davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

and generally you viii md that q
comes very close to embracing wha,
Mccoy recommended months before to
the Secretary Of the Treasury. {,
During debates on tax bills. Senators
ana Representatives refer repeatedly
10 what "the experts say about this
or that item. The experts lis" Mr.. Nc.
Coy. Frequently his name 10 used.
when q little tax on bank checks 10
eliminated on the floor. he tells the
committee how the loss Of revenue can
oe overcome by q 2 per cent increase
in another tax.
II Z member from Texas desires .
tai Of 80 per cent on the gross earn.
ings Of all corporations whose address
is Wall street, New York. Mccoy tells
him on short notice how many con.
Germs have their Offices there. the na.
ture of their business. their earnings
last year. the market price Of their
stock. what it really is worth and how
much the proposed tax would yield.
II Lodge wants fgures to show that
q tax on war profits in this country
should b. lower than that enforced In
Great Britain because of the difference
Of pre.war business conditions. Mccoy
Jumps into the breach. II Kitchin
desires to establish the merits Of tho
excess.prof1ts tax, he gets the figure
from Mccoy. If La Toilette desires to
show that both Lodge and Kitchin are
wrong. Mccoy produces statistics BY
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

sent to China by the Department, O
State to nx the American share In
h Boxer indemnity.
Mr.. Mccoy traces to his work In
connection with the reciprocity treaties
MS later association with Congress
In the preparation Of tariff laws. He
vas borrowed by the State Depart.
ment for that task when Secretary
HAY named John A. Kasson as special
commissioner to conduct the negotia.
lions. Mr.. Mccoy sat at a little desk
m q corner. to all outward appearances
engaged on clerical work, while Com.
missioner Kasson talked with various
diplomatic representatives of the ma
lions desiring confessional tariff agree
ments with the United States. What
he really was doing was absorbing
every word that was said, and upon
the departure Of the diplomats he die.
tated surprisingly accurate reports Of
the interviews. To these he added
facts and figures showing agreement
or disagreement with the statements.
1t was necessary for him to acquire
an accurate knowledge of. industrial
and commercial conditions, in every
nation and to strip away diplomatic
verbiage to get at the fundamental,
issues involved. He succeeded so we'll
that eighteen treaties were negotiated.
by the State Department. the nations
affected including Franco. Russia. Eng.
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

bolshevism in Seattle, then vote fol
the bill virtually as the COMMITTEES
wrote it. The bill goes over to the
Senate and Mccoy goes back to his
downtown Office.
Senators a been waiting. impa.
tiently for the bill. The Finance Com.
mittee members pounce upon the bill.
and. carrying 1t on to the committee
room, tear it apart with the avidity
Of wolves at q feast. Penross Erunts
his disapproval; the others shout
theirs. Reduced to printable language
the consensus Of their comment sss1ns
to be that the bill lust won't do Of
AL" So agreed. they instruct . clerk
to call Mr.. Mccoy and have him hurry
along to the Capitol.
The process Of revision begins anew
Hers and there "a Senator. obtains
adoption, Of q new paragraphsor section
or the elimination Of. some tn, the -
fduction Of another. The Senate pasCso
the bill andSit goes 10 /. COMMITTEES o.
conferences between the TWO houses Is
reconcile the d~isagreements between
them. Mccoy. Of u il present.
ane House confersss look 70 him -
maintain that the House bill was .,
gem compared to what the senate
voted, The Senators expect him 70
support their contention that but foe
tneir genius Of hnancs the bin would
have been q s~candalous hodEs.podea.
Mccoy has had training In dipIonaacy.
He renliea tn nvoutlnus ~ a.. 800 49,
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

! Immediately after tho 1912 election
when a Democratic Senate and .
Democratic President were chosen.
Underwood. who was chairman OF the
Ways and Means Committee. began
work on the new tariff bill. With NC
Coy he started on New Years Lay
Of 1913 and they worked almost con-
stantly until the following spring.
when Wilson called the extra session
to revise the tariff. Daniel G. Roper.
now Commissioner of Internal Revs
nue., was clerk Of the Ways and Means
Committee. The Finance COMMITTEES.
unable to get Mccoy away from Under.
wood, employed about twenty tariff
experts" including customs officers
from New York. When the Under.
wood bill left the House only three OF
the experts remained with the SON.
ate committee. When 1t went to con.
ference all had disappeared except
Mccoy. Mr.. Mccoy wrote the silk
schedule in the Underwood.simmons
act g..
The principle Of the excess.proits
tax was developed by Mr.. Mccoy from
the famous German stew" tax which
Sweden imposed when expectations OF
a canned beef stew to Germany
reached such an imposing figure that
the Swedish Government put q tar
or all profits above a certain figure
Mccoy began on this plan as a means
Of checking the increase in the price
Of gasoline by taking all profits above
q. certain price per gallon. 4
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

