Evening star., 1923-12-31
CHARGES CONSPIRACY OF RICH
TO GAIN TAX BILL PASSAGE
Representative Garner Says Organized Propaganda
Is Behind Measure Which FaUOrs Big Interests
And Ignores Small Income Earner

Charging that a huge organized
conspiracy of predatory interests"
is endeavoring by nation wide propa-
ganda to coerce senators and repre-
sentatives to support the Mellon tax
legislation before all Of its provisions
are made known, Representative
John Garner of Texas, ranking demo-
crat on the ways and means commit
tee. issued a formal statement of
warning last night.
Representative Garner, according to
the statement given out by the demo-
cratic national committee. spoke with
authority for the minority member
ship Of the ways and means commit
tee, which has been considering the
proposed tax measure for several
weeks
plain and conclusive evidence of
this conspiracy" Representative
Garner says. "is found in the wording
Of kilograms and letters being re-
ceived by senators and representa-
tives in Congress which are in iden-
tical language, showing that they
emanate from one source, although
coming from various sections of the
country This Is a form often en-
ployed by these predatory interests to
influence the unsuspecting public
and to bulldoze, intimidate and CO.
cree representatives.
Come Before Bill Published.
I'm this case the propaganda ema-
mating from this organized conspiracy
attempts to coerce senators and rep
resentatives to support the Mellon
tax bill before they have had the op-
portunity to see the bill or to study
and to understand it's provisions 1t
Is plainly evident also that the con-
stituents of the senator's and repre-
sentatives who signed these messages
could not have known all of the pro-
visions OF the Mellon tax bill. be-
cause most of the messages were re-
ceived before the bill was made
public
The uncomfortable instigators of
this conspiracy have not only sought
in this way to brow-beat and coercs
Congress. together with the implied
threat contained in these identical
form messages but they have at
parently succeeded, in the attempt to
mislead the public by keeping secret
some of the most Objectionable pro-
visions of the Mellon tax bill while
they were attempting to have the bill
fore its provisions could be made
known. Only through the insistence
Of democratic leaders has the bill
been made public In all it's provisions,
so that the people for the first time
know now what the bill contains.
The discovery that the Mellon tax
bill fails to give millions of farmers,
tradesmen and small business men
generally the relief they were told
they would get by the Mellon bill
propagandists, has fully justified the
attitude of democratic and western
republican congressional leaders In
refusing to accept the measure in ad-
vance and without the opportunity
to scrutinize it's provisions. Many OF
those who criticize these leaders are
now, in the face of the disclosures Of
the Mellon bills inadequacy and
inequities, urging its amendment to
include these millions of taxpayers
in its alleged benefit.
Seek to Amend Bill.
Even representatives Of the Cool
idge administration on the ways and
means committee OF the House, who
heralded Mr.. Melons proposal as per-
feet and incapable Of improvement,
are also busy in efforts to patch up
the bill to save themselves from the
wrath of the millions of farmers,
tradesmen and small business men
against whom the Mellon bill made
such unjust discrimination, while
Secretary Mellon, on the other hand,
was framing his plan for cutting in
half the taxes OF the very biggest in
dividual and corporate taxpayers.
THE ineQuity In some Of the pro-
visions of the Mellon tax bill will