Evening star., 1924-03-13
mellon OPPOSES
CUT IN FUND FOR
REDUCING US. DEBT
Declares Money Paid by Ma
tions Must Go Toward Re-
firing World War Bonds.

Secretary Mellon opposed today be-
fore the Senate finance committee a
proposal to decrease the fund sup
piled for the reduction of the public
debt as a means of making greater
surplus availa Bile for tax reduction.
He pointed out that the money paid
by England and other nations on
their loans to this country must be
applied under the law to the retire
ment Of the bonds which made DOS
sible the loans.
The present law will make it possi-
BILE, he said. to completely retire the
public debt of $4,000. 100000 in about
thirty-five years. Chairman Smoot sup
Isported Mr. Mellons views.
Further consideration will be given
tomorrow by the committee to con-
ditions of the Treasury and Under
secretary Winston will be asked to
testify Upon completion of this
study which will attempt to determine
the amount of revenue which must be
raised next year to meet the actual
ment, the rate schedules Of the House
revenue bill will be taken up.
Revision of many Of the rates which
were reduced by the House will be
suit. Secretary Mellon has told the
committee.
Plen Comes Too Late.
Compliance with the Presidents re-
quest for reduction of income tax
payable this year was impossible,
Representative Longworth, the re-
publican leader, told him yesterday,
tion was too involved to permit
speedy consideration of such q reso-
luton. Mr.. Longworth. indicated
later, however, that If action on the
revenue bill should be delayed or
if it should fail Of enactment the
proposed separate resolution then
would be pressed. Most of the small
tax payers already have made their
first payments, he added, and, there
fore, separate action now would be
of little benefit.
Democrats in both the Senate and
House criticized the President for
his request.
Preceding the death of the resolu-
ton proposal an attack on the Presi-
dents request was made in the
Senate after a suggestion from Sem
stor Reed, republican, Pennsylvania,
that action on the resolution be in
stituted there. Chairman Smoot re-
piled that although the Constitution
specifies only that revenue raising
measures must originate In the
House, resolution asking reduc-
be considered by the House as un-
constitutional If action on it were
first taken in the Senate.
Hull Attacks Coolidge.
Mr.. Longworth declared the pro-
posa1 dead after a conference with
republican leaders, including !advo-
Gates of the proposal who had started
an eleventh-hour move to put it in
motion.
In a formal statement Representa-
tive Hull, Tennessee, chairman of the
democratic national committee and a
member of the ways and means COM
mittee, declared the appeal of the
President came too late.
at is not unfair to say" Mr.. Hull
asserted, that the utterly belated tax
message of President Coolidge on
yesterday is in harmony with his
either by an important problem or
by an emergency situation"
"A statement issued by House Lead
er Longworth declared that the pro-
for immediate tax reduction "at this
late date is an absolute impo ossibility
unless it could be conceived that it
could be passed by unanimous con-
sent in both the House and Senate,
which, of course, no human being
would assert for moment"
Open to Debate.
Let us assume" Mr.. Lohgworth
added, that every republican was
favorable to the proposition and that
it had been favorably reported by
the ways and means committee. The
Presidents message was received yes
terday, allowing three days for
passage Of the resolution by both the
House and Senate. AS soon as the
resolution was before the House it
would be open to unlimited debate
and practically unlimited amendment
because 1t would involve the whole
question of income-tax legislation.
A situation similar to that when the
revenue bill was before the House
might have developed. Certain it is
that the debate would have lasted
through this week"
The republican leader declard fur
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