The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-08-17


| mast be borne in mind.
The Various Steps.
First. Secretary Mellon proposes to
| President Harding the basis of new
revenue measure. s.
| Second criticism from the country at
large, and President Harding calls con
| ference of Republican leaders in con
greSs and together with Mr.. Mellon a re-
yiSed program is approved.
Third. the Republican membership of
| the house in conference or caucus makes
| further changes and prepares to submit
| the new bill to the house through the
WAYS and means committee. That's the
status today
Fourth, further criticism from. the
country will influence Republican lead
the ways and means committee or on. the
| floor of the house before the bill is passed
which ought to be this week or the first
| of next week. e
Fifth, the bin is taken in hand by, the
senate finance committee which is fully
expected to rewrite the whole. measure
and put it into shape. balancing revenues
and reductions more Systematically than
| can possibly be done in the hurried meth
DDS of the house. When the senate fl
| nance committee gets through. a better
| idea of what taxes eventually will be
can be obtained. . s.ssr f-a
Sixth. more changes are made during
| the senate debate after the finance COM
| mittee has reported the bill. These
| amendments may or may, not stay in the
measure finally. 1t all depends upon the
ultimate attitude of the house.
| Seventh. when the senate has passed
| the bill it is then placed before a con
| ference committee representing the house
and senate where the real legislating is
| done. Then the disagreements between
! the two houses are irOned out as a rule,
| the house and senate both accept the de
ciSion of the conference committee and
the measure is ready for signature OF
| course a president. can veto it and send il
| back for further changes but since
President Harding and the majority in
| congress are of the same political faith
| the measure is certain to receive exCcu-
| tive approval.
Judgment Must Wait
Through these seven steps the tax
PAYERS must wait before they can pass
| judgment on the tax bill. The details
being published from day to day merely
| show the trend of opinion in congress,
| Even Democrats admit that the changes
| thus far made are improvements and
they expect the bill viii be changed for
the better when it reaches the senate.
/ Just now the house is hurrying TO get
| through with the tax bill and when it is
realized that the senate will correct any
| errors made, the job is necessarily done
u
i bill will come out of the senate because
| Republican leadership there is more ex-
i perienced with tax bills than is the
| house. But the federal constitution re-
/ quIreS that revenue measures must origI-
/ nate with the house so therefore the
| process starts there with a general recog-
/ milton on every side that the senate will
1 eventually do the job.
Must Make Business Measure.
II
The tax bill in its present shape-that
/ is, as passed by the hOuse-is more likely
| to be political tax bill rather than q
i business measure. The house member.
ship is mostly new and is responsive to
waves of protest from virtually every
| quarter. Sometimes clamor is mistaken
| for sound Judgment. The senate. how
ever. has dealt with these things before
and being a smaller body with only one
| third of its membership up for re-elec
/ ton a year hence more responsibility can
| be taken there than in the house in the
making of a bill that may not be en-.
4 tirely palatablc from political view,
| point but economically justified.
Republican leaders in the senate admit
/ they must make a business mans tax
| bill rather than. a political measure
| They insist that the average man who
cries out at the repeal of the excess pro
| fits tax bill because of its alleged favor
i itism for the wealthy really loses sight
1 of the fact that big business concerns
II have been laying off employees and dimin-
ishng their operations because of lacb
i Of incentive and that when taxes are re
| adjusted a business revival viii com,
4 which win Immediately benefit the aver
i age man in bringing him more work and
i possibly better returns.
l It is therefore premature to accept a;
/ final the details of the tax bill being re
II ported from day to day. The evolution
of a tax bill is necessarily gradual and
Il only three steps out of seven have thu:
1 far been taken.