Word: doumer
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Dates: during 1920-1929
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Aftermath. Premier Briand sourly watched his Finance Minister, M. Doumer, take this rattlebrained bill to the Senate. Admittedly it was almost worthless. M. Doumer's experts opined that it might produce 2½ billion francs of added revenue, whereas at least 5 billions are necessary. The Senate Finance Committee's first act was to prune away some of its notorious "spoof" clauses (TIME, Feb. 15), mere legislative "nifties"?? not worthy of the Senators' laughter. The general impression was that the bill could scarcely be worse. But it was at least a bill! It was, in fact, a great triumph...
Since autumn, three Finance Ministers (Caillaux, Painlevé and Loucheur) and two Premiers (Painlevé twice) have fallen on this one tax issue, without being able to get as far as MM. Briand and Doumer got last week?without being able to get the Chamber to indorse any program whatever for recouping the finances of France. Therefore, M. Briand's triumph was great. The Senators, eager to help him, prepared to "amend" the crazy-quilt bill into something workable. It was considered certain that they will stretch the constitutional limits of their amending power to the uttermost. Presumably when the bill goes...
None the less whenever Finance Minister Doumer attempted to come forward and effect a rational compromise on the various disputed items of the bill, the Cartelists rallied and rebuffed him by passing articles and amendments distasteful to him, notably an admittedly impracticable measure to require registration of all unregistered securities in order that they might be taxed more easily. This particular article passed the Chamber 287 to 233, although even its authors knew that it could never pass the Senate...
Finance Minister Doumer smiled grimly at their discomfiture. If the Cartel measure gradually evaporates while the Chamber almost literally boils, so much the better for the Government measure, which has not yet even come up for consideration. At the same time it is quite evident that the Government scheme may be reduced to a jumble of absurdities by the same process. With a heavy heart M. Doumer pronounced a sour dictum upon last week's performance of Les Folies Bourbon: It would seem that in this Chamber a majority can always be found to kill any proposal whatever...
...Mlle. Parisys' supporting cast rushed from the wings: "No, my dear Mademoiselle! You cannot make this sale until you have bought a sales-tax-stamp from Finance Minister Doumer! He must have money to pay our debts...