Evening star., 1920-12-09
HOUSTON ASSA|LED
BY CLAUDE K|TCH|N
ASA TAX DICTATOR
Former Democratic House
Leader Criticises Recon-
mendation to Congress.
CHARGES EFFORT TO SAVE
INTERESTS FROM BURDEN
Declares Secretaries of Treasury
Under President Wilson Have
Assumed Power.

Vigorous opposition was voiced to-
day by Representative Claude Kitchin
of North Carolina, former House
leader, and now a ranking democrat
on the ways and means committee,
against the taxation recommendations
made to Congress yesterday by Sec
retary Houston of the Treasury. Rep
resentative Kitchin at the same time
criticised the attitude of all the sec
retaries of the Treasury under Presi-
dent Wilson in debating taxation
methods to Congress. In formal
statement he issued Mr.. Kitchin said:
"I think it is the most unwise, un-
just, undemocratic and pro-repuDllcan
report that ever emanated from any
its beginning. If the democrats had
control Of the House l am sure the
ways and means committee and the
House itself would unanimously re-
ject them.
The whole intent and policy of his
recommendations are to reneve tne
corporate interests and millionaires
who, for the last four years, nave
plundered and profiteered upon the
people to the extent of billions OF
dollars, of billion and half or two
billions of dollars of taxes annually.
backs of the public that is the victim
Of such plunderers and profiteers.
Would BE Issue for Democrats.
81 cannot understand how any man
who claims to have a single i'm
pulse for the masses. or who claims
to be a democrat, could make such
recommendations-b l understand
that neither Mr.. Houston nor any of
his friends make such claims for him.
IF republican administration
were to make such recommendations
the democrats in the House would not
want a better issue. ! have not time
now to discuss in detail his recon-
mendations or report. Perhaps Will
have the opportunity to do this in the
administration recommends the same
policy.
that the Secretaries Of the Treasury
under Mr.. Wilson were the first ever
to assume the authority 70 tell Con.
whether tariff or domestic taxation
whether tariff or. domestic taxation.
All other Secretaries Of the Treasury
for the last twenty-five years were
content to leave the question Ct Whist
the rate to the Judgment OF Congress,
where the Constitution leaves 1t.
"VRC 1Vh AAAVkOvGD4CAts
! II trust the republican Secretary of
the Treasury under the next adminis-
tration will have more confidence in
the republican Congress than our
democratic Secretaries under Wilson's 8
administration have shown in demo-
cratic Congresses and will not assume
to tell Congress what 1t shall tax or
not tax and the rate Of taxation but
will be willing to leave it where other
Secretaries Of the Treasury before
the advent of the Wilson admin st tra-
ton have left ito the judgment Of
Congress, as. the Constitution does.
forming Congress regarding the con-
dition of the finances Of the govern
ment and the amount Of money re.
quired to meet government expenses.
'"If the democratic party in Con-
gress were to adopt the suggestions
of Secretary Houston's report, no
democratic candidate hereafter would
get anything like as many votes as
Gov. Cox did in the last election. and
the Lord knows he got few enough.
81 predict that in the next Congress
in behalf of many republican
measures with respect to taxation the
republicans will cite Secretary Hous.
ston as well as the President as au-
thority for their position