Evening star., 1935-01-27
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

Congress and President Roosevelt
thought that their troubles really had
begun when DR.. Francis Everett
Townsend descended upon Washing
ton with his intriguing plan to pay
5000 month to every individual over
60. They now feel that the doctor
has been maneuvered successfully into
the background.
But there has bobbed up an even
more bothersome problem to take the
place of the one DR.. Townsend
brought. It Is offered by Senator
Huey Long. While the Louisiana die
tator could be laughed of, all was
we'll. But Senator Long is taking
regularly to the radio with a line of
talk SO plausible that officials regard
it as highly charged with potential
trouble.
New Dealers no longer are smiling
at the Kingfish and his 'share-our-
wealth" plan. Instead, they are busy
analyzing it in the light of practical
application and are assessing the pos
sible response.
Senator Long asserts that he now is
receiving well over $4,000 letters a
week, nearly all favorable. He tells
his colleagues that the campaign he is
making is preparatory to his entry
into the 1896 presidential race as an
independent seeker after that high
Office
They can't keep me out Of the
White House" he warns, unless they
accept my plan"
But what is his plan? How would
he put it into effect? Is there any
experience to show what the effect
would be? Wherein does it differ
from the New Deal?
4 -
First of all, as a general principle,
Senator Long says that he wants to
divide up the wealth of the country
more evenly. That sounds very much
like an objective stated frequently by
prominent New Deal officials. They,
too, have regaled the public with
promises to see that the rich get less
in the future and the poor get more
The New Deal, with its alphabetical
creations, was the machine to bring
about this shift without too great a
shock.
Huey Long, however, says he has q
much simpler formula than that of
the N. r. A., the A. A. A. and the
P. w. A. He would depend almost
entirely upon the Federal power to
tax.
Two major uses would be made of
that power. First, he wants an amend
ment to the present income tax law,
placing 100 per cent assessment
against net incomes of 1,0OO, 900 or
more. The present tax takes about
60 per cent of million dollar incomes.
The Senator merely wants to add 40
per cent.
But there is second tax. This is
offered as the real heart of the share
ur-wealth plan. 1t is a proposed
capital levy" or tax against the total
value of individual holdings of prop
erty, rather than against the income
from those holdings.
Thus, if a man owned real estate,
stocks and bonds or other wealth hav-
ing an assessed value of $1,000,000,
under Senator Longs plan he would
be taxed per cent, or $4,000. If his
wealth were set at 1000, 900 he would
be taxed per cent, or $4,000. If it
went to $3,000,000 he would be taxed
4 per cent of that total, or $4,000.
On $4,000,000 he would be compelled
to pay 8 per cent, or 100000. The
next jump would be to 16 per cent,
then to 80 per cent and to GA per cent
at 100000.
The estimate of officials Is that a
capital levy such as the Louisiana
Senator proposes actually would limit
individual property holdings to about
$4,000,00 since the tax would eat up
earnings from any amount above that
and gradually cut into the capital.
Senator Long asks what any one
wants with more than $4,000, 900.
THAT should be enough for any indi-
vidual to own," he tells the people.
BY taking all above that amount he
expects to get enough money to pay
for old-age pensions-not as large as
those advanced by DR.. Townsend,
but pretty big-and enough money to
guarantee a house, car, radio land
all that sort of thing" to every family
in the land. Young people would be
assured of college education, doctors
would have their debt burden light
ened. The cost of the program is esti-
mated by Senator Long at about $l0,-
000, 900, 900, as compared with about
$4,000, ,000, 900 for the New Deal.
The picture painted by Senator Long
Is alluring enough to have q wide ap-
peal-at first glance, at least.
But officials have been doing some
analYzing. looking for "hugsn in the