The Connecticut labor news., 1922-12-29
BILLION DOLLAR DINNER FOR SALES
 TAX FATHER
By WILLIAM C. ROBERTS, Chairman A. F. of l.. Legislative Comnittee

1 | is to be given in New York in honor of Senator Smoot.
 l Around the many tables will be l grouped those who do not believe m
 paying taxes, who believe and insist 1 that the cost of government should l be paid by the plain people. The in vitations to those invited to the i Smoot dinner state that the Utah sen i ator IS singled out for distinction be- cause of the fight that he has made
 for sound taxation program" When the secretary of the Com
 .mittee of American Business Men" was asked what his statement actu- ally meant he answered.:
 Senator Shoot led the fight in the Senate for the. sales tax. That is what
 is meant by a, sound taxation pro- | gram"
 There is still another reason. Senator Shoot was very instrumental | in maintaining or in securing satis- factory tariff legislation because of l'his prominence on the Senate Finance Committee Furthermore, a It CT l March 4 MT. Shoot will be chairman of the Finance Committee, which will give him a tactful position in which to still further aid the diners who participate in the billion dollar din- ner" This is the reason they are so willing to pay $Ioo a table to impress upon Senator Shoot that there are reasons why he must continue to rep
 resent the interests as long as he re-
 mains in the Senate. Among the diners will be Jules SI Bache, who IS credited with being the
 most active promoter of the billion
 dollar dinner" MT. Bache has been
 f1of
 be enacted, as the millionaire taxpay-
 CTS in the banks he controls object to
 paying taxes. He IS treasurer of the
 dinner committee.
 As Is we'll known, the sales tax
 would be, paid on everything pur-
 chased, especially the necessaries of
 life
 Some of those who will sit down at
 the feast are credited with having an income yearly of more than million dollars.
 Since January I these men with million-dollar incomes only have to pay $5oo,ooo year to the govern ment Before the leaders of Congress reduced 1t from 65 to 50 per cent they had to pay $65o,ooo of their $I,ooo,- GOO income into the United States treasury.
 If there are enough friends of big business in Congress to enact 3 per cent sales tax law 1t will mean that the man with the $I ,ooo,oo income l will pay a tax only on what he buys. l If he spends $25o,ooo year to live he will pay a tax of $7,5oo and have $74o, 500 to do with as he likes. A ! wage. earner receiving $2,ooo year will pay a tax on all of it, for he will l have to spend all, and have nothing | left toSsave. Il
 When the burden of the sales tax Is first placed on the people 1t will be very low, but as the surtaxes and other taxes are gradually repealed the sales tax will be as gradually in creased. That loyal patriot, Charles M Schwab, of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, who thought nothing few years ago of losing $Ioo.ooo at a single sitting at Monte Carlo, Is chairman of the committee of busi- ness men who are arranging for the feast to Senator Smoot.
 It must not be forgotten that Con gressman Hull recently told the when we went into the war we had to go to the Bethlehem Steel Com pany and to the Baldwin Locomotive ! Works and buy at cost of $50 apiece rifles that could have been made at a cost of SIS, $I4 and SIS apiece" Naturally Brother Schwab IS very anxious to show his appreciation of what Brother ISmoot has done for him.
 Now be it known to all that Sen ator Shoot is recognized as the one man in the Senate who can always be depended upon to look after the in -erests of the privileged few to the 1etriment of the many.
 Among the other members of the committed are Senator Coleman Du ] Pont, who is admitted to be the sec 1nd richest man in the world. No ,ne will deny that it will be money ! n his pocket to have the sales tax I aw enacted.
 Then there is Leonore F.. Loree, t ,reaident of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad and either president or di- $ ector of s6 other railroads and nu- r nerous banks. Another member ot [ he committee is Henry w. DeFor- e st, who naS the title of director or i tackled on to his name " 26 railroads. a
 Other members of the entertain S nent committee are William Hamlin shiIds, of the Allied Chemical and e Dye >Corporation; James A. Burden, r ron magnate, and Charles A. Pea il ,ody, president of the Mutual Life f insurance Company In
 Every millionaire and nultl-mll- 2 onaire in the United States is ex- fl ectels to buy ticket for this Bell hazzar's feast.
 There will be number of speakers D nd each will praise to the skies a 0 enator of the United States because E e was untrue to the people by advo- s ating transferring taxation from the il ich to the already tax-ridden poor ] hey will laugh and tell what great C 1ing it Is TO be able to congrat Ilafe IT
 public official who has conceived d u NV that will relieve them from tax u ton. u