Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 20

PAGE TWENTY ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 8, 1949 Can'? See the Forest for The Trees mm Warren Can Make a Good Case If He Has To Take His Tax Plan To The People! -r ii if iiv'i yT 11 j.4K- tember. The old folks, dependent children and the blind may not get their assistance checks next September. The insane asylum may have to send some of its inmates back home to their families." If that should come to pass, we do not think it will be the Governor whom the people will blame. For the Governor's program is a fair one.

It has logic and justice on its side. As he pointed out, eight of his proposed taxes would be paid by sources not now paying any state taxes whatever. The remainder would be paid by sources now paying so little as to be hardly more than token taxes. As the Governor pointed out, it is ridiculous for Florida businesses to be enjoying the highest prosperity in their history, and for the State Government at the same time to be broke. If this Legislature permits the continuance of this disgraceful condition, the day of reckoning will come.

Governor Warren has four years in office ahead. But two years from now all the Representatives and half the Senators will stand for re-election. When the Governor gets through explaining to the people exactly what the 1349 session of the Legis- lature did to them in the matter of taxation if he has to we imagine the 1951 session will be ready to accept his ideas on state finance. It will do so largely because it will have so many new faces in it! We'd suggest that Mr. and Mrs.

John Q. Public constitute themselves into one-man lobbies and let their representatives at Tallahassee know just what they think of the way the Legislature has been knuckling under to the special interests and playing politics. If the people yell loud enough maybe their voice can be heard over the babble of the lobbyists and above the din of political maneuvering. Warren program to the detriment of the citizens of Florida. In other words they are putting future political considerations ahead of present financial problems.

BUT THE FACT IS, Governor Warren's tax program is the only program which offers any real hope of making up the threatened deficit for the biennium. The Governor has repeatedly said that he would veto a sales tax, and we believe public opinion would back him overwhelmingly in that action. Our legislators at Tallahassee are misjudging the sentiment of the people. If they were to go home for a few days and sound out the sentiment of their constituents at the grassroots level, we; think they would be surprised to find how strong support is for the Governor's program as compared to any other proposal thus far advanced or even hinted at. There is talk now that the Legislature is planning cleverly, it thinks to wait until the very last moment of the session and then pass either a sales tax or a state income tax with an emergency referendum on the necessary constitutional amendment to be held in 90 days.

If the sales tax is' chosen, some of the legislators think the Governor will be forced to sign it, or accept "the responsibility for the deficit. If the income tax proposal is turned down by the people they can always say that it was the people's own fault. We don't think it would work out quite that way. We think the Governor would go ahead and veto the sales tax and then carry his fight to the people. Or if the people turn down the income tax their wrath will turn against the legislators and not the Governor when the state funds run out.

As Governor Warren warned on April 23, "The public schools and colleges may not open next Sep lift tx -ff The 1949 session of the State Legislature is entering upon its last few weeks. And the biggest problem confronting our lawmakers remains just where it was on April 5 completely unsolved. That problem, of course, is the one of state finances, of bridging the huge gap of $70 million to $100 million between the state's prospective expenses and income during the next two years. On April 5 Gov. Fuller Warren presented the Legislature a 15-point tax proposal designed to raise sufficient revenues to meet the anticipated deficit.

That program immediately ran into such a noisy clamor of opposition that it's worth reviewing. (Gov. Warren subsequently withdrew one proposed tax on insurance companies for fear of possible retaliations against Florida insurance companies in other states.) IF THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER will study the list on this page care-, fully, he will find it hard to understand why the Legislature has been in such a dither over it why the Senate Finance Committee rejected seven of the proposed taxes, yielding $18,000,000 a year and has approved only three, estimated to produce only $4,000,000 to $5,500,000 annually. The taxpayer who will study the Governor's program will ask himself why there is so much talk around Tallahassee of the "inevitability" of a sales tax or a big gross receipts tax such as proposed by Sen. John E.

Mathews. For, as Governor Warren said, "The soundest and fairest of all principles of taxation is that taxes should be levied according to ability to pay. That principle has not been followed by the State of Florida. On the contrary, the great majority of the state's revenue is collected from people least able to pay taxes." The program set forth by the Governor follows the principle of ability to pay. The sales tax or the gross receipts tax suggested by Sen.

