Evening star., 1923-11-27
.PR0CRESS|VES HIT
MELONS TAXPLAN
House Rules and Senate
Presidency Also Issues Dis
cuSSed at Conference.

Views of Senate and House progress
sives as to both organization and
legislation in the Sixty Eighth Con-
gress gradually are being crystal
lized.
House members of the republican
progressive group are in the midst
of a series of formal conferences to
determine their program. At the,
same time. republican progressives in
the Senate are holding informal
meetings for general exchanges of
ideas out Of which they hope will
come concrete plans. particularly
with reference to farm. railroad and
other important legislation.
Organization and tax reduction con-
tinue to be the central themes of dis
cussion, with republican leaders seek
ing to compose the differences within
their party in advance Of their or
ganization conferences next Saturday.
They are seeking to avoid especially
any delay in the organization of the
House and Senate, and are understood
to be prepared to make concessions in
the interest of party harmony.
House Rules Under Fire.
Representative Nelson of Wiscon-
sin, chairman of the House progress
sive group. has stated that on the
eve of the majority conference in the
House the progressives will COM
plete formulation of their program for
reorganization of House committees
and modification Of House rules.
They will go into the republican con-
ference prepared to make a fight.
they say. unless there Is an agree
ment in advance of the conference.
No Decision Reached.
A number of the Senate progress
sives. including the two farmer-lab Dor
senator's from Minnesota, held a Sec
ond conference yesterday at the Office
of Senator Norris of Nebraska, but
some of those attending said there
had been only informal discussion
without efforts to reach decisions on
organization or legislation plans.
Robert NJ La Toilette. jr, son of the
senior senator from Wisconsin, who
is confined to his home with grip,
attended the gathering.
Sendtc Will nave their
organization conference next Monday
two hours in advance of the meeting
Of Congress, while House democrats
viii assemble next Saturday night.
Full tickets will be nominated by the
democrats in each House, but the lead
ers say there will be few, If any, con-
tests.
In their legislative discussions yes
terday the House progressives went
on record against the Mellon tax plan
as such. In a formal statement, which
Representative Nelson said had been
approved unanimously, they said they
found nothing in the Mellon plan
which tends to stimulate legitima te
VIII Propose New Cuta.
"a taxation plan will be proposed"
the statement said. that will reduce
the tax burden on small taxpayers
more than Is contemplated by the
Mellon plan and further providing
sufficient funds from those best able
to pay to make good any Treasury
deficit occasionfd by passage of the
lation under consideration calculated
to benefit the country as a whole and
not special interests will be sub
mitted for consideration at the be-
ginning of the session."
An attack on Secretary Mellon and
on the publishers of the Washing
ton Post and The Washington Star
was contained in the statement. 1t
was charged that the adoption 1of the
Mellon program would result in a
reduction of Mr.. Melons income tax