Evening star., 1935-07-31
Minority Brands Tax Measure
Plan to Redistribute Poverty
Charges Face-Saving Politics in Bill
Contends Rates ShOU Rich Alone Can
not Pay Spending Regime Cost.

Charging that enactment Of the
administration tax measure will "re-
distribute poverty" rather than wealth.
that 1t is entirely political gesture
and that hearings on 1t were farce,
Republican members of the House
Ways and Means Committee last night
filed a 2,00o-word report in bitter de-
nunciation Of the bill as introduced in
the House yesterday.
Some extras from the report fol-
low:
eff this bill serves no other purpose,
it will at least demonstrate to the
country that the extravagant and
wasteful expenditures of the Demo-
cratic administration cannot be met
merely by soaking the rich Al
thought it imposes rates of taxation
which border on the point Of actual
confiscation, its proponents estimate
that it will produce only $270,000, 900
of revenue. This amount would pay
the running expenses Of the Govern
ment for less than two weeks, and it
falls $3,305, 100000 short of meeting
the deficit for the last fiscal year.
Even as a redistribution of wealth
measure, it would provide but $2.25
for each of our 100000 people.
THE bill makes it perfectly OBJ
vious to the great masses of our peo-
pie that in the last analysis they, and
not the rich, are going to be required
10 ha rAnrfinr1 of tho
cost Of the administrators profiigate
expenditures.
X X
"We have said that this Is a po-
litical gesture. BY that We mean
it was intended to catch votes. Only
last January. in his budget message,
the President said that he did not
consider it advisable at this time to
propose any new or additional taxes
for the fiscal year 1885, What caused
the President to change his mind be-
tween January 7. when he presented
the budget, and June 10, the date Of
his so-called share the wealth tax
message?
THE Secretary Of the Treasury was
asked this direct question during his
brief but unilluminating appearance
before the Ways and Means Commit
tee, but under the protection Of the
Democratic members he avoided an
answer. The fact is that the Presi-
dents tax message came at a time
when the administrations popularity
and prestige we're rapidly on the de-
cline. and 1t served to divert public
attention from the criticisms which
we're being leveled at the President
and his policies. 1t doubtless had a
secondary purpose of undermining the
increasing political strength Of the
two chief exponents Of the share the
wealth and soak the rich philosophy
by making bid for the support Of
their large army of followers"
1T is generally known that Demo-
cratic members of the committee were
not only Indifferent, but actually
hostile to his proposals. That the bill
now comes before the House with their
approval is further evidence of the
fact that the majority are not guided
by their convictions, but by the orders
they receive from the White House"
"The Democratic majority. In order
to avoid a direct slap at their own
administration with a presidential
election in the ofing, have reluctantly
tried to pull the Presidents political
chestnuts from the fire. Their effort
bears all the earmarks of being a
mere face-saving gesture. They will
undoubtedly make every effort to
justify the bill as revenue measure,
but a casual reading of the Presidents
message clearly indicates that it was
not so intended, and it certainly was
not SO interpreted by the country
The Secretary of the Treasury, in his
statement before the committee, in
dicated that the Treasury's primary
interest in the legislation was in the
revenue which it might raise, and the
majority members tried to infer from
this statement that revenue was its
primary purpose The references IN
the Presidents message to the very
sound public policy of encouraging a
wider distribution of wealth and the
duty of Government to restrict large
incomes by very high taxes prevent
any such purpose being ascribed."
X
I'VE cannot criticize too vehe-
mently the procedure by which this
bill has been proposed, considered and
is now being rushed to passage. Brief
hearings we're conducted by the COM
mittee, with nothing before it but the
Presidents message. AS his pro-
posas were rather nebulous, and as
no tentative draft or outline of bill
had been prepared, the hearings were
more or less of farce. Unlike his
predecessors in office, the Secretary of
the Treasury failed to make any def
mite suggestions for carrying out the
Presidents proposals, or even indicate
how much revenue the bill should
raise"
X X X \
In this connection it is interesting
to note the observations Of a former
Democratic Secretary of the Treasury,
Carter Glass, upon the effect of ex-
cesSive surtaxes. In his annual report
for the fiscal year 1919 Secretary Glass
eoid.