The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1919-02-13
'PENR0SEATTkCKS
U|hREIl.[|. VENUE BILL
Sen;tCT PiII9rIes k'''ogad DAM
Cc!-t.G nastd.
Its II kEFOa'.i ZIG RS
Scores 'Wastefui Appropriations
and Says Taxes Are Reaching the
Danger Point


and Says Taxes Are Reaching the
Danger Point.
Washington, Feb. BLESS than a
dozen senators attended the opening
discussion of the wa" revenue Bill,
which WAS begun by Ser"tor rcnr"se,
Pennsylvania. ranking Republican OF
the senate, managers.
Addition of "ridr"s" to lie measure,
designed to. effect : cal or economic
reforms, VIZ: especially criticised by
Senator P,nrose. Naming the pro-
vision to levy 100 per cent taxes on
campaign contributions, which, Wis
eliminated by the conferees, the "bone
dry prohibition amendment affecting
the District OF Columbia, the child
labor clause and the special tax on
pistols, Senator PenroSe said the rules
should be changed to prevent the prac-
tice of adding unrelated matters to
revenue legislation.
81 am ready to legislate campaign
expenditures" Mi PenroSe added.
"and nearly TO the point of forbidding
them eneirely The electorate is in
telligent, and no campaign can be
won that does not make an appeal to
their reason"
Senator Penrose said the provision
for a bonus Of $50 to persons dis
charged from the military service was
adopted for patriotic reasons, although
POSSIBLY a violation of conference
rules. Senator Thomas, Democrat,
Colorado. and Smoot Republican.
Utah. hcsh declared that in IT. s'ng
the senate bonus provision from $50
to $50 the conferees had exceeded au-
thority, but point of order would
not be raised because of the prov:s-
ions patriotic purpose
Regret that the conference commit
tee was obliged to raise the second
bracket of the excess profits taxes
from 60 to 63 per cent was expressed
by Senator Penrose, who said the
longer he considered it the more he
thought taxes were reaching the dam
ger point.
What he termed wasteful appropria-
lions and expenditures were scored
by Senator PenroSe pointing out that
the bills reduction from eight to six
billion dollars was more apparent
than real because a large part was
covered in losses from prohibition
legislation. He attacked especially
the recent S1OO0O0,OOO appropriation
for European famine relief.
Bills pending in the senate aggre-
eating more than S2,000,0O0O and
in the house for more than So 000,-
100000 of proposed appropriations
were detailed by Senator Penrose,
Secretary of the Interior Lanes bill
to reclaim swamp and logged-off lands
for discharged soldiers at cost of
$4,000, 100000 he characterized as
ssehiHerical. E s.
tfsine the Kenyon bin for sa99,-
100000 to be spent on public works
to check unemployment, he said SEN
ators advocated net projects and that
the unemployment question hal been
greatly exaggerated.
The bill for $1,000, 100000 to main
tain wheat prices was referred to by
the Pennsylvania senator as a meas
ure "to make good the folly Of Hoov..
err in fixing prices. He urged an &C.
counting of President Wilson's spec
ial war fund, saying any balance now
remaining should be turned in.
Senator Penrose said government
operation Of the railroads was deplor-
able. Senator Kellogg, Republican.
Minnesota, called his attention to the
request of Director General Hines for
s75O,OOO,OOO additional which the min
nesota senator said was to be added
to the revolving fund that did not
revolve."
81 think the Bolsheviki in Petro-
vrad," replied Senator Penrose,
would have run the railroads better
than the American people,"
Senator Penrose said $4,000 new
officers had been created by this con-
gross with salary roll of $15000O .O0O
of which about sixty or seventy per
cent were needless.
He said he supported the bill as a
patriotic duty because the government
needed the money and because it con-
tanned many provisions for relief Of
taxpayers not contained in existing
laws He said relief from extrava-
gance seemed hopeless until after
March f.