The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-05

prise, however, Tor 1t has been known for sometime and reflected in this correspondence, that Mir. Mel lon would recommend a policy em- bracing relief for the business of the country. Mir Mellon is a business man. But he is not politician.
 The scheme proposed by MT. Mel lon, in the opinion of Representa- tive Garner, ranking democratic member of the ways and means com mittee. and various other democrats who have expressed themselves, is scheme which must of necessity re- ceive the approval of "big business" There is no relief offered for the people of small means, and they com pose the great majority of the popu- lation of the United States.
 Small Incomes Unrelieved
 For the man with an. income of between $2,000 and s5,000, there is no reduction in income taxation. The individual who has an income of s6- 600 must bear an increased burden. His sole relief comes in the shape of elimination of soda water taxation He must bear the burden and suffer the inconvenience of attaching to his checks, however small they may be a 2-cent stamp; and instead of ? cents, he must pay three cents for the transportation of each of his letters
 The excess profit taxation, Mir. Mellon proposes to eliminate. The government will suffer very little from such reduction, for excess profits will not be very large this year. The $2,oo0 exemption enjoyed k-r 4f Aa nIi mated. This will bear heavily, it Is pointed out, on the small corpora tion. The big corporation can pay this extra $S0 per annum, 1t Is said without undue embarrassment.
 Shifting the Burden
 Incomes of more than $5o,ooo would not be taxed by Mir. Mellon as heavily as they are now. The exist ing provision which taxes certain in- comes as much as 40 per cent, MT Mellon would abolish. While this is satisfactory to teh very rich, it is claimed by MT. Mellon that 1t would prevent the investment by the very rich in non-taxable securities.
 Mir. Mellon would tax automobiles $10 each. He would burden the man with the Ford as much as the man who pays $6,00o for his car. And. of course, the democrats declare, ana certain republicans agree with them. that the Ford or other cheap car owners are greatly in excess of the owners of higher priced machines. And thus comes the report that the bill, as proposed by Mellon, rep resents a shift from the shoulders of the rich to the shoulders of the poor The measure, by those who will op- pose 1t, Is termed "a rich mans bill"
 The Mellon Theory
 Mir. Melons defense is that busi- ness conditions are not improved by the~ man ofysmall means, but by the man who is able to exercise his money or retire it to safety deposit vaults. Admittedly, he wuold in- duce the rich man to return to the same so that business might be quickly resuscitated.
 That theory may be very sound. But the so-called progressive" re- publicans are aware, it is said, of great uprising on the part of the man of little money. They are afraid to withhold relief from this man. And they will fight to the bitter end, it is indicated before they will incense the general public by mak- ing it lick stamps to decorate the faces of checks.
 They may provide increased post age. sBut they promise to knock out stamp taxation in all cases where the people have not grown accus toned to such taxation.