the yard. Frequently no 10 asked u
simplify the language Of q bill Onea
Cordell Hull had q sentence Of zoos
words. Mccoy ~rearranged It into
simple sentences without destroying
Hull's meaning.
Mccoy is a Penhsylvanian. He was
born in Reading. the son Of a Union
soldier, who was crippled at Bull Run.
The parent was given q position 1t
the War Department here in Washing.
ton, and he brought his family along.
Joseph Mccoy was educated In tho
primary schools Of the capital and en-
tered Stevens Institute at Hoboken.
n. j.. to study engineering. 1t was
there his remarkable talent for mathS'
matics was developed. He took . civil
service examination as q patent *.
asminer. He hoped { % learn patent law
and then practice on his own account
He was selected by the Treasury De
partment ~ an expert accountant and
became ar assistant government actu.
ary in 1890. He was made an actuary
about stxyears later, and Congress- has
been borrowing" him TO- help write
tariff bills since 1898.
His irst work was In connection
With the Dingley blu. Since then he
has played . highly important part
In The preparation Of every subss.
auent tariff bill. He participated In
the negotiations Of = dozen important
reciprocal trade treaties. including
that with Frspcs. on which he "wsnt
to the mat With senator Aldrich, os
Rhode Island. He was the expert,
who stsered the Joint high commiDl
sion safely through its ssttisinsnt q
di6putss With canada and incidentally
laid the sroundwork Tor the dxins
q the Alaskan boundaries. Hs was
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

land and the South American coun-
tries. The treaties were sent to Con.
gress, as the Dingley law, which pro.
vided for them. carried the provision
that such treaties Should be approved
by the Senate and ratified by Con.
gress."
Senator Aldrich objected to the
French treaty because it carried the
maximum cut in duties on imitation
jewelry. threatening. according to his
view, that industry in Rhode Island.
Senator Aldrich appeared before the
Foreign Relations Committee ana
made such an eloquent attack on the
treaty that members Of the committee
were almost unanimous against re-
porting it to the Senate. Mccoy was
in the room, and although he had not
taken a note Of what Aldrich had
said, he memorized statements with
great accuracy. The following day he
addressed the committee and riddled
the arguments Of the Senator. Tho
treaty. was reported favorably. Five
di1erent efforts were made to get
action on it, but Aldrich always hap.
pened to be absent. and out Of courtesy
Ia him 1t was not pressed. In that
vav the treaty failed Of ratification.
In 1909 Mr.. Mccoy worked on the
pavne.Aldrich tariff bill, and again he.
encountered the Senator from Rhode
island. The following year. when Sen.
ator Lodge made the high-cost-ofliving
report Of the select committee Of
which he was chairman, Senator
johnson, :of Alabama, persuaded Nc.
Gov to analyze 1t and shoot 1t full
az holes" Mccoy discharged the task
40 satisfactorily that his memorandum
MA. printed by the Democratic Ma.
tional Committee and sent into every
congressional district. The Democrats
gained control Of the House that year.
AS soon as Underwood. Of Alabama,
got back to Washington he called Mr..
Mccoy to the Capitol and together
they worked out the revised chemical
schedule which Taft vetoed. Mccoy
analysed tho veto message for the
and presented an argument
which Senators Lodge and smoot
vainly to Offset.
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

