Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-03-25
Committee Holds Meeting.

ing before the House.
Committee Holds Meeting.
The Ways and Means Comomittee
met for an hour and half this morning
and appointed a subcommittee of five
to frame substitutes fer the manufac-
turers' sales tax The subcommittee
is headed by Representative Ragon.
Arkansas, and includes Representatives
diana, Hawley of Oregon and Treadway
of Massachusetts, Mr. Crisp will sit
as an ex-oficio member.
The subcommittee was to hold its
first meeting this afternoon. 1t is
expected to report to the full COM
nlittee not later than Monday proposals
for raising approximately half billion
dollars in revenue to take the place of
the manufacturers tax stricken out of
the bill yesterday afternoon
Meanwhile, the time element in con-
nection with the revenue bill has been
raised at the Capitol. The Republican
National Convention is to meet in Chi
D.. cago June IA and the Democratic Con-
vention in the same city June 81. With
: only about two and a half months
left before some members of Congress
will be leaving to attend the Republican
: National Convention, the suggestion
5 has been made by Senator Robinson
= of Arkansas, the Democratic leader,
that it might be we'll to postpone final
: action on the tax bill until after the
national conventions.
Senator Robinsons contention is that
it would be difficult to get the bill
through in time to adjourn Congress
meets.
THE bride is off, and the subcom-
mittee can recommend anything it de-
sires, including items N the original
Hoover Mellon Mills program" Crisp
said after this mornings meeting.
Il have no spleen of bitterness, but
want to try to get something to raise
this enormous amount Of revenue need
ed to balance the budget" he added
Il hope by Monday the subcommittee
will have a concrete plan to submit to
the full COMMITTEES. The members
promised to work day and night and
Sunday If necessary in order to prepare
their recommendations
Crisp said he thought that with the
defeat of the sales tax the temper of
the House would cool off rapidly. He
added that he thought each item rec
commended as a substitute would be
considered individually.
Size Of Vote Surprising.
The vote on the manufacturers sales
tax was taken yesterday afternoon fol-
lowing three hours of debate on the
sales tax and amendments thereto
The size of the vote against the tax,
223 to 1873, surprised even its opponents
A majority of the House Is 2l8.
The vote was taken by tellers since
no record roll call vote is possible in
Committee Of the Whole under the
rules of the House. But it was reported
that net more than 40 Democrats fol-
lowed their chosen leaders and voted
for the manufacturers tax. A ma
jority of the Republicans went through
with their pledge of support for the
Ways and Means Committee bill, under
the leadership of Representative Smell
of New York
After the vote was announced, Acting
Chairman Crisp of the Ways and Means
Committee rose and volunteered to re-
linquish control OF the bill in the
House to the opposition. There we're
cries of mo, no." and Representative
Deughten, Democrat, of North Caro-
lima, member of the Ways and Means
Committee, who opposed the manufae-
turers tax, said he had no wish to
take charge of the revenue bill. He
suggested that the committee, under
the leadership of Crisp prepare sub
stitutes for the manufacturers tax and
report them to the House as amend
ments to the pending bill.
Committee Is Called.
Before the House adjourned. Crisp
had agreed to this course and issued
Q call for his committee to meet at
10 o'clock this morning. The COM
mittee had labored for three months
over the tax bill, building it finally
around the manufacturers tax esti-
mated to yield $685. 900, 900 or more
than half of the total SUM proposed to
be raised in the bill to balance the
budget by the close Of the fiscal year
1899.
Crisp said later he would urge the
committee to follow the Hoover Mills
Mellon tax program calling for an in
crease from to cents in first-class
postage to bring in SlS5 900 600; l.
cent gasoline tax, to yield S165, 000, 600;
q 2-cent stamp tax on bank checks and
drafts, to net $4,000, 900; per cent
levy on automobiles, a per cent levy
On trucks and az per cent On motor
parts, to bring in 500, 900, 600; an in
crease Vi O1l6-SlALu the chCiSe bhA
On tobacco, to net $50 600, 600.
Other proposals to be considered, he
said, were q per cent levy on demes-
tic electricity and gas, a stamp tax an
real estate transfers and per cent
tax on radios and monographs.
Speaker Garner, after the vote strik-
ing cut the manufacturers tax had
been taken, said in an interview that
he would like to see the budget bal
anced,
Other Sources Left
"of course, there are plenty sources
of taxation left" said the Speaker,
1.-THE only question is which shall we
adopt. Ninety per cent of the mem
bership of the House feels that the
credit of the country should be sus-
tanned and the budget balanced.
consider the vote on the sales tax de-
cisive. But there Is no disposition to
throw up our hands and let the bill go
TO pot"
The Speaker took the position that
there was ne need of sending the
revenue bill back to committee. He
preferred he said to have the committee
draft and bring in amendments and
offer them from the floor. He was
asked If he thought there was any
PohbiOai s4eliiiohNCc Al tho fotc OH u1e
sales tax. His reply was:
You can determine that as well
as l."
In radio address last night, Demo-
cratic Floor Leader Rainey, who sup
ported the manufacturers tax, declared
that Notwithstanding the defeat of the
tax, the fight to balance the budget had
been won, since, with a few exceptions,
every member of the House who has
spoken on the subject during the debate
has admitted the necessity of balancing
the budget to sustain the credit OF the
Government.
Byrns Opposed Tax.
An exception. however, was Repre-
sentative Byrns OF Tennessee, chairman
of the Appropriations Committee. In
the closing hour Of the debate yesterday,