The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1921-08-26
VOTE STOOD s5 TO 81
Practically All Other Provisions of
The Bill Were Left Unchanged
As Originally Reported
By Walter W. Liggett
Special Correspondent

washington, ". U. aug. Zx.-An
insurgent movement of unexpected
strength, led by James A. Frear of
Wisconsin and former Republican
House Leader "Jim' Mann Of Illi-
nois, temporarily defeated President
Harding's plan to give bonus Of
about $3.50, 100000 to the war pro-
fiteers by making retroactive to Jan.
1, 1921, the repeal of the excess prof.
its tax and the reduction Of the
higher surtaxes on individual in
comes. Backed by nearly all the pro-
gressive middlewestern congressman,
including Sinclair of North Dakota
and Keller Of Minnesota, the Republi-
can members Of the House in caucus
last week turned down the ways and
means committees recommends
tions to this effect by q vote Of 95 to
81. Practically all other provisions
of the bill reported by Chairman
Fordney OF the ways and means COM
mittee were left unchanged. and, un-
der special rule which allowed only
two days Of debate and made 1t al
most impossible to amend the bill
item by item, the revenue measure
passed the House last Saturday by
top-heavy majority.
The Fordney revenue bill retains
most ofsstha equitahit provisions
which have been criticized in my pre-
vious letters. BY repeating the ex-
cess profits tax and reducing the
higher income surtax from maxi
mum of IS per cent to 32 percent, ii
relieves less than 5000 millionaires
~ kivn
O,OOO,OOO and throws an addi-
tional burden upon small merchants,
manufacturers and jobbers by in
creasing the corporation income tax
from 10 to 12 1-2 per cent. The bill
does, however, increase the individ-
ual exemption for head of family
from $4,000 to $4,000 and the ad-
ditional exemption for dependents is
raised from 5000 to s40O. The saw
ings accomplished by these two
changes only aggregate S7O,0OO,-
900 and will not begin to Offset the
great reductions made in the tax
burden of the wealthy. The bill also
repeals the transportation tax, a
thoroughly meritorious move, which
will reduce the country's annual
transportation bill by $262,00O, 900.
The bill finally adopted by the
House caucus is much better than
the measure originally planned by
Fordney, Longworth, Mellon and
Harding. The first draft, according
to ''inspired" newspaper announce
ments, retained the transportation
tax and all the nuisance taxes, levied
at $40 tax on automobiles and pro-
posed to increase the first class post
age rates from two to three cents. AS
q crowning perAdy, this bill not only
repealed the excess profits tax and
reduced by one-half the tax on III
comes of more than 100000, but
proposed to make this retroactive to
Jan 1, 1921, WITCH would virtually
have made gift of $350.OO0, 600 to
the great profiteers, as most of these
concerns had included their tax in
their prices and already passed it
along to the consuming public. This
indefensible proposal is said to have
been suggested by President Hard
ing himself and it was onlv defeated
by the vigorous protest Of handful
Of Republican progressives who
threatened to carry the fight onto the
flor of the House.
Lower Taxes BY borrowing
Republican leaders are claiming
that the Fordney revenue bill will
reduce taxes s193,640,000 for the
present fiscal year; 1917, ,790. 600 for
the fiscal year 1929: and $3.50. .000.-
900 for the fiscal year 1923; but
these savings are purely problem
atical and only have hem accom-
plished on raper by very obvious
Juggling Of figures. August 4, Secve-
tary Mellon reported to the ways and
means commit ee that the Treasury
department estimated the expendi-
lures for the current year at s4I.-
55O,OOO,00O os which $3.s3O.OO
must be provided by taxation. This
was considerably higher than the es-
timates made by Chairman Fordney
and created CONSERVATION in Re
publican ranks. There were hasty
conferences at the White House. and
hs . result. Aug. 1 Secretary Mellon
issued another statement that gov.
! ernmental expenses would be only
4 %, ,e34. 100000 Of which but S.
o75, 100000 must be raised by tax
alton.