Evening star., 1932-12-25
SURVEY To GUIDE
HOUSE DEMOCRATS
ON TAX QUESTION
Decision Reached to Explore
All Phases of Federal
Finances.
BALANCED BUDGET VITAL
BY MARCH, GARNER SAYS
Ways and Means Committee to
Meet January 4 to Start
Studying Situation.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The Democratic leadership in the
House has decided to have the entire
fiscal condition of the Federal Govern
ment surveyed with view to deter
mining what course to follow at this
session to bring the Treasury into bal
ance during the fiscal year 1884.
The decision to explore the situation
was reached at conferences Of leaders
yesterday after the Senate Democrats
in caucus Friday ruled against adding
any additional revenue proposals to
the beer bill pending there.
In announcing the plan, Speaker
Garner said:
Congress must balance the budget
ct this session of Congress believe
that it is imperative With the Federal
Government running S100,800000 a
month in the red. you cannot expect
private individuals to go ahead until
that situation is cleared up.
Il think a balanced budget Is the
corner stone of recovery. How this is
to be done remains to be worked out"
Collier Calls Meeting.
Meanwhile Chairman Collier issued a
call for the House Ways and Means
Committee to meet January 4 to begin
study Of the situation, including
Treasury needs, reflnancing of matur-
ing debt obligations, economies, and the
foreign debt problem. Secretary Mills
is to be called as the first witness.
Il am glad" Speaker Garner said,
the Ways and Means Committee is 60
ing to meet to canvass the tax situation
and the fiscal condition OF the Federal
Government. There are 25 members OF
that committee and they ought to be
able TO size up that situation"
Asked how the budget would be bal
anced, and whether a general revenue
bill would be formulated, Garner re-
piled:
That is another problem"
when the committee gets the facts"
he added, the next step will be decided
upon"
Democrats in both the House and
Senate planned to seek to balance the
budget through enactment of the beer
bill, continuation of the Federal gaso-
line tax and economies. House chief
tainS apparently had taken the attitude
that If any additional imposts were to
be levied at this session this would be
done in the Senate as amendments to
the beer bill.
Problem Faces Treasury.
During his appearance before the
Ways and Means Committee on the beer
bill, Secretary Mills predicted S307.-
100000 deficit in the Treasury for the
fiscal year. provided the S500,000 900 in
economies recommended by President
Hoover were adopted and the foreign
debtors paid the S329 900 900 in interest
and principal payments due during the
coming l2-month period.
During the next few years the Fed
eral Treasury will be confronted by the
problem OF reflnancing about s7000,-
100000 in maturing public debt obliga-
tionS
Mills told the Ways and Means Com
nlittee balanced budget would facili-
tate the reflnancing of these obligations
and indicated it would be difficult to
carry this out if the budget were not
brought into balance.
One of the proposals the Ways and
Means Committee is to study is a plan
by Senator Byrnes of South Carolina to
separate from the budget the financing
of all self-liquidating Federal construc-
tion activities.
Opposes Sales Tax.
It involves the issuance of amortiza-
ton bonds for this construction.
I'm going to put the proposition to
the Is members of the committee to
determine what they want to do," Col
lier said. I'VE have not decided on ad-
ditional taxes. I am opposed to the
sales tax, but we might tax busSes and
trucks operating in interstate commerce
on a mileage basis
Meanwhile Representative Smell of
New York, the Republican floor leader.
said that if the manufacturers sales
levy, defeated last Spring in the House,
was resubmitted. $50 Cepublicans would
vote for it. compared with 1l3 who
favored it before.