appeared for
the traction companies Of the country.
practically all of which were headed
for bankruptcy, he said, unless some
lmmediake relief were extended to
them.
In behalf of coal mining interests
James II. AllDort argued that to pre-
vent a catastrophe they should be per
mitted, IN addition to other deductions,
to take out the cost of all extensions.
Of all machinery installed to replace
human labor, the cost above pre-war
lflces' OF all improvements made for
'he purpose of increasing output to
meet the present emergency, and a lib
cral allowance for thinning hazards" if
actually set aside and invested in Lib
crty bonds.
Urges Consumption Tax
1t would have been wiser, he argued,
TO make a low minimum on wearing ap-
parel, and then impose tax of 10 in
stead OF 20 per cent Such tax would
have produced returns worth while. He
argued for tariff tax, and insisted
that the omission of consumption taxes
was great mistake, as they would
nave to be resorted to supplementary
to make up the deficit in the esti
mates caused by the elimination Of
peer, winch would make prohibition
unpopular: lie held that it would have
been TAR better to have begun at the
beginning with small consumntion
tax rate. which could have been in
creased later