TAXATION: H.R. 1

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H. R. 1

All the thousands of bills thrown into the hoppers of Congress are numbered and initialed: "H. R.*1, 2, 3, ... 5359," etc.; "S.† 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . 2917," etc. The honor of being "H. R. 1" this year went to the tax reduction bill. And many other honors were last week heaped upon H. R. 1. Five days had been spent in general debate. Five days were given last week to detailed consideration and amending. Then the bill was passed.

Not only was action swift, it was decisive. Not a single important amendment to the bill was made on the floor. As amendments were brought up by this man, by that, they were promptly voted down. And the final majority for the bill was 390 to 25.

Such opposition as there was, was carried on almost single-handedly by Congressman Henrv T. Rainey of Illinois—fiery, white-haired, 65, like the President an Amherst man ('83), unlike the President, a Democrat. Since 1903 he has served continuously in the House, with only a recess of two years given him by his constituents at the time of the Harding landslide. Many Democrats, including such prominent members as Garner, ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, stood by the bill. But Rainey never flagged in opposition. Every controversial point he fought:

He fought to raise the maximum surtax from 20% (in the bill) to 25%, and lost 196 to 117.

He fought to decrease personal exemptions of married persons from $3,500 (in the bill) to $2,500, and lost viva voce.

He fought to deny personal exemptions to persons with incomes over $20,000, and lost viva voce. He proposed the same thing for persons with incomes over $45,000, and lost 103 to 31.

He fought to repeal entirely the tax on pleasure automobiles (although the bill cut automobile taxes more than half), and he lost 188 to 95.