Evening star., 1921-09-25
BY JAMES A. BUCHANAN.
.HE two bills that will engage the
attention of the upper house Of
- Congress during the next few
> ueeks or months concern tax

THE two bills that will engage the
attention of the upper house Of
- Congress during the next few
weeks or months concern tax
revision and tariff changes. These
measures are looked upon by the mem
bers Of the Senate and House as the
most important pieces Of legislation to be
enacted during the balance Of this, the
extraordinary session, and the regular
session of the Sixty-seventh Congress.
During the last campaign both parties
pledged themselves to revise the method
of taxation and also to reduce 1t II posi-
BILE. The tariff. long a favorite batue
cry of the republicans. did not occupy
the same prominent position that II
did in previous campaigns. and wniie
the republicans in both houses OF
Congress came to Washington with
the thought that the Underwood bill,
the present tariff measure, would De
changed in many ways, they nave
changed their opinion as to It's oelng
while it has not been discarded by
party leaders. it is merely secondary
measure, and it is doubtful that new
tariff law will ke placed on the sta.utG
books at any early date.
Revenue measures su:h as tariH
the House of Representatives. but the
finishing touches are nodded by the
finance committee of the Senate, and
the applicant for a hearing when ne
receives word from the ways al q
means ccmmirtes of the House should
n D. imagine tina; after he has appear
ed before that body his troubles are
at an end. In fact. they are Just be-
ginning, for after he has been ques-
toned by the chairman. Representa-
tive Fordney. and his associates on the
committee, he must face another Or
deal-an ordeal that is not an un-
pleasant one IL he knows his sub
ject, presents it clearly AMI makes nc
attempt at ora tory. He must later
appear before the finance COMMITTEES
of the Senate. where he will have
to face Chairman Boies Penrose and
as could be selected.
THE members Of tre finance COM
! mittee are not amateurs in the
matter of handling a subject. All OF
them have long since cut their eye
teeth in the political world. All OF
them have given much time to the
study Of questions that affect not
only the country's welfare, but also the
matter Of raising funds with which to
Probably never in the history Of this
country has any body Of men been con-
fronted with greater problems Of q
financial nature. conditions brought
about by the chaotic condition into
which the world has been plunged by
the. late war.
For the benefit of those who have
imagined that the members Of tbs
finance committee have been on pleas
ure trips during the time when Con.
gress took recess up to the present
! writing. 1t IL but Just to state that the
sessions every day during the recess
period. and when they have not beei1
engaged in listening to the Secretary
Of the Treasury, statisticians, none
| tary experts or other men OF expert
ence. they have been working on the
| in their Offices or at their home by
| night, and no matter what the result
may be of their labors one must, In
| all candor, state that they nave besu
earnest in their endeavors.
The members meet at the call Of
Chairman Penrose. and each man il
| requested to give his views on thi.
| subject. This means q mulling ovel
| Of the different phases Of income tax.
alton. To the man who nag made Z
| study OF corporation taxation will be
assigned that portion of the work, not
| uct Of that division Of labor. but to
bring into a somewhat concrete form
the facts and figures that will be es-
| senttal in forming the bill II it's en-
| tirety. Another man may be more
familiar than his fellows win another
phase of the question, and to HIM il in.
trusted q certain portion Of the
work, and 30 piece by piece the I'LL
! It is not = finished product, but il
| IL tangible something on which the
members may work. then the afore-
mentioned officiAls Of the government
| and experts are called in to give
| their opinion. They are questioned