An Oratorical Horse-trade

The Mellon tax bill was taken up on the floor of the House. Debate, daily and prolonged, began. The ranking member of each party on the Ways and Means Committee. Representative Green for the Republicans, Representative Garner for the Democrats, doled out speaking time to their followers after laying down a preliminary barrage in person. It was :

"MR. GARNER : I yield 30 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Oldfield]."

"MR. GREEN: I yield 15 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Kearns]," etc.

When the speakers did not exhaust their allotted time they yielded back the remainder of the time.

Thus in Committee of the whole (with Representative Graham of Illinois in the Chair) the great battle of oratory went on, not without poetic flourishes in the routine conflict of facts and figures. A Kansan brought out as an argument for the Mellon plan:

"Under which king, Bezonian? Speak or die

What's wealth to them whose faith and truth

On war's red touchstone rang true metal,

Who ventured life and love and youth

For the great prize of death in battle?"

And for the Garner plan a gentleman from Indiana argued:

"Ill fares the land to hastening ills a prey

Where wealth accumulates and men decay . . ." and

"Oh! greed, stony-hearted greed,

Strike thy dread shackles from the limbs of men."

Unfortunately in the real battle which was going on, this oratory counted little more than persuasion counts in a sharp-witted horse-trade.

Before debate began the Democrats held a caucus which bound all the 207 Democrats of the House except one (Representative Deal of Virginia, who had promised his constituents before election to vote for 25% maximum surtaxes) to vote for the Democratic plan (44% maximum surtaxes) or the Frear insurgent plan with even higher surtaxes in view.

The Republican leaders, although they have nominally a majority, with 225 members, were unable to muster it on account of the insurgents. So they offered the insurgents a compromise on surtaxes of 35%. Even with this they could muster only 208 votes, 10 less than a majority.

The insurgents countered with an offer to compromise on 40% surtaxes and an additional cut in normal taxes on small incomes. Failing this, they threatened to vote with the Democrats.

The regular Republicans declined to agree to a greater cut in the normal surtaxes, on the ground that it would create too great a deficit, but raised their bid on the surtaxes to 37 1/2%

Thus the chaffering went.