Mathews perhaps an even worse levy would throw the burden upon those who are now carrying most of the load and leave the big businessmen and the exploiters of our natural resources still not carrying their share. The Governor says the answer is that the legislators have been listening to the lobbyists for the special interests listening and heeding instead of thinking about the good of the whole people. We think that is partly the case; they can't see the people for the lobbyists. Partly responsible also is some personal politics aimed at anything Warren proposes. There are a lot of die-hard McCarty men in the Legislature.

There are also those who are close to Senator Spessard Holland and feel that Warren may run against Holland in 1952.. There also are those who are violently anti-Pepper and feel that by insuring the failure of Warren as Governor they will minimize his influence in aiding Pepper's re-election in 1950. Warren and Pepper, have been politically akin. Both the pro-Holland and anti-Pepper forces plus the die-hard-McCarty men present a combination that is overlooking the good points of the The Governor's Tait Prograin--lrref ufabfe Logic Demands Its Passage as Best Plan of 1949 Session We Can Gef Weeded Money For Building AIniosf Immediately Gross Receipts Tax At 12 of 1 per cent, a tax on gross receipts of all retail sales would raise about- $11,000,000 annually. Florida formerly had such a tax.

Tax on Tobacco A tax on other tobacco products similar to that already paid on cigarettes would raise $1,400,000 a year. Tax on Amusements A 5 per cent tax on amusements (compared to the 20 per cent Federal tax) would net about $2,500,000 a year. Tax on Forest Lands A tax of 10 cents per acre on privately owned forest lands, to be used principally for an expanded program of reforestation and conservation, would yield about $2,000,000 annually. Increased Utility Tax Florida's tax rate on power, gas, telephone and telegraph companies, at 1 12 per cent of gross receipts, is the lowest in the United States. Increasing it to 3 per cent, which most states charge, would bring in an additional $1,500,000 a year.

The Governor's 1949 Tax Program, plus one portion of the Mathews plan with revisions, would put Florida on a solid financial basis. Senator Mathews is not popular with many of his colleagues and his program, which may have administration backing to some extent, is almost foredoomed to defeat before it gets a hearing. Part of it that part dealing with a high gross receipts tax should be defeated. But his idea of setting aside the receipts of auto license tag sales for the next 15 years for building purposes is a good one, if proper safeguards are thrown around the issuance of bonds against it and around the spending of the money. Mathews' idea is that revenue certificates could be issued against the expected receipts, creating an immediate fund of perhaps Of this amount $90,000,000 could be used to bring our schools up to par, $90,000,000 could be used to modernize our highway system, could bring the colleges and universities up to standard and Lobbies Spend Miiiions To Influence Here's what the Governor recommended: Tax on Lodging A 5 per cent tax on commercial lodging, designed to raise $5,000,000 annually.

The Governor said it would largely be paid by Winter visitors, who now contribute little toward the state's expenses. Tax on Phosphate At 50 cents a ton, a severance tax on phosphate would raise about Phosphate miners are stripping the state of one of its natural resources and should pay for the privilege. (One phosphate company last year took in $28,000,000 and paid negligible state taxes.) Raise Tax on Petroleum Increase the tax on petroleum from 5 per cent to 10 per cent another of the state's natural resources which should yield more to the people. Tax on Forestry Products About $9,400,000 a year could be obtained from a gross processing tax on this natural resource and would largely be paid by consumers out of the state where the processed lumber is purchased. Pinellas Libraries Have Complete Data on Lobbies Congressional Quarterly's library edition provides the public with the same complete data on congress and pressure groups that it sells in its copyrighted releases to the nation's leading newspapers and periodicals.

National Association of Home Builders 19,802 National Rural Electric Co-operatiye Association 17,966 American Federation of Labor 17.S15 American Farm Bureau Federation 14.843 National Economic Council. Inc 13.966 National Federation of American Shippinr. Inc. 13.916 American Hospital Association 13.418 National Granee 11.322 Congress of Industrial Organizations S.513 National Retail Dry Goods Association 7.357 United States Savings and Loan League 6.930 American Trucking Associations, Inc. 6.640 American Petroleum Institute 6,482 Other groups which reported large total tures Citizens Committee on Displaced Persons $0.537 United World Federalists 73.197 National Small Business Men's Association 69,978 National Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Producers Council 39.307 Southern Pine Industry Committee 36,377 Colorado River Association 30.S3 Central Arizona Project Association 30.81S Southern States Industrial Council 2S.53 National Council of Farm Cooperatives 27,218 Committee for the Nation's Health 23.

