The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-07-27
TAX REVISION GETS
RIGHT OF WAY AT
HARDING DINNER
President and Group Of Sena-
tors Agree All Other Legisla-
ton Shall Be Secondary.
By j.. BART CAMPBELL,
fnterna tional News Service.

Tax revision ahead OF all other Iegts-
latton was the program which Presi'
dent Harding and group OF Repub'
lican senators agreed upon At dinner
at the White House last night. 1t was
disclosed today.
The President held that tax revision
lis of paramount import and that the
|country's d-mands for immediate re.
lief must be needed. even though II ie
necessary to delay action on tariff and
railroad legislation.
Funding Of the $11 ,oo0. 900 900 for
|eign indebtedness to the United States
was also discussed at length. but II
was the opinion of the President and
|of the senators present that the Dill
Ito give tho administration blanket
authority to deal with II could wait
and that II need not interfere with the
plan for q Senate recess next month.
Senators were informed that Secre'
tary Of the Treasury Mellon will sub
nit to the Senate finance COMMITTEES
tomorrow q memorandum covering the
complete status of the negotiations
entered into by his predecessor for the
deferment of payments of the princi'
pal and interest of the foreign indebt.
edness. The Secretary will comply In
the memorandum with the commit
tees request for further information
regarding the secret correspondence
conducted by the Treasury Depart
ment with foreign governments re-
|garding their willingness to meet their
wartime obligations in this country.
Rewrite Fordney Bill.
Republican members of the Senate
Finance Committee present at the
dinner informed the President that
the Fordney bill presented so many
complications, which must be smooth
ell out before 1t can be reported r.
the Senate, that 1t would be well &c
supplant II with the tax revision bill
just as soon as the latter Is passed
by the House. 1t will take severa
weeks for the committee to rewrite
the bill, 1t was explained. and as the
House leaders plan to Jam the tas
measure through the lower chamber
pnd hand 1t over the Senate as csrly
as August s, Republican Senator.
agreed that tariff legislation should
be side-tracked for it.
The President was understood tc
have expressed himself as in heart,
accord with the Senator's view Of
the legislative situation and to have
impressed upon them his personal
opinion that every means possible
must be adopted to hasten a revision
OF the tax laws.
u. s. Valuation Abandoned.
1T was tentatively agreed that tho
American valuations basis for levy
ing customs duties might we'll be ell
minated from the Fordney tariff
bill which the Senate Finance Com
mittee now has under consideration
Considerable opposition from member,
of the u. s. Tariff commission and
customs officials has developed II
the American valuations plan ir
their testimony before the commit
tee, and Republican senator's are
inclined to agree with them that the
plan Is cumbersome and intricate
and would probably impede seriously
the collection of the duties imposed
by the new tariff bill.
The. Presidents dinner guests in
cluded Senators Watson, Indiana
Kellogg, Mimi; Brandegee, Conn.
Lenrott. Wis; Penrose, Pa; Curtis
Kans.; Smoot, Utah; Mccormick, III.
Poindexter, Wash; Wadsworth, N
r; Townsend, Mich; and Capper
Kans.