Evening star., 1921-02-10
TAX REVISION FIRST
lob TOBET Killed
House Ways I'D Means
Committee D. led on Tariff;
Wants Tax Ahead.
By WILL p. KENNEDY.

The House ways and means commit
tee. the revenue and tariff originating
committee, is a house divided against
itself, with Chairman Fordney in a
very small minority.
Chairman Fordney has announced
that hearings on the new tariff bill
will start February 21. Opponents Of
the plan Of the committee say this
would mean real work on the tariff
bill during the last week Of the
present session, when the members
will be forced to be on the floor OF
the House practically every minute.
The majority Of his republican col
leagues say they will not support Mr..
Fordney on this.
The country has been informed that
the most momentous question that Ii
being left for Hardings decision
whom he is inaugurated is whether
tax revision or tartn revision Will re-
cefve the drst attention Of Congress-
The majority OF the ways and means
committee are confident that there 10
no real doubt on this point and that
sfhe tAx revision question will be dis
posed of Arst and for two very good
reasons: ~
BfrA&-Internal revenue pays now
IS per cent Of the costs Of running
the government, while tariff pays only
Is per cent, 50 1t would be like the
tail wagging the dog to tackle the
tariff first. Besides, the domestic tax
rate directly affects practically every
citizen.
Fear witnesses Evaded.
prerequisite information for drafting
q tariff bin. Tariff. to be worth any
thing, must take into consideration
the cost Of production abroad. ana
this has not been determined. 1t Will
take the COMMITTEES clerks three or
ana Statistics tabulated. Still fur
ther than this, members Of the COM
mite are dissatisfied with the testi-
mony Of witnesses at the hearings.
were not frank. and were evidently
trying to conceal more than they told.
They want time to ferret out the es-
sential facts.
with the majority Of the ways and
means committee; led By such men as
Jersey, Tflson Of Connecticut, Tread
way Of Massachusetts and Copley Of
Illinois, determined that internal
revenue problems must come before
tariff problems. the question arises
Shs,hs. = shn,'.tss the excess profits tax will
These same leaders are firmly con-
vfnced that the excess pronts tax
must be abolished, because 1t was
emergency legislation. has proved ur-
economic and because it has done
more than anything else to afford ex-
cuses for keeping up the high cost Of
living. They are pretty well satisfied
that the Anal sales tax viii be sub
stituted and that this will give the
ultimate consumer chance to see
just what he is paying and prevent
the tax being pyramided without the
government getting any benefit.
President elect Harding has al
ready spoken his views about the
gress should speed up its work on
this measure. He wants the House
ways and means committee to con-
tinue in session right through what
ever recess there may be between
the short sessin of the Sixty Sixth
the special session OF the Sixty-Sev-
enth Congress, which is to convene
soon after March 4. Behind this
wish Is a determination that the
House committee should have bill
ready for consideration as early as
possible in the new Congress.
Fordney in Minority.
Chairman Fordney's openly shown
desire to push tarin legislation ahead
of taxation legislation has few sup
porters in the committee. Repre-
sentatives Frear of Wisconsin and
Young of North Dakota are proba-
bly, his strongest supporters. Repre-
sentative Timberlake Of Colorado also
probably will stand with Mr., Fordney.
but that is about all. Representa-
tive William r. Green Of Iowa. the
ranking republican. will not go all
the distance with Representative
Longworth in opposing Fordney.
neither will he go very far in back
ing up the chairman. y
The fact that the tariff now pays
only about Is per cent of the costs
| of government is stressed by the
majority OF the ways and means COM
| mittee. This is to show the greater
relative Importance Of the internal
| revenue legislation. In the old days
the tariff paid IS per cent Of the
| costs.
A careful, confidential sizing up
| of the sentiment In the committed e
indicates that when the new tariff
| bill is written there will be no rates
higher than in the Payne -Aldrich law,
! and that most of them will be lower