M5 Unemployment Benefit Advisors 22.603 WHAT OTHER CITIES AND STATES ARE DOING NEW ORLEANS is selling $15 million of revenue bonds to finance a municipal railroad passenger terminal and related railroad terminal improvements. Its efforts to borrow the money were thwarted last year by a taxpayer-brought suit to halt the bond, sales after they had been officially awarded. The courts ruled in favor of the city early this year. name. Ge.

11:4 HENRIETTA and NELSON POYNTER Tax on Fuel Oil At only a half-cent per gallon, and exempting oils used in heating. and lighting private homes, this tax would yield $4,800,000 a year. Small Loan Firm Fee Increase Doing business at a rate of over $6,000,000 a year, small loan firms should carry a greater share of the state's burden. Uo Intanaihle Tar Not only is Florida's intangible tax one of the lowest in the nation it is onlv half as much as the State Constitution allows. Raising it to the constitutional maximum of 2 mills, still low compared to other states, $3,000,000 more could be raised annually.

Up Documentary Stamps By doubling the documentary stamp tax from its present low figure of 10 cents per $100, about additional would be collected each year. Up Capital Stock Tax Although Florida corporations have a value running into hundreds of millions of dollars, the corporate tax yield in 1947 was only $559,000 lowest in the union. Doubling the capital stock tax would yield an additional $500,000 or more each year. PEARSON Holland-American Lines. Determined to find out why, the Senator started phoning Government agencies.

EGA estimated that 750,000 Americans want to go to Europe this Summer, carrying a bonanza of dollars, but the maximum plane and ship capacity is only 300,000. Much of this is substandard, almost troopship service, yet American companies still charge exorbitant rates. Suspicious Delay Despite this, the Maritime Commission has dawdled in a most suspicious manner over an application from the Arnold Bernstein Lines to buy two government-owned ships, the General Pope and General Weigel. If Bernstein can get these ships, now laid up, he plans to sell round-trip tickets to Antwerp for only $250. This, Senator Flanders feels, would not interfere with U.

S. Lines, (Continued on Page 64) 'LiPetrrsImrg imps DAILY AND SUNDAY Entered as second-class matter of tha Post Of- fice, St. Petersburg, Published every morning by Ihm Times Publishing Company from The Times Building, Fifth Street ond First Avenin South, St. Petersburg. Florida.

SubscriDtion Rates Effective November 2, 1946; One Year Six Months, Three Months, Weekly 35 cents; Six Days Weekly 25 cents; There Is No Monthly. Tri Weekly: One Year Six Months, Three Months, $2.50, One Month, 85 cents Sunday Only: One Year $5 75; Six Months $3.0 Three Months. $1.50. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of ail the local news printed in this nfewspoper os well os oil AP news rlisootches. "PAUL POYNTER President-1 NELSON P.

POYNTER Editor iV.ari.irne Commission Skulduggery 000,000 could be used for TB sanitaria. The balance could be used for other needed buildings as the need arises. The fund could be made into a revolving fund into which other revenues could be placed as they accrue. Some such fund is needed. Florida has fallen so far behind on its improvement program that the state never will catch up with itself if it attempts to get along on a pay-as-you-go basis.

And since the revenues to retire this fund are fully in sight and would require no additional taxation, there seems no reason why it should not be enthusiastically accepted by the people if it has the proper safeguards. It is believed that Governor Warren looks with favor upon that portion of the Mathews plan. And there seems little reason why it should not be tied in with the Governor's tax proposals instead of being hitched onto a "business privilege" tax as Senator Mathews calls his gross receipts tax. Congressmen one of the authors of the present laws "Congressional Quarterly has helped inimeasureably in making the lobby not work by following the registrations and communications of lobbyists and analyzing them, it has enabled the newspapers to write articles based on this material, which have made the public conscious of the amount and kind of lobbying that has been going on." The following is from CQ's most recent roundup on lobby expenditures: Leading Spenders Four groups reported expenditures of more than $100,000, but this picture was distorted by the fact that three of them gave total expenditures and one, the Amrican Medical Association, an allocation. Also many other important lobby groups reported some form of allocation for legislation rather than total expense.

