Volpe Vow Passage of Sales Tax, Spotlights Bliss as National Leader

"We'll get this bill passed or there will be Christmas caroling on Beacon Hill", Governor John Volpe said Saturday night before the Harvard Young Republican Club, indicating that he intends to keep the state legislature in session until it approves his limited sales tax plan.

Some persons whistled and clapped their approval of Volpe and his politics as he accepted the club's "Man of the Year" award at Emerson Hall.

The limited sales tax -- limited because it does not include levies on food, clothing, shelter and other necessities -- is the only way to reduce Massachusetts's property tax, Volpe claimed. He added that the predicted $200 million revenue from the tax could be pumped into the state's ailing educational system. "Alabama does more for public education than the state of Massachusetts", Volpe said.

Singles Out Bliss

Turning to national politics, Volpe singled out Ray Bliss, Republican national chairman, as the man to bring the party back to national power. "Bliss is no fly-by-night proposition," Volpe said, "He has the organizational ability to do the job."

Volpe also predicted a Republican comeback in the 1966 congressional elections. But he refused to comment on the party's chances in 1968.

The governor's appearance capped a day-long Republican Issue Forum sponsored by the Young Republican Club featuring panels and speeches on civil rights, urban affairs, the poverty program and Vietnam.