The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-11-03
TAX DISPUTE
DISCREDIT TO
BOTH PARTIES
Senators Still Playing Politics
Reed Bonus Speech Made
for Effect on Legion Con-
ventlon.
SMOOT Wins RESPECT
BY MARK SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON, Nov. S-IurnlnS
from the arriving delegation for the
armament conference to the only
other activity here that engages much
important public attention, the Re-
publican leaders both in the senate
and in the administration, fully ex-
pected that the tax bill in the senate
would be passed last Saturday night.
But one of them who was asked this
morning whether the bill would be
passed ty next Saturday night replied
with the heat of 6aep and disgusted
feeling that his questioner had better
90 and ask Jim Reed how soon he
expects to stop talking.
There is some hope that the term
ination of Reeds vocal marathon way
corresponds with the closing of the
American Legion convention in
Reeds home town, Kansas City.
Reed will come up for reelection in
Missouri next year and it would have
been obvious politics for him to go
home and talk bonus to the legion
men assembled in his home city. But
quite as good or even better than go
ing a thousand miles to Kansas City
TO talk to the legion direct is talking
at them in the senate.
If this hypothesis of political mo-
tive on Reeds part is correct, let none
of the Republican leaders approach
him.
Many Playing Politics
So far as the tax bill is concerned,
few of the Republican leaders have
anything on Reed in the matter OF
playing politics. The course of the
tax bill in the senate cannot be an
occasion for pride on the part OF
either Democrats or Republicans.
One of the few men who has had a
conviction, whether it is sound or not
and whether ii is popular or not, is at
least sincere, is Senator Smoot From
the beginning he has believed in his
sales tax. and has advocated it in a
manner that entities his views to
respect
Few of the others did anything tnat
went so far towards making a funda
mental change in our tax system, and
few were willing to champion any
thing as little popular as the sales tax
was in the beginning.
As the house originally passed the
bill, the highest tax that any part OF
any income would be required to pay
was 40 per cent, being per cent nor
NAL and 80 per cent surtax.
Threaten Support
The finance committee of the senate
adopted those figures, but after the!
introduced the bill on the senate floor
some % Republican senators backed
the committee against the wall anC
demanded that the highest rate b'
fixed at So per cent In effect, thes'
90 Republicans threatened to supper
practically any program the Demo
Gratis might bring along. The Demo
Gratis on their part were not in par
ticularly good faith.
The bulk of the Democratic motiv'
has been merely TO embarrass the Re
publicans. The present expectation i
that the senate will fix the figure a
the 5S per cent which the Republican
insurgents demanded.
Thereafter, in the conference be
tween the house and the senate
CORY battle will be staged for publ
consumption in that the compromis
figure will be something like As pc
cent
What may imperil this program, ]
il is the programe, is the possibilit
that the house may now get out c
hand and do what the % Republica
insurgents did, namely, insist on g
ing up to SO per cent
Recalls High Spots
1t is all about as unedifying as an!
thing imaginable. To a person VIII
has followed the debates on whs
ought to be a great tax measure, tn
high spots of recollection are Penros
of Pennsylvania and Gerry of Rhod
Island snarling at each other lik
school boys about which one had bee
most often an absentee from the NEE
ings of the finance committee. an
Hitchcock taunting half dozen r
publican senators with not KNOWN
what their own amendments mean
and the Republicans either frankly a.
mitting it. or. if they tried to bluf
being driven into laughable emba
rassment.
OF course, ii would not be accura1
to close such an unpleasant pictul
of the senatorial conduct of the ta
debate without saying that many
the minor amendments made on IL
senate floor have been thoughtful
discussed and many useful chang,
made.
On many minor matters that Or
sented no temptation to talk to Il
galleries some thorough work w;
done. But the Republican manag
ment of the tax bill as a whole h;
been very bad. And the Democra
do not provide any contrast.-(Cop
right, 1921, by the New York EveniI
Post. Inc)