The lobby law does not spell out the method of reporting. The three reports of total expenses over $100,000 were those of: Committee for Constitutional Government, Inc $149,066 National Association of Electric Companies 136,509 National Physicians Committee 130,969 Other groups, whose total expenditures may or may not be higher than these three, reported by some form of allocation. Among these were: American Medical Association $115,243 General Electric Company 91.075 National Association of Real Estate Boards 39.344 national Association of Margarine Manufacturers 38,835 Association of American Railroads 33 118 Chamber of Commerce of the U. 2S.192 I'nited States Cuban SuRar Council 23.fif0 National Coal Association 22.508 Let us make us a By During the first three months of this year 258 organizations spent more than two million dollars to influence your Congressman $200,000 more than the last quarter of 1948 and $300,000 more the first quarter of 1948. Most of it was spent on the issues of labor, health, public power and yellow margarine.

ds is the highest amount on record but such records have been required only in recent years. Any good reporter in Washington knows that many times that much money is spent to influence Congress but the lobby and campaign expenditure laws are such that the total amounts are not available to the public: The Senate Judiciary Committee may spend $50,000 this year to look into lobbies with the idea of improving on the present law. It's been 15 years since a zealous senator from Alabama namd Hugo Black exposed the pressure tactics of the public utilities and this led Indirectly to the present law. President Truman lambasted the lobbies during last year's campaign just as Governor Fuller Warren has fired some heavy broadsides against the state business lobbies in recent weeks. But lobbying, like fishing, cake baking, photography and most other lines of human endeavor, depends more on "know how" than money for success.

Too much spending or clumsy spending actually hurts a cause. A lot of zeal can often make up for dollars. The anti-poll tax lobby's budget is about the size of a Girl Scout Troop treasury but a lot of energy and legislative experience makes this modest lobby one of the most potent on Capitol Hill. The Displaced Persons In Europe can cast no votes for Congressmen but they have friends with great compassion who have contributed heavily to an educational campaign that has won many Congressmen to their cause. In any discussion or debate on lobbyists it's important to remember that the lobbies merely are exercising their constitutional right of petition along modern and often mass production lines.

The present lobby law and the upcoming congressional inquiries are intended to bring this whole activity into the open and show who is getting what and doing what to make votes and influence Congressman. A full scale inquiry would have to include information how much was spent on primary campaigns and general elections. Present state and federal laws do not reveal the whole story. The candidates next year who will be running for J. Hardin Peterson's seat from this district will be obliged to turn in only the contributions and expenses they personal handle.

Meanwhile "Friends of Candidate Zilch" or the "Zilch for Congress Club" can buy pages of expensive newspaper space and hours of precious radio time and other media to influence voters and the money is never recorded in the offical records in Tallahassee or Washington. It's important to all the voters just who these "friends" are, what their business is and how that business is affected by Congress. Even the official figures are not listed in a way that makes them easy to interpret. Congressional Quarterly News Features an organization which incidentally originated in The St. Petersburg Times makes a regular compilation on which the above figures are based.

Hundreds of other newspapers publish these figures with various local stories and interpretations. The important part that the press plays in bringing lobby activity into the open is indicated by a statement of B. "Mike" Monroney, Oklahoma congressman and By DREW WASHINGTON Though tourists are jam-packing everything that floats or flies to Europe, the Maritime Commission seems more concerned about holding down steamship competition across the North Atlantic than in building it up. This has gotten under the skin of Vermont's gritty Sen. Ralph Flanders who believes travel can promote people-to-people friendship between America and Europe.

Flanders has also unearthed some skulduggery that may cause him to torpedo appropriations for the U. S. Lines' Queen Of The Seas luxury liner. Flanders has been investigating what appears to be collusion between the Maritime Commission and the big shipping companies and is particularly critical of the peculiar way the U. S.

Lines has been saved from competition. This has been ff ARSON threatened by the new Arnold Bernstein Lines which wants to start low-cost passenger service to Belgium. Bernstein needs more ships which it has been trying to buy from the Maritime Commission. All it has gotten so far, however, is excuses. Flanders got interested in steamship monopoly prices after an encounter at the U.

S. Lines' ticket office. Asking: for reservations to Europe in August, he was assured a stateroom for $485 each way. This was too much for the thrifty Vermont Republican, so he made the rounds of foreign com. panies.

For only $260, he was able to book better accommodations with the.