Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-03-17
TAX TAKEN OFF
SPORTING ARMS
AND MUNITIONS

The excise tax on sporting arms
(Which does not include revolvers
and pistols) and ammunition has been
repealed and millions of sportsmen
are rejoicing.
The repeal of the tax Immediately
means reduction in the cost of
shooting at the traps, on the rifle
range, and in the field.
In consequence, Friday, February
26, will always be regarded as q
red letter day in the lives of the
sportsmen who have pSen paying
this discriminatory tax for the past
six years, for on that day, at l;22 In
the morning to be exact president
Coolidge affixed his signature to the
bill which repealed this and many
other tax ills
In the neighborhood of $1S,OOOOOO
has been paid into the United states
treasury in the last six years oy
those who sought pleasure in shoot
ing at clay targets, on the rifle
range and in the field and also by
those who not shot because they
hunted game out Of necessity to
provide food for the larder.
The removal of the tax was large
ly due to the untiring efforts OF
manufacturers of arms and ammuni-
tion actively led by G. L. Reierson,
president of the Remington Arms
company, and Peter p Carney, editor
of the National Sports Syndicate
Reierson has always believed the tax
was unjust that it should never have
been levied and he has been on the
firing line for several years in be-
half of the manufacturers and sports
men, bomharding congress with ap-
peals to wipt out a tax that was
uwarranted and uncalled for.
Shooting in the opinion of Refer
son and his loyal supporters, was
the one sport that should not be
taxed, in fact it is the one recre-
alton he and many others think the
government should encourage.
Through the war department sew
eral million dollars is spent an
nually in fostering rifle shooting in
the civilian military training camps,
the r. o. T. c. and the national
matches and then congress made 1T
extremely difficult for these embryo
riflemen to continue the program the
military folks laid out for them be-
cause of the excessive and needless
tax. The tax has been most injur-
ious to the development of shoot
ing. 1t has caused many to retire
from competition and has prevented
many others from taking it up.
This situation was detrimental not
only to the nation but to the life
of the National Rifle association, the
Amateur Trapshooting association
and thousands of rod and gun clubs.
1t was in behalf of these organiza-
tion that Carney used his efforts to
have the tax repealed. He was sue
cessful in prevailing on the various
associations to become active in try
ing to secure the removal of the tax,
had them tell their Washington rep
resentatives why the tax was harm
full, what it was doing to seriously
interfere with the growth of the
sport, and what it's effect would be
on the nation in time of strife. All
this was brought home to the men,
bers of the ways and means COM
mittee and others in congress, and
then Reierson, Carney, and Herbert
P. Sheets, secretary of the National
Retail Hardware Dealers associa-
ton, appeared before the ways and
means committee last fall and ex-
planned the situation from all angles,
appealing for relief from an unnec-
essary and unjust inheritance of war
times, with the result as mentioned
in the opening paragraph.
With the tax removed on sport
ing arms and all ammunition there
is nothing now to hinder the devel-
opment of trapshooting and rifle
shooting and unquestionably there
will be more participants in these
sports this season than in any year
of the last five, and with renewed
interest in field and wild fowl shoot
ing merchants will do greater vol
ume of business.