The daily times., 1922-02-22
AMONG THE MANY
TAXES SUGGESTED
|SA TAX ON BEER
TO PAY THE BONUS
Nearly Every New Method
Suggested for Raising the
Three Hundred and Fifty
Million Needed There are
Foes Enough in Congress to
Prevent its Adoption.
(By David Lawrenee.)

(By David Lawrence.)
|. Copyright 1922 by The Daily
s Times.)
Washington, Feb. 21.-Bootlegger
or bonus-that's the question which
now is being propounded here.
Shall the government put a tax on
light wines and beer, or even on beer
only and get more than enough mon
ey with which to pay the soldier
bonus or shall the bootlegger con-
tinue 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
"a method to raise $35O,0OO,0O0 a
year to pay a soldier bonus. Practi-
cally every new method of taxation
suggested has enough foes to prevent
adoption by both houses of Congress.
The bond issue has been rejected by
President Harding, the revival of the
excess profits tax and nuisance 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 living
In these circumstances asks Repre-
sentative John Phillips Hill of Mary
land, author of a bill to tax light
wines and beer, why not gather in at
least $60O,OOO,OOO a year by such
taxes and have more than enough
to pay the soldier bonus?
'sThe American Legion has no OBJ
lection to any method that may be
proposed for raising revenue" said
John Thomas Taylor, chairman of the
Natinal Legislative Committee of the
American Legion who is conducting
the fight for the bonus. eve 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 told
this correspondent today that taking
the figures of 1914 on beer alone,
and imposing a tax of twenty cents a
gallon the total amount that would
be raised would be 8,0OO,00O. If
that was the consumption of beer in
the face of competition with distilled
|spirits, how much more beer would be
lconsumed if distilled spirits are alb
solutely prohibited? At least $780,
100000 more taxes would be avail
able, answers Mr.. Hill. This grand
total of $6OS,OOO,000 that might be
available out of beer taxes is con-
firmed by Treasury Department ex-
perts.
Most officials have no doubt that
they could raise at least $6OO,O00,000
a year this way. Whether or not light
wines should be included and tax OF
forty cents per gallon put on the lat
ter is not altogether as easy prob
lem to settle as the beer question
The trouble is that the alcoholic con-
tent of light wines would have to be
reduced to a point which would make
them notwithstanding" within the
meaning of the Constitutional amend
ment
The advocates of the beer tax,
however, approach the subject from
the viewpoint of conformity with the
eighteenth amendment. The Consti-
tuition forbids the manufacture OF
intoxicating beverages. The Su-
lpreme Court of the United States has
decided that Congress has the power
to determine what per cent of alcohol
may be included in beverage with
out making it intoxicating. The Vol
stead law says one and one half OF
! one per cent shall be the limit
though most members of Congress
will admit that If the alcoholic con-
tent were increased to two or even
two and three quarters per cent, the
CONTINUED on page ~