Milford chronicle., 1937-12-17
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Strange as 1t may seem, a single
farm crop had more TO do with
breaking the House deadlock on the
wage-hour bill than anything else.
The situation was this: The wage
hour bill was locked tight in the
House Rules committee. The only
way to force II to the floor was for
majority of the 435 House mem-
bers. or 31S. to sign a petition to
take it away from the committee.
The most bitter opponents of the
wage-hour bill were from cotton
producing states. They declined to
sign the petition on the ground that
the bill would wreck young and
growing industries in their states.
And there were not 21S members
from other states who believed in
the bill strongly enough to force 1t
to vote. SO the bills proponents
hunted ways to put heat" on the
cotton staters.
1t happened that the new farm
bill, covering many commodities,
was being debated ON the House
floor. Two ommodities-wheat and
cotton-attracted most interest. The
congressman from wheat states,
generally speaking, were willing to
permit a vote on the wage-hOur bill.
But cotton state members were not.
So the wage-hour bill proponents
threatened to knock cotton out OF
the farm bill. And few of the cot
ton state members were frightened.
Enough of them signed the petition
to get the wage-hour bill out OF the
Rules committee.
The funny part of it is that few
folks believe there we're enough
votes to eliminate wheat or cotton
or anything else from the farm bill
even though the bill as whole isn't
the subject of enthusiastic popu-
larity. Besides that someone re-
marked that everything but the
capitol" was traded to get the bill
up.
Congress may yet do something
about taxes during the special ses-
sion i'm an effort TO stop unemploy- !
ment caused by the penalty on ex-
pansions. The House Ways and
Means tax subcommittee has
agreed ON changes in the two most |
harmful taxes, those on capital
gains and undistributed corporation
income. Legislative drafting experts |
are hard at work trying to put the |
agreement into intelligible language.
Chairman Doughton is ready to
call his full committee into meeting
on moments notice once the bill
is approved by the subcommittee.
He figures that even II the bill only
passed the House and stayed in the
Senate until the special session ends
that would be reassuring to busi-
ness. Because at the January regu-
lar session the Senate could pick UP
where 1t left off.
II might sound peculiar to say
hat the man who makes $1,000
fear should worry about the $780,
)eO-a-year-man. But that is just ex-
lctly what most Washington observ-
RS are saying now.
The cause of all the talk is a ques-
ionnaire sent by the Treasury to
hose who make 100000 or more
ear. That questionnaire asks for a
listing of assets-property. No rea-
on is given for the inquiry. But
ONE Washingtonians remember
hat a few years back Italy's dicta-
orial government made such an in
uiry and then followed 1t with a
ew tax on property-homes. farms.
radios, machinery, ev-
rything that people owned.
Up to now the United States has
ever levied a direct tax on prop
rty. But someone apparently has
ecided that a splendid way to
ring in revenue to the federal ,
reasury would be to tax everybody ,
n the basis of what he owns. And ,
nee such a tax principle is insti- I
tied, taxes can be levied on every I
ing from shoes and overalls to a {
ONE. {