Evening star., 1922-02-22
BOOTLEG VS.. BONUS
MAY BECOME ISSUE
Maryland Congress Member
Proposes Funds Be Raised
by Beverage Tax.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


question which now is being pro-
pounded here.
Shall the government put q tax on
light wines and beer, or even on beer
only. and get more than enough mon
ey with which u pay the soldier bo-
nus. or shall the bootlegger continue
to get enormous profits which the
government is unable to reach either
through the income tax or through
prohibition enforcement.
In desperation, Congress is seeking
method to raise $350,OO0.000 year
to pay soldier bonus. Practically
every new method of taxation sug-
geSted has enough foes to prevent
adoption by both houses of Congress.
The bond issue has been rejected by
President Harding, the -evival of the
excess profits tax and nu:saEce taxes
have also been tabooed by Mr. Hard
ing. And now the agricultural bloc
is fighting the sales tax on the ground
that it will increase the cost of liv-
ing to everybody.
Maryland Mans Suggestion.
In these circumstances. asks Repre-
sentative John Philip Hill of Mary
land. author of a bill to tax light
wines and beer. why not gather in at
least $500. 100000 year by such
taxes and have more than enough TO
pay the soldiers bonus?
The American Legion has no OBJ
lection to any method that may be-
proposed for raising revenue" said
John Thomas Taylor. chairman of the
national legislative committee of the
American Legion. who is conducting
the fight for the bonus. I'VE believe
the Senate and House committees are
sufficiently competent to find ways to
finance the bonus"
Speaking of the amounts which
could be raised by taxing light wines
and beer. Representative Hill said to-
| day that taking the figures of 1914
| on beer alone and imposing tax of
| 20 cents a gallon the total amount
| that would be raised would be $4Os,-
| 100000 If that was the consumption
of beer in the face of competition
with distilled spirits. how much more
| beer would be consumed if distilled
| spirits are absolutely prohibited? At
least $200.000,Oe0 more taxes would
! be availa BILE. answers Mr.. Hill. This
! grand total of S60S, 100000 that might
| be available out of beer taxes is
! confirmed by Treasury Department
experts.
Question of Alcohol In Wines.
Most officials have no doubt they
| could raise at least $500, 100000 year
| this way. Whether or not light wines
should be included and a tax of 40
| cents a gallon put on the latter is
not altogether as easy problem to
trouble is that the alcoholic content
of light wines would have to be re-
duced to a point which would make
them Notwithstanding" within the
meaning of the constitutional amend
ment.
The advocates of the beer tax. how
ever. approach the subject from the
viewpoint of conformity with the
eighteenth amendment. The Consti-
tuition forbids the manufacture of
preme Court of the United States has
decided that Congress has the power
to determine what per cent of alcohol
may be included in a beverage with
out making it Intoxicating. The Vol
stead law says that one-half of ! per
members of Congress will admit that if
the alcoholic content were increased to
or even to 2A per cent, the beverage
would still be Notwithstanding.
To get money enough to pay the
soldier bonus would require a simple
resolution of Congress Of about fifty
words amending the Volstead act SO as
to permit 2.75 per cent beer, and the
revenue laws could also be amended SO
as TO put tax of zoe a gallon on the
beverages.
Aroused Soldier Vote.
procedure if the prohibition forces did
not have as tight hold on members
of Congress as to cause the latter to
hesitate. But the danger of punishment
by an aroused soldier vote is not easily
swept aside either.
And many of the soldiers are as
resentful about the passage of a. pro-
hibition amendment to the Constitu-
tion while they We're absent in France
as they are about any single thing
irJ, IT,
soldiers a bonus and give them at
the same time beverage of non-in-
toxicating alcoholic content would ad-
mittedly be a solution devoutly to be
wished for. politically speaking, If it
were not for the potential power of
the anti-beer forces.
Whether the anti-beer elements
could win a fight against the soldier
bonus influence is quito another story,
the answer to which can only be given
after soldier opinion has expressed it
self directly to Congress.
Copyright, 1927