The Connecticut labor news., 1922-09-22
Multi MilliOnaires to Gather Round Board in New York and Pay Honor to Senator Who Would Relieve Them From Jus t Taxation.
By WILLIAM C. ROBERTS, Chairman A. F. of L. Legislative
 Committee.

i Meme, Meme, Tekel, Upharsin. If there were any need for the people to be convinced that the sales
 tax will relieve the well-to-do from taxation 1t would be necessary only
 to refer to the millionaire dinner the feast, the Belshazzar feast, that
 is to be given in New York in honor of Senator Smoot.
 l Around the many tables will be | grouped those who do not believe in paying taxes, who believe and insist that the cost of government should
 be paid by the plain people. The in vitations to those invited to the Smoot dinner state that the Utah Senator is singled out for distinction because of the fight that he has
 made for a sound taxatoin 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 second taxation program.
 There is still another reason Senator Shoot was very instrumental in maintaining or in securing satis-
 
 his prominence on the Senate finance
 committed Furthermore, after March 4 MT, Shoot will be chairman of the finance committee, which will give him tactful position in which to still further aid the diners who partici- pate in the billion dollar dinner" " This IS the reason they are so willing to pay $Ioo a table to impress upon Senator Smoot that there are reasons why he must continue to represent the interests as long as he remains in the Senate
 Among the diners will be Jules s. Bache, who is credited with being the most active promoter of the billion dollar dinner" Mr. Bache has been very active in urging that sales l tax law be enacted as the millionaire 1 taxpayers in the banks he controls object to paying taxes. He IS treas | urer of the dinner committee. As is we'll known, the sales tax would be paid on everything pur- chased, especially the necessaries of l life.
 Some of those who will sit down at the feast are credited with having
 an income yearly of more than a l million dollars.
 Since January I, these msn with i million-dollar incomes only have to
 pay $5oo,ooo a year to the govern
 ment Before the leaders of Con gress reduced 1t from o5 to 50 per cent they had to pay $o5o,ooo of their States treasury.
 If there are enough friends of big business in Congress to enact a three per cent sales tax law it will mean that the man with the $I,ooo, ,ooo in come will pay a tax only on what he buys. If he spends $25o,ooo year to live he will pay a tax of $7, 500 and have $74o,5 500 to do with as he likes. A wage earner receiving $2,ooo year will pay a tax on all of 1t for he will have to spend all, and have nothing left to save. When the burden of the sales tax
 is first placed on the people it will
 be very low, but as the surtaxes and other taxes are gradually repealed the sales tax will be as gradually in creased The loyal patriot Charles
 M. Schwab, of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, who thought nothing few years ago of losing $Ioo, 900 at 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 Congressman Hull recently told the House Naval Affairs Committee that when we went into the war we had to go to the Bethlehem Steel Com
 pany and to the Baldwin Locomo-
 tive Works and buy at cost of $50 apiece rifles that could have been of CT apiece" Naturally Brother Schwab IS very anxious to show his apprecia- lion of what Brother Smoot has done for him.
 Now be 1t known to all that Sen ator Smoot is recognized as the one ! man in the Senate who can always be depended upon to look after the interests of the privileged few to the detriment of the many
 Among the other members of the committee are Senator Coleman Du Pont, who is admitted to be the sec | ond richest man in the world No
 one will deny that it will be money ! in his pocket to have the sales tax law enacted
 Then there is Leonore F. Loree, president of the Delaware & Hud- son Railroad and either president or director of 56 other railroads and nu- merous banks. Another member of the committee is Henry w. De For est, who has the title of director or vice-president tackled on to his name by 26 railroads
 Other members of the Entertain
 ment Committee are William Ham lin Childs, of the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation; James A. Burden, iron magnate and Charles A. Pea body, president of the Mutual Life Insurance Company.
 Every millionaire and multi-mill- ionaire in the United States is ex- pected to buy a ticket for this Bel shazzar's feast.
 There will be number of speak nrc md each ,.ril1 r,raise a inc Sl1ia=