When an income tax was propoeea
In 1913 there was nothing but the thin
air of speculation on which to base
estimates Of the amount Of money the
levies might bring into the Treasury.
only n state in this country has such
a tax-North Carolina-and It d.
wed but $4,000 annually from It.
When Mr.. Mccoy proposed to furnish
tne' committee with an estimate of the
yield. Senator Gore, Of Oklahoma, said:
MCCOY. what's the use of saying
you can give US an estimate? Why
dont o just say, you'll make .
guess?"
But I will get you an estimate
Mr.. Mccoy retorted.
Close to His Estimates
Back to his Office he went ana
gathered about him all that had been
written about income taxes. He stud.
led the English tax, but found It could
not be applied to the United state
because the English tax is collected at
the source. Mccoy took up the Yser.
man systems and found that exce,fart
laws were in force in the states Of sax.
onY and Prussia and that they were
so nearly like that under consideration
by our Congress that he could. bv
adapting them to financial statistic.
for this country. making certain al.
lowances for different conditions. ar
rive. at a very good basis for an e,tt
mate. He did and his estimate wa. "a
accurate as to cause general am.ze.
ment.
or the corporation income tax hi.
estimate Of what tho tax would Weld
during the year 1914 wa within s2ooo
or $4,000 Of the actual returns to n.
treasury, and the estimate was mad.
eighteen months before the Treasure
appeared, Treasury of11cials *.
!ieved he had gone wrong on the mum.
lions tax which was carried in tha ~.
.paredness fund tax law Of 1915 70
months before the close Of the ve.r
1t appeared unlikely that n vo,,1
yield around s4o.ooo.ooo." which ~.
Coy estimated. The Anal f,Rura.
showed that Ground so, 900. oooa h.a
accrued to the government. -
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25

W sup Aolty ullleS from q
tunchroom for lack Of coal; Senators
nave to have extra clerks to handle
correspondence on the league of ma.
ions and the Smithsonian institution
needs an additional night Waterman.
He greets Mccoy most cordially.
taxes the list entitled Mice Things to
ak" and summons an underpaid "a.
sistant. They 90 over the list. About
Is per cent Of McCoy's suggestions are
adopted. This. in fact, was the per.
centage in the latest revenue bill.
How much will these taxes raiser"
inquiries the Secretary.
"oh. about $5.ss7.4ss ,s21.as." replies
Mccoy.
The Secretary writes courteous notes
to the chairmen Of the Ways and
Means and Finance Committees. tell.
ing them thsre must be q new revenue,
blu, Congress may fuss q day or
Two but no one takes that seriously.
e all Washington knows the public
must b fooled.
Mccoy goes back to his office, plies
= few more papers on the. desk and
waits for the telephone bell 70 ring,
He does not wait long. II II = call
from the Ways and Means COMMITTEES.
Hello. Mccoy" rays the voice. IL
mMight 10 that Of Payne. Underwood,
Kitchtns . i Fordnsy. Thsy III 40 II.
We've rot 70 ri mp : new rsysnue
BIN. Comsson M.
Mr..SNcCOy goe1 Is tha canakna a,A
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25
By Rober, T. Barry

cameras. candy. cigarettes. chewinl
gum. clothes; of bowie. dirk and hunt
ing knives. daggers, swords. canes
stilettos and brass knuckles.
Thermos bott,e:s. electric fans. yachts
and motorboats, liveries for coachmen
riding habits, hunting and shooting
togs, pipe organs, comets. bass drums
and phonographs-all coming under
the general head OF "household necesst.
ties"-arc placed on the list.
Ice skates ano tennis rackets.
canoe cushions and baseball bats and
gloves are not overlooked, o are au.
tomobiles and motorcycles, tires and
self.starters. He invades the pre-.
cincts Of the dressing tables and takes
notes on rouge. soap, perfume and
powder. He glances about the house
and lists carpets, rugs. picture flames.
purses, lamp shades, umbrellas. and
poking his head into clothes closets
calculates luxury taxes" on smoking
Jackets, bath and lounging robes.
ki1noncs, p%etticoats and waists, hats.
ehoes, sh;rts, ties. stockings, suits ami
dresses. pajamas. n!shtgowns and
underwear.
He casts evil designs upon u trav.
els and our freight shipments, u in.
and our telephone and tele'
graph messages.
Not content with having learned of
the amount of money we have to
spend for these things, he proceeds to
figure how much he a take away
from us through the delicate method
of a tax on incomes. which he has
just shown by immutable figures al.
ready has ',een expended.
Mr.. McCoy. after arriving at an
estimate of the amount Of revenue his
suggestions will raise, takes his hat
and strolls over to the Treasury De
partment. The Secretary Of the Treas.
ury has learned in the meantime that
Daniels and Baker need some ready
cash to keep a few generals and ad.
mirals on the payroll; hat Lane has
to have the purchase price of some
farms for soldiers; that Houston
fears the pink boil worm will ruin
Texas cotton unless he can buy some
paris grec-: Hines says the railroads
Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-25
" "#"#"fiE#"#
3AmeRreeb
-. ... r.
~
JOSEPH s. Mccoy

