$3,583,900,000

The Senate wanted to go home. Most of the House had already gone off for a month's vacation; just two more weeks remained before they would come trooping back to Washington.

One little chore stood between weary Senators and their dreams of home. They still had to pass the 1941 tax bill. Most of the bill looked all right to almost all of them. Only one provision was good for a fight: the Finance Committee's amendment to prevent husbands & wives in the eight States which have community-property laws* from dividing their combined incomes in half and filing separate returns in a lower bracket.

The amendment would have brought the Treasury only about $50,000,000 more in revenues. But it stood to cost tax payers in those eight States from $15 (on $4,000 earned net income) to $10,941 (on $100,000) extra by making them pay the same sized taxes as people in other States. Against that proposal, their 16 Senators were ready to do battle to the death, vacation or no vacation.

But the battle passed them by. As the bill was called up, mild, grey-maned Senator Walter F. George of Georgia tiptoed about the Senate floor, conferred with his Finance Committee members. Rather than face a filibuster they decided to drop their amendment, bring it up in another bill.

That settled, relieved Senators cheerfully got down to business. After chopping another $38,500,000 off the bill, they passed the rest in jig time. Their three days' work added $3,583,900,000 to the taxes U.S. citizens will pay next year. It was almost exactly what Treasury Secretary spring -- Henry Morgenthau Jr. asked for last spring-- and $367,500,000 more than the the House demanded.

The Senate vote (67-to-5) was nearly unanimous. The Senate version is nearer to the bill Franklin Roosevelt wanted. Best guess is that Congress will swallow the Senate bill quickly and quietly, will have it ready for the President's signature some time next week.

* Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Idaho, Washington.

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