The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-01-30
PROPOSE SUGAR
F.. COATED SALES TAX
Congress Determined to
/ Pass Bonus Bill to Catch
+ Soldier Vote e
TALK SALES TAX
FOR YEAR ONLY
When EstabIisHed3 1t Is. Likely 10 Re
main Becatfse BONUS Bill Will re Long
Drain ON Treasury - Congressman
Fear soldier Vote More Than Labor
by DAVID LAHVRfNCE

/ Fear soldier Vote More Than Labor: !
F BY DAVID LAHNRENCE
| Especial Dispatch to The RefoFnef3tI
| Copyright 1922.
! 2 WASHINGTON, Jan. 30.-Congfess, is.
determined to enact a bonus bill The
situation is truly alarming for no com
| prehensiye plan has vet been offered by
anybody whereby the funds can be raised
without adding to the cost of living and
the already numerous burdens under
which American business is struggling.
| Senator McCumber, chairman of the
| finance committee. favors sales tax for
| the first year and expects the bonus to
| be financed during the second year out
of the proceeds of the payments of inter
est by the allies on the war debt. Chair
man Fordney of the house ways and
means committee has H1sre or less the
same idea.
| The truth of the matter is nobody be-.
lieveS any money Will be Forthcoming
/ from the allies during t1essefond; year,
Eand members of congress know perfectly
Iwell that by law any proceeds from the
lallieS must. go toward paying the prlhc-
tpal and interest on Liberty bonds, But
| the gossi4f is that IL the American people.
1 q
| for onlv one year the new burden VIII be
easier to imposc Them when the sales
tax is working and The people have gotten
accustomed to the sales tax and 1t becomes
| evident that no money can be expected
| from the allies a simple resolution eN-
ltending the sales tax indefinitely WoaW
| be adopted. -.
Tax ~ Articles.
/ The sales would be imposed on about
| "a articles including clothing, foodStuifS
and manufactured products. 1t VIII be
i-Raid at TIE source by the manufactures
I0r producer and the consumer will-fcel II
i in increased prices for the necessities OF
life. Thus the soldier who gets the bonus
will be able to buy much less for hrs
money than he can now without the
tbonus.
But this Is a political year and con-
| gresSmen think the soldiers want cash
irrespective. vi whether il is good or bad
economies. Representative Frear of
| Wisconsin. a Republican ways and means
lcommittee member, however. has spoken
Iboldly what many Republicans Them
selves know. namely. that 4 sales tax may
sweep the entire Republican party out OF
i power IN the next congress. The wiser
ones are already scared for they have
heard of the discomfort at the country
ithat congress didn't reduce existing taxes
Sufficiently. and now to put on more taxes
ITO furnish money for soldier bonus
twould 7bc 10 bnila event higher the -fnperai
McCumbe Claims Exaggerafion.
Senator Met umber. answers most Of the
! criticisms by saying the estimates as To
what the bonus would cost are grossly
! exaggerated and THAT il wouldn't cost the
1 country more than S3J0,00O,000 to
| S4600O0,0O0 the first year. --s'
Secretary Mellon. however, has done
/ lot of close figuring and has made enough
+ inquiries as to the psychology of the re-
turned soldier to know that cut of the
/ various forms of soldiers aid from grants
/. of land, vocational training, paid-up in
Surauce certificates payable At death. and
Z cash bonuses of 500 every three months,
+ the average soldier will take the cash.
3 ii is argued of course. that If everybody
took cash the total government expense
. would be less than under any other plan
for the whole thing would be over with
sooner and the big administrative cX
E pcnSeS in vocational training and land aid
would be reduced To Il minimum. But
{ while this may mean smaller total pay
mcnt il means a much more difficult one
TO finance. for, the whole burden would
come at the start and this is just the
time when the treasury. cannot stand
any more strain. Mr. Mellon estimates
! that the cash bonus plan will. cost
2.500,000,000 and that the first year
would require at least $3.50 DOC, 900 One
business to furnish statistics on every
kind Of tax has said that the soldier bonus
will tax every eight persons to pay the
. bonus of a single soldier.
Soldiers Will Have to Pay.
| But there's still another effect which
the treasury hasn't emphasized but
which students of government finance
know to be true-the soldiers themselves
viii have to pay the bonus through indi-
rect or direct taxation aud the consequent
+ effect on their own business opportunities
win be considerable For in times of
business depression they suffer like the
rest. .', -@@
The treasury is afraid of the bonus
afraid that it will react so unfavorably
ON business as TO cause greater shrink
age in tax receipts than is apparent mt
present and that entirely aside from the
necessity oI keeping a sales tax for pay
inentS on the soldier bonus more reve-
hue will have to be COLLECTED to make up
deficiencies in other parts Of the revenue
n ~ 4.2 -Ha 80 ,5r... ~
Democrats Play Politics.
The Democrats in congress are for a
bonus, too. They are praying that the
Republicans Will enact the safes tax
for they proclaim ii enthuSiaSficall Isl