The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-01-20

. committee told me II was n shame. that
| it never should have been done. l knew
| that in making that wonderful tax liSt
! mistakes were bound to creep in. or
course your committee thought IL was
taxing the rich professional baseball
teams that were making thouSapds or
dollars a day. But the fact ~ that al!
the profession baseball teams in Amer
lca buy less than 3 per cent Of the ath-
lctic goods sold. II is n fact that more
than 50 per cent Davc L"v!nson says
IS per cent. and he ought to know, OF
all the athletic goods sold is bought by
kids under IS. 1t was us kids you hit
We understand, too. how difficult It
was for you TO amend the law so as TO
exempt us. We know there are nearly
thousand different Items in the tax
. law. and that II YOU started amending 1t
every one of the thousands OF different
lines affected would want their tax
changed too. Your committee said that
II they started changing that bill IT
would take the entire session and block
all other business, and We Kids didn't
want 10 block any OF Uncle Sans bust
ness. So We made out without gloves
and masks. and chest protectors and
Kids Didn't Get Square Deal.
But we don't think we got Just n
| square deal even at that. There is one
! thing we don't understand When con-
Eress voted TO tax all sporting goods
10 per cent. we thought that was law.
But Mr.. Roberts. the comm! Ssioner or
internal revenue. "interprctcd' the law
to mean that they should not tax gym
nnsium equipment. SO you didn't tax
any gymnasium apparatus or anything
used in indoor athletics but soaked 1t
+ onto all our outdoor sports.
What we don't understand is why
Mr.. Roberts couldn't interpret 1t TO
mean that baseball and football equip
ment shouldn't he taxed IL he could in
terprct 1t to exempt gymnasium equip
mment. II sounds kind Of queer to US
that II You use boxing gloves indoors
they can't be taxed. but II you box in
the open air they are taxed 10 per cent,
and II you play basketball in gym, no
tax. and II you take the ball outdoors
Is is 10 per cent.
What the Makers Did For the Kids.
OF course. we don't know much about
taxes or such things. but we know that
baseballs that used to cost quarter
are up around 50 cents, and a so cent
glove would have been 4 thing of the
past II it hadn't been for julie Curtis
and Dave Levinson and some Of those
fellows.
You didn't know about that did you:
Well. last year when | was begging you
TO case up on the Kids ! found that the
manufacturers Of sporting goods were
holding an annual convention and l
went up 10 see them. julie Curt!ss, who
used to be at Yale and is head of the
SDIldtnES was presiding. l told them
they ought 10 do something to help the
kids. They told me what they Ind done
and about prices and things, and told
them that II didn't look as If any relief
could be expected from you fellows be-
cause you were afraid ii would open up
the entire tax matter Il you tried TO
, change one item And Mr. Curtis said:
Hell no matter what congress does
we've got to see that the kids get
quarter ball"
; So they got together and they agreed
TO manufacture balls 70 sell at IS and
80 cents. and n glove TO sell for so
! cents. They knew they were going TO
| lose money on every one OF those they
| sold. Maybe they made It lback on the
: higher priced stuff. but that isn't the
point. They wanted to help the kids
and I hope you do.