Evening star., 1933-12-11
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.


field Of State and county and munich
pal politics last Tuesday - generally
speaking. That at least is supposed to
have been the result of the adoption
Of the twenty-first amendment repeal
ing the eighteenth amendment - the
| only amendment to the Constitution
ever repealed. As matter of fact, the
Federal Government has still to keep
a firm hand on the manufacture of all
kinds of alcoholic beverages through
the tax levied upon these products and
on the traffic in order to prevent i'm
portation of liquor into dry States. The
Congress, therefore, when it meets in
January will have to deal with both
taxes and regulation of the liquor
traffic. 1t is the latter that is likely to
give the most trouble and to lead to
lengthy debate, with the vets on
one side and the drys, who continue to
exist in varying degrees Of aridity, on
the other.
The fact of the matter is that the
Democratic party and its leaders
pledged there would be no return Of
the saloon-old or young-after the
repeal of prohibition. And now in wet
areas there seems to be no way Of
halting the saloon. Communities are
going to have what they want, and
with the law-making power in their
own hands again, some of them are
intent upon reviving that poor mans
club" of which the vets speak with
so much feeling. Technically, the ques-
ton arises over the sale of liquor by
the drink in retail establishments. Al
ready in Illinois, where the Legisla-
ture is still struggling to pass some
kind OF liquor regulation legislation,
things are running wide open. In
New York City there is to be sale by
the drink. In Massachusetts, the Legis-
lature has put through a measure
which makes it possible for communi-
ties to decide by vote whether they
wish to have 'taverns." places where
drinks may be purchased without be-
ing accompanied by orders for food
Drinks, however, must be taken sit
ting down and not standing at a bar
in these proposed Massachusetts tav-
erns. Wisconsin, which used to be an
oasis in the dry American desert a
few years ago, is operating pretty
much as 1t did in the days before pro-
hibition. OF course the States will all
have their laws passed or amended in
due time. but the repeal of prohibi-
tion caught some OF them unprepered.
There are anti-saloonists in Con-
gresS-some Of whom voted for repeal
of the eighteenth amendment-who are
willing to support a bill which provides
| that no liquor bearing the Government
stamp, showing that the tax had been
paid, should be sold by the drink. They
| believe that by such action it would be
possible to prevent the setting up of any
kind Of saloon or tavern. Opponents of
such proposal say however, that If
the Federal Government undertakes
such action 1t will Just lead to the sur
vival Of the speakeasy.
To prevent effectually the bootleg
trade in liquor, to which so many
Americans, many of them of high stand
ing in their respective communities.
have become accustomed during the last
dozen years, another proposal likely to
be laid before Congress is a measure
which would make the purchaser of
illegal Equor-liquor that has not paid
the Government tax and has been made
illegally-guilty as well as the vendor.
1t would make the possession of liquor
| which has not paid the tax prima facie
evidence of guilt. In prohibition days
flcult to enforce such law. that juries
would net convict any one for the pur-
chase Of liquor But now that it is pos
| sible to purchase legal liquor. it is be-
| lieved the Government would be in a
stronger position when it tackled, the
purchasers Of illegal liquor and could
get convictions If it sent only a few
purchasers of illegal or bootleg liquor
to jail along with the sellers of the
liquor, it would certainly dampen the
enthusiasm Of those gentlemen who de-
eide that it is better to purchase boot
leg whisky and gin at low prices than
to pay for legal liquor at higher prices
And so it is clear that the liquor ques-
ton Is by no means out of national
politics altogether. nor out of the hands
Of Congress. The fact that 1t is not
irks considerably the veteran opponents
Of national prohibition, who have in
sisted year after year that the control
of the liquor trafic should be left en-
tirely to the States and the Federal
Government should keep hands of. ex-
cept for the levying Of the taxes.
X y
The recent report of the subcommit-
tee Of the House Ways and Means Com
mittee proposing changes in the ad-
miniStrative features of the revenue
laws, changes that would make it pos
sible for the Federal Government to
raise an additional s27o, 600 900, seems
to indicate pretty clearly that the
American people are going to be called
| upon to bear heavier tax burden
Corporations and some individuals are
| to be asked to pay more taxes. or rather
are not to be allowed exemptions and
loopholes through which they have
failed to pay these sums to the Gov
ernment. Proposed changes in the in
| come tax rates for individuals fix the
so-called normal tax rate on net income
at 4 per cent. instead Of increasing
the rate to 8 per cent on all such in
come after the first $4,000, as under the
| present law. To offset the losses in
revenue from this change, the surtaxes
begin after $4,000, instead Of after
| $4,000, and the surtax rates, instead of
| beginning at per cent, begin at pei
| cent and go as high as SO per cent
| on all income above 81 1,000,00 The
| highest surtaX rate in the existing law
is SIS per cent on income above ST.
| 600, 1000.
Proponents of the sales tax on manu-
facturers and manufactured goods will,
| it is expected, go into action again when
the new revenue bill comes before the
House and Senate. They insist that
more revenue may be so obtained and
with less pain to the taxpayers than
the existing law provides. The same
opposition which prevented the pas
sage OF the sales tax when 1t was pro-
posed in the last Congress will fight
the sales tax again and it looks now as
though the sales tax would get no
where. Such sales taxes as are levied
Will continue to be levied under the
name Of special excise taxes, or proc
essing taxes or some other less odious
name-to the champions of the people
than the sales tax. The processing taxes
which the Government now imposes
on cotton textiles and other manufac-
tured products of the farm are clearly
sales taxes under different guise. just
as are the special excise taxes levied
on limited number Of other products.
Some day this may become clear to the
general run Of the voters.
X y X