The New York herald., 1922-02-23
Members Pledged to Raid
Seek Way to Avoid Po-
litical Misstep.
SALES TAX UNDER FIRE
Farm Bloc Gets 1919 Sigma
lures in House Against
Proposed Levy.
ny LOUIS sEIBoLD.
Special Dispatch to THE NEW York HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
WashingtOn. ID. c.. Feb. 22.


New York Herald Bureau.
Washington ID. c.. Feb. 22.
Members Of Congress have been
convinced by the bombardre ent
against the bonus raid 10 which they
have been subjected that as politi-
cal proposition it would be wiser to
kill than pass it,
Since THE NEW YORK HERALD
pointed out the real issue involved
in raid on the Treasury-without
reason or justification and of ques-
tionable value to prospective benefi-
ciaries-a great many Senators and
Representatives have been led to re-
gret their hasty action in committing
themselves to the raid and are now
trying to find some honorable esmeans
of escape.
This is the correct explanation Of
the gestures of the bonus advocates
in Congress which to-day contributed
the important developments of the
post mortem" over the most vexa-
tious problem that has disturbed in
dividual Senators and Representa-
tives in many years.
Fordney Marks Time.
No actual progress was made by
Chairman Fordney OF the House
Ways and Means Committee. whose
extravagant promises to the profes.
sional bonus propagandists lave done
more to deceive them than, she utter.
ances of any other member Of either
house.
Having made these promises,
which have been both vague and def
mite, the Ways and Means Commit.
tee chairman, upon whom the runt
of the bonus battle has been cheer.
fully imposed by his associ ates, there
remains nothing for him and such
supporters as he Can recruit but to
go ahead and make the oest of an
Improbable and losing bargain.
The Ways and Meais chairman
and his supporters attemp' ed to in
ject some life into the manipulation
of the pulmotor being used on the
bonus by reiterating their trite pre-
diction that bill that would satisfy
everybody would be passed by the
lower house. With his Republican
associates on the committee, Mr..
Fordney devoted most of the day to
attempting to devise methods for
wasting the public revenue instead
of saving it.
Revive Discarded Schemes.
All the theories for financing the
raid which have been discarded for
obviously wise and sound reasons as
impractical. undesirable, chimerical
and even grotesque, were threshed
over by the Ways and Means chair
man and his Republican confreres.
They worked hard to produce a plan
that would enable the members of the
two houses to make good their
promises to the organized and noisy
minority demanding gratuities for able
bodied and capable ex-service men In.
stead of making adequate provision
for the wounded, sick and helpless.
One of the projects discussed and
regarded with some favor by the Re.
publicans on the Ways and Means
Committee was to adopt a modified
sales tax based on the Canadian idea,
which taxes manufacturers and pro.
ducers. The supporters of this scheme
among the committee figured out that
tax of from u to per cent. would
produce s5sO,o0o.oOO or, according to
their calculations, more than enough
to pay the first annual installment on
the bonus scheme.
That this suggestion will invite de-
cisive rejection was emphasized by the
Continued on Page Six.