Slow Motion

With the elephant's deliberateness and the donkey's constitutional indisposition to act, the tax bill found steady but exceedingly slow going in the Senate last week. The chief clauses of the bill determined on were:

1) Repeal of the capital stock tax sustained by vote of 75 to 4 (loss of revenue $92,000,000).

2) Increase of the corporate income tax from 12 1/2% to 13 1/2% by vote of 42 to 35 (compensating gain in revenue $90,000,000).

3) Maximum surtax fixed at 20% without a record vote, after a maximum of 40% had been voted down by 70 to 15, a maximum of 30% by 54 to 29, and a maximum of 25% by 55 to 25.

But when it came to the question of tax publicity, the debate prolonged itself into many weary hours. The bill proposes to do away with tax publicity. Senators Norris and Couzens led the group to restore the tax publicity feature. They and their associates talked and read reports for hours.

Senator Smoot, in charge of the bill, was anxious to get it passed speedily. He managed to have the Senate start work at 11:00 a. m. instead of at noon, but that did not hasten matters appreciably. He then said that if action did not rapidly speed up he would bring about 12-hour sessions, from 11 a. m. to 11 p. m., with no recess for supper.

Vice President Dawes went to Philadelphia and made a speech, reiterating that the Senate should have a cloture rule. He declared:

"Suppose, with the country demanding the immediate passage of a bill reducing taxes, that the division of opinion in the Senate as to what items of taxation should be reduced was a narrow one, and the two-thirds vote closing debate could not be obtained; is there any doubt whatever that public sentiment would be solidly behind a majority cloture rule which would enable a majority of the Senate to do its constitutional duty and reduce taxation?

"How long, under such a situation, would arguments stand to the effect that the right of unlimited talk by minorities should be regarded as more important than the right of the American people to have the majority of the Senate perform its constitutional duty?"