JOSEPH s. Mccoy
"A government actuary is the pre-.
siding genius in the preparation Of
revenue bills, the man who makes
You dig deep for those taxes
ne must ssum a sympathetic atti.
tude toward the views of the members
while waging defensive warfare
against Efforts to nullify his program.
Members Of the committee are amazed
1T his audacity in suggesting taxes on
rouge and perfume with woman sui.
frage just around the corner Of the
political highway. southssn members
storm at. the Recommendation for =
tax on cotton products: westerners say.
hides must not be touched and New
Englanders simply will not listen TO.
proposals for leyies on wool ana shoes.
Mccoy does not say much. az he
knows full well the congressman are
talking for the ears Of the e-yer.present
reporters. He knows that after weeks
o. hearings and other anodynes for
public resentment the bill win be writ.
ten pretty much as he intended IT.
The bill 10 reported to the HOUSE.
Asrnbers wrangle for . few days over
~ provisions and over the kindred
subJscts Of American soldiers Ia 81.
bArts,d the prizes of wheat Ia Minnesota,
the scarcity sof ,labor in Kansas and
The Washington times., 1919-06-23
HERE IS ZINE WRITING"

CONTINUED First COumnD
arce?Whither vanished those brilliant creations of human
industry? Where are those ramparts of Nneveh those
walls of Babylon those palaces of Persepos those temples
of Babec and of Jerusalem? Where those fleets of
Tyre those dock yards of Ara those workshops of Sdon
and that multitude of sailors of pilots of merchants and
soldiers? Where those husbandmen harVests focks and
all the creation of living beings in which the face Of the
earth rejoced?
Thus absorbed in meditation crowd of reflections
continually poured in upon my mind Everything continued
bewlders my judgment and fills my heart with trouble
and uncertainty When these countries enjoyed what
stutes the glory and happiness of they inhabited
by infdel nations: It the Phoencian offering human
sacrifices Moloh who gathered into his stores the riches
of all climates it the Chaldean PROSTATE before his
who subjugated opuen cities laid the
palaces of kings and despoied the temples Of the gods
the Persans worshper of fire. who received the tribute
of hundred nations they the inhabitants of this very
city, adorers of the and stars who erected many
monuments of prosperity and luxury.
And yet these the children of the prophets? The
Mussulman Christian Jew they not elect children Of
God loaded with favors and miracles? Why then do these
privileged longer enjoy the advantages? Why
these fields sancted by the blood of martyrs deprived
of their ancient fertility? Why have those blessings been
banshed hence and transferred for many ages other
nations and different clIr"--o
The Washington times., 1919-06-23
Direct Methods VS.. the Rules
of Evidence
By EARL GOODWIN.

Rules OF evidence ought not to keep the Board of Edu
cation from administering the affairs of the public schools
the best possible advantage of the school children The
Board of Education should find out ALL about everything
without regard to legal procedure without regard to prec
dent and especially without regard the toes of anyone
whom the investigators mis- ht tread.
Rules of evidence might shut out of the investigation
the very thing that is keeping the schools from being of
much at present There is ferment and upset. extend
ing an through the school system The education of school
children suffers tremendously at every 1t is
thing like tree. Strike blow on the trunk of
the main limbs and the tremor extends all the way out to
the tip end of each leaf When there is rucon in the
schools the teachers lose their efficiency as instructors be-
their minds diverted from their work. and
quenty the children do not learn much they should
When the Board of Education knows that there is
something wrong, that large number of parents claim
there something wrong there should be instituted at
kind of inquiry. The board is administrative
body judicial one and therefore, should proceed
facts and all lawyers know that it is possible to conceal
of the facts sometimes by adrot of the rules of
evidence.
But the board not being bound by rules of evidence,
start with secondhand information hearsay,
picion and would be justified in digging into situation by
any 1t is NOT justified in hiding behind rules Of
evidence
The schools to be administered for the benefit of
the school children not for the benefit of PRIDE prejudice
precedent from any The of entire school
system is the benefit the education the progress of the
CHILD. If suspect there is wrong condition in his
school, should get at it in hurry not wait to refresh
our memories the precedents in the
The Washington times., 1919-06-23

