Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1919-08-23
CONGRESS REPEALS
SODA WATER TAX
Brilliant Record of Accomplish
ments To Help Taxpayer and
Cut II. G. L.

Washington, D. c., Aug. 22.-The
Sixty-sixth may become famous as the
"Soda Water Congress-"
The present Congress, with Republic
cans in the majority in both branch
es, has been in session three months
and about all that it has done is the
passage by the House of bill to re-
peal the tax on soda water, which
would cost the Federal treasury some
thing like $21,OOO,OOO per annum.
Even the soda water BILL however,
has failed thus far to get out of the
workless Senate Committee onFinance
of which Senator Penrose of Penn
syivania, is chairman.
For weeks prior to the issuance of
the call for special session of Con-
gress, Republicans were severe in
their criticism of the President for
delaying the call. One of the rea-
sons they gave for demanding an
early convening of Congress was the
necessity for the enactment of legis-
lation to meet the reconstruction
problems that followed the close of
the war, and particularly need for
the readjustment of the tax and tariff
schedules.
In his call for the special session,
issued in May, the President recog-
nized the need for construction lgisla-
tion, and in his message to Congress
at it's convening referred especially to
matters of taxation, urging the need
of prompt and helpful legislation that
credit and enterprise might be
quickened to help business back to
normal.
"I hope that the Congress will
find it impossible to undertake an
early reconsideration of Federal
taxes" said the Presidents, Gin order
to make our system of taxation more
simple and easy of administration
and the taxes as little burdensome as
they can be made and yet suffice to
support the Government and meet all
it's obligations. The main thing we
shall care for is that our taxation
shall rest as lightly as possible on
the productive sources of the coun-
try, that it's rates shall be stable,
and that it shall be constant in it's
revenue yielding power"
The Ways and Means Committee
of the House is the committee whence
legislation relating to taxation ema-
mates. 1t is the most important COM
mittee in either branch of Congress;
ordinarily it is the ablest in the House
Its present chairman is Representa-
tive Fordney, of Michigan, Repub-
lican, of course.
This committee has been in session
most of the time since Congress con-
vened, but it has accomplished prac-
tically nothing. To date it has re-
ported out and the House has passed
the bill repeating the war tax on soda
water, hardly necessity of life and
which repeal certainly has not con-
tributed to a reduction of the cost
of necessities of life. In addition,
the House committee has reported out
some half dozen pet bills of indi-
vidual Republican members of the
committee, in every instance de-
signed to rear a tariff wall around
pet industry of the authors parti-
cular district, with no apparent re-
gard for the National welfare.
1t is in this manner that this most
important committee of the House is
meeting the situation that confronts
the country 1t has utterly failed to
rise to the emergency with any re-
gree of craftsmanship, even with
very marked degree of patriotisY for
private and personal matters ld ling
to selfish ends are given att ltion
and questions that affect the whole
country are ignored.
Democrats charge, and they point to
the pages of the Congressional
Record for substantiation of the truth
of the charge; it has no prograG
and is utterly without grasp of the
situation in the light of the post
war needs of the country.
Instead Of gaining a true grasp Of
the situation, as the emergency re-
quires, and then proceeding to deal
with the inequities, the inequalities
and the harsh features of the present
tax schedules, existing because scf
the abrupt termination uf the war,
the Republican members ohthe COM
mittee have busted themselves getting
through individual bills to boost tho
tariff on industries in their respective
districts, all of which serve to in-z
crease the cost Of the articles ~ .ks :
consumer and thus add to the cost of
living. The Ways and Means COM