PETITIONS ARRIVING FRIDAY; NFIB TAX PLAN GOES ON THE ROAD

A national campaign that started in President Harry Truman's hometown Monday to repeal the current IRS tax code is on the road and headed for Cape Girardeau.

"We'll be there Friday," said Jim Jennings, a member of the NFIB team making a statewide Missouri tour this week. The group is seeking more than a million signatures on petitions calling for an overhaul of the U.S tax code. The petitions will be presented to Congress.

Heading the national campaign is Jack Faris, president of the 600,000-member National Federal of Independent Business (NFIB). Faris is meeting with some impressive people along the way.

"We'll have petitions available in Cape Girardeau Friday afternoon," said Jennings, who was contacted on the road between Joplin and Springfield Tuesday. "After Friday, the petitions will be available from any NFIB member."

There are more than 12,000 NFIB members in Missouri, a number of them in Southeast Missouri.

The drive to collect the million signatures began Monday at a rally in Independence.

The NFIB will submit the petitions to Congress June 17, 1998, during the Congressional Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C.

Faris will be at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau Friday, starting at 6 p.m., where he will join U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson at a barbecue to be hosted by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB.

Faris described the current IRS Tax Code as a "code of 7 million words that don't work," during his initial campaign appearance at Independence Monday.

He was joined by large crowds of people in Joplin, Mount Vernon and Springfield Tuesday.

"We're expecting larger crowds at Springfield today," said Jennings.

Faris was scheduled to join Mel Hancock for a roundtable discussion at Springfield this morning.

Meetings are scheduled in Jefferson City and St. Louis Thursday, with the group to arrive in Cape Girardeau Friday afternoon, including a stop at Horizon Screen Printing at in downtown Cape Girardeau at 430 Broadway about 2:30 p.m.