A GREAT many women have
~ written to me lately about
housekeeping problems.
They are anxious before autumn
to give up houses that have been
happy homes to them for many
years on account of the impossi-
bilitv of getting reliable help.
What we need in Washington to
combat the threatened abandon
ment of housekeeping in favor of
apartment hotels and boarding
houses is organized bureaus that
will deal with the questions of
cooking and homework on an en-
tirely new basis. The old
fashioned servant is as extinct as
the dodo, let US realize this and
waste no more time in lamenting
the passing of that not unmixed
blessing.
Women the world over have
dreamed of the day when house
hold problems could be simplified,
with domestic drudgeries obviated.
This is being done in England, as
far as food is concerned, by the
retention of the National Kitch-
ems" established supposedly for
the duration of the war, but now
announced TO continue indefi-
nitely.
The National Kitchens" we're
founded when all the able-bodied
women in England were engaged
in war work and John Bull had TO
undertake TO keep the pot boiling
in the interests of his absentee
housewives. And to enable people
to keep body and soul together in
spite of the war profiteering res
taurant.
John Bull a Thrifty HOuSekeeper.
Having succeeded 50 we'll in
community cooking, he has now
decided to convert that wartime
experiment into d definite peace
time activity.
A member Of Lord Rhondda's
food ministry has been appointed
director of national kitchens with
a staff of food experts to keep the
enterprise at "tOp notch" France,
who has watched the English OK
pertinent with interest, has an
nounced her intention of inaugu-
rating a similar public service
shortly.
As an instance of how we'll John
Bull has succeeded in his national
catering scheme. ! will give 4
menu published by a London cor
respondent who dined at one of
the municipal restaurants an even
ing or two ago. This particular
restaurant is in the Black Friars
district, one of the most populous
sections of London, lying between
Fleet street and the houses of
parliament. About 1000 people
are fed here daily.
The dinner cost one shilling half
penny, or, in American money,
twenty-six cents, and it consisted
of ox-tail soup. roast beef, baked
potatoes, lettuce salad, tapioca
pudding, and coffee.
Not bad for twenty-six cents.
1t recalls the legends told by old
WashingtGniaRS Of q restaurant a.
The Washington times., 1919-06-23
Problems and Pitfalls of the War Workers
Especially for Washington Women

their lives these women begin to
look human and happy.
The war has given to Wash
ington women much valuable OK
perience in the way of organiza-
ton. Before this most useful
gift has become rusty and the
various war units have become
scattered, how public spirited
and praiseworthy it would be if
they would turn their atten-
ton to the establishment Of
municipal kitchens, even as the
women of other cities have done.
know that IN attempt in
this direction has been made,
but it is too elaborate to be
within the reach of the war
worker and The Government
clerk. What we want is some
thing on the lines that John
Bull has put through SO sue
cessfully, clean wholesome, food
within the reach of the humble
pocketbook.
OdldTy ana Romance
DEAR MISS FAIRFAX:
have been engaged for five
years and the high cost Of living
has kept us from marrying. My
fance's income is small and I
have never been very good at man
aging domestic affairs. And we
are literally afraid to take the
step. l know you often advise girls
To keep on working after they
marry, but my intended is a South
ern man and he cannot bear to think
of me in office and his wife. Would
you advise me to break my engage
ment or what do you think It would
be well for us to do:
DISCOURAGED CICILT.
don't wonder that YOU are
discouraged Cicily, because you
appear to lack the two essential
qualities that make for success,
courage and thrift. One has got
to take some chances in life,
not sit down and expect bless
ings to float right up to ones
rocking chair. What were you
OOIlS ali IiOSc i've years lIldL
you did not learn to manage do
nestle affairs thriftily?
Excellent work is being done all
over Washington in Domestic
Science classes. The last of these
l investigated was held in the
Wilson Normal School. The can
ming season has set in with its
usual severity and one simply
can't escape learning how to do
things, and what a pleasure it is,
and how profitable, too
AS far as working after your
marriage is concerned, l must con-
fess to having little patience with
this form of snobbery. Of course,
every woman would like to be
perfectly beautiful, young, and at
the head of a prosperous eStab-
lishment. But when the fairies
neglect to leave these gifts at our
cradles, we compromise. Any
wholesome minded young woman
is willing to help her husband for
a few years and after they have
saved a joint nest egg to retire
and bring up her family. A