The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-03-14

1 to declare an error; that 1t had been pointed out to him by Sena- tors Butrovich and McCutcheon that the $7,50O combined loan limit would prevent veteran from getting more than that on a home or farm loan.
 It was perhaps indicative of the i intensity of the moment that a comment by Senator Lyng point ing out that very fact had heen ignored in discussion before the vote on the amendment was tax 7n. Senator Walker followed his declaration of error by obtaining unanimous consent to strike out his previous motion and the vote. He then moved to make the combined loan limit $10,0O0--the same figure as provided for home loans. That amendment easily carried.
 Sales Tar
 Following reading of the section of the bill setting up the sales tax, Brownell renewed his motion ruled out as premature during the fore noon amending the bill to strike all reference to means of raising revenue.
 That move uncorked the first two heated discussions that marked yes terday afternoons events. Nearly every Senator spoke his piece be- fore the amendment finally came to vote and lost 5 to II.
 Following McCutcheon's repeat second to the amendment, Brown { ell declared his only purpose was to speed and insure passage of the veterans benefits by removing a controversial issue from the bill. The measure has far greater chance Of passing both houses with the sales tax removed, he contended. The two houses could then, he con- tinued, get together on some com promise measure" which would pro- vide the revenue.
 I dI DtuBS iH
 Senator Shattuck was first to answer Brownell. He declared his belief that the bill will pass both houses with the tax feature in- without the doubled delay and con- tfusicn that would result from put ting through two separate measures. Green seconded Shattuck's stand. The tax goes with the bill, he said because it runs out when the fund set is reached. The money provid- ed in this bill is earmarked for one purpose to keep it from falling in- to the hands of other agencies ao play with" It should apply only to this bill and should be a part ! of the bil was Greens conclusion.
 Senator Andrew Nerland de- clared himself not convinced that inclusion of the sales tax is the cnly way to give veterans the bene- 1 fits of the bill. A sales tax, he said, is way down on the scale of tax measures He closed by de- claring that he feels bound to vote against the bill itself, because of the sales tax.
 Mooted Issue
 Senator Gordon included in a relation of all the time-honored arr gunsents against a sales tax his version of testimony by witnesses appearing before the body on the veterans measure. Nearly all of them, he averred, were opposed to inclusion of the tax. He cited tele- grams and letters to back his stand that, as a representative of the Fouth Division, "he couldn't vote for this bill' Fourth Division vet erans, he said, have gone on rec ord that they will accept the bill with the sales tax only if they can't get anything else. He pointed veterans benefits as the issue the Senate was concerned with at the moment not taxes Declaiming the nuisance" involved in collec- tion of sales tax, Gordon closed with a parting shaft at Senator Walkers last session stand against lowering Social Security exemp- tions because of the swarm of paper work that would be descend ed upon the head of the small bus mess man. The Senator's present stand is not consistent. he con- cluded.
 Consider Non-Veterdns
 Senator Lyng, declaring that only small proportion of the people of the Territory had been heard from on the veterans bill, held that non veterans must also be considered in passing revenue measure. Re- ferring to "the man on the street, D Lyng said Ee has yet to meet one person who favors a sales tax. Rak- ling up the old, bitter income tax issue, he declared a sales tax is not based on ability to pay. It is to avoid such a measure at the present, he said, that he has for several years fought for passage of an income tax. Lyng then switched tactics and stated that not 1 enough attention had been given to framing a veterans bill that will pass the House Ayowing his hope that he is wrong, Lyng gave his be- lief that, with the sales tax in, S. B. will not pass the House.