, 1875-03-29

property nlrealy listed oro not taxnbld prop
erty will exempt no actual property from
taxation, nor In my rnr reduce the INT ol
act,,al taxahlcs in tic statc. all the proper
heretofore il, tho State is still left. Every
t1liug that can ho seen, handled, or to'1ctett'
or that il yisiblc. remains ~ before for taxn.
ton, au.l there Is nothing olse that Is or can
bo lit snbject for taxation.
Tho effect Of Judge DRra.Mosp'a decision
will be to grcnt'y promote tho prosperity OF
tho State. It is to be regretted that s1'cl, n
decision was ever necessary. Tho law Which
Is oyerr1lled was one Of tho most dA1,nging
character. 1t WIS prohibisory upon intl'sosry;
It was prohibitory upon tho employment Ut
capital as wages for labor. I1'rohihited men
Of Fmoil ,nea,,s from combining h1eir few
hundreds or thousands Of dollars to carry on
productive inlnstry which no ono of them
cost1l 10 alone. II prevented met, acting rs
private corporations from opening mines,
digging orc, erecting furnaces ina]:ing
iron, or manufacturing implements, cloth,
wootlenwaro, leather, glnss, machinery, or
other property. 1t declared that no
man should engage in these branches Of pro-
duction unless ho had personally all the capi-
tnl needed for TINT purpose. II n mnn COM
l,iucd his small means with those Of llalf
dozen ncighbors, and, In consideration Of
their personal skill aud ]abor other men out
side Tho State advanced capital to purchase
conl, iron, copper, or other ,aetal, or hitles,
or wool Of cotton, or woods Of various kinds,
and employed labor to convert thcao raw
materials into articles Of use, commanding
ready sale, tho absurd Inv Of Illinois regard
cd such proceeding rs Il nloat iniquitous Of
foase, aud punished it by adding 100 per
cent to Tho general mud local taxos on tho
property Of such men. II ten men, each
having $1,000, seeing tho cheapnesa
anl want Of sale Of raw material
nround them, tho abundance Of unoin-
, pioyca labor, should unite their means to
engage in manufacturing, mil issne to each
| other certificates that eect, lad eco inter-
est in tho business, and WIS entitled to profits
aud subject to losses in proportion, the Inv
Of Illinois branded these mon rs species Of
tuolcfactors, wa7ing against tho best interest
Of society, whose properly Should DO contls-
Gated iu tho form Of discriminating taxation,
AAA AcliEt AN9 "AuAG tlAAJ ~ hAA tAaHSF'oNA''
and collectors, reinforced by tho State Boara
Of Equalization, to hunt these men and
bring them to bankruptcy and ruin. ALI per-
sons beyond tho State were warned by the
law mud by tho Stata Board not to bring
capital into Illinois to bo invested in cor
porations to carry on industrial production.
Judge DEu,lMoSp's decision puts aside this
bad law, which was inspired by ignorance,
onactcl by demagoeues, and insisted on by
men who unto both ignorance and domagog-
ism, to the disgrace Of the statc for whom
they lcgislatc. The removal Of this law, oven
by judicia' dcciaiou, viii elevate the character
Of tho State, will give new impetus to prodnc-
tion, will invite capital to put industry OF
| 1abor, and will arouso once moro the stagnaut
prosperity Of the State. Tho lcgia1aturo Inns
lost tho credit and honor which it might have
won by repcaling tho law in anticipation Of
| the decision of the Courts.