New-York tribune., 1920-11-08
Fess Declares
First Duty Is
To Cut Taxes
New Administration Must
Reduce Cost of Govern
mcnt and Then Discon.
iinue All War Legislation
Budget System Pledged
Commission Will Be Set at
Work Devising Means to
Relieve Public of Burden
Fro,n Th. T,4sune,s woshirpton Bureo.

From The Tr16HNe's Washington Bure0w
WASHINGTON, Nov. THE first
duty Of the new Republican Admins
tration is to obtain relief from war
taxation. Representative Simeon D..
Fcss, Of Ohio, chairman Of the Ma
t;onal Republican Congressional Com
mittee, declared to-day in outlining
important Legislative steps to be taken
by the next Congress.
The establishments Of formal peace
at the earliest possible moment, Mr..
Fess asserted. must be followed by the
discontinuancc of all war laws.
"Taxation can be reduced only by
reducing the cost Of the governm ent,"
Mr.. Fess said. "The executive and leg
lslativc department must cooperate to
cut this cost to the bone. The war ma
chine must be dismantled by e!imnat-
ing every war a ! ncy not absolutely
necessary in peace time.
"The persistence of the frightful
government expenditure, which is at
least seven OF eight times what it was
before the war, demands immediate
attention and reorganization. If We
succeed in saving in the short session
what WAS saved in the earlier sessions
of this Congress we most probably can
repeal the excess profits tax and may be
s'H'S ~ ASUoSS NtI NPpCi lo'iECS VI VIE
surtax. 1t is to be hoped this can be
done without the substitution of any
new form Of tax.
Experts To BE Consulted
"Steps will most likely be taken at
an early moment to create commits
sion composed of members Of Con-
gress, together with we'll known experts
on the taxation question, not members
Of either house, to investigate and re-
port on the needs and possibilities of
tax revision.
cone of the earliest measures to be
enacted and inaugurated in practice is
the budget system, which was vetoed by
the President at the close Of the last
session.
THE flood of imports of recent
months suggests the necessity of re-
v'sion of the revenue laws, not only for
lection of American industry in the
interest of the employment OF Ameri-
can labor at an American scale Of wares
to insure ouc standard Of living The
seductive argument that European im-
ports must not be impcded, 50 that Eu
rope may be able to pay her debt due
the United States, must not .ead 10 dis
ruption of American business enter
prise.
An important problem facing the
Federal Reserve Board is the nccea-
slty OF .appreciating the purchasing
power of the American dollar, which
under war imitation has been reduced
to about one-hllf Of what it was before
'ne war. This Is not a legislative but
an administrative function.
"Thc stability Of business TO insure
against the danger Of unemployment
and consequent suffering must be as
sured. Accordingly, lcga! agencies for
Iabor Adjustment in line with the
Republican platform must be worked
out TO guarantee the protection Of the
public without a sacrifice Of the rights
of either labor or capital
Best Leadership Demanded
"These problems demand the coun-
try's best leadership. The electorate
viii be impatient for immediate re-
suits. Too much will be expected from
legislation due largely to the policy
recently inaugurated to look to the
government for the cure of all ills.
There is no doubt that the rev ADJ
is fully alive to the ser
business of the task which confronts
1t, the most serious sincc the days of
the Civil War. The country is to be
congratulated upon the President.nlect
VINO IS man OF counsel. Through his
leadership tho 'naCion will have tho
best brains the country affords. There
can be no serious doubt that The prob
iems, vast and numerous, Will be han
dled wisely and the best results of
sound economic, social and political
policies will be assured"
In analyzing Tuesdays overwhelming
Republican victory, Mr. Fess pointed
out that it spelled "in unmistakab]o
terms the rebuke of wisconsin as an
un-American effort to override by au-
tocratic methods American rights safe
guarded by constitutional limitation in
cur organic law"
"The outcome of the election" h.