Evening star., 1897-04-13

enable nor permit one citizen to injure an
other. and continued:
You would be surprised" he said Ito
know how many ways injustice can be done
by la ". The subject of taxation is always
with u.s." He then continued to say that If
one man is made to pay greater tax than
another who has property of equal value
the transaction is equivalent to taking the
difference from the pocket of one man and
putting it in the pocket of the other He
thought citizens should contribute to the
support of the government in accordance
with the benefits received, and, speaking of
unequal taxation, said:
Taking Property by Legislation.
Il can see no difference between taking
property on the highway, where there is
some risk, and taking it under the safer
and more polite form of unjust Legislation -
This sentiment was vigorously appiduded
by the students. He continued to say lar
ceny is larceny no matter what the amount
involved, and whether the discrimination
in taxation be for large small amounts
the principle was the same Larceny by
law was as dangerous as larceny upon the
highway.
In regard to taxation he said there was
a very general feeling that if man could
escape taxation 1t was all right. In fact, a
man could escape taxation without suffer-
ing greatly in the opinion of his friends.
Public justice" he said, should be SO
aroused that public opinion should make it
as unpleasant for man who shirks his duty
in time of peace, as it is if he shirks his
duty in time of war. Government is as
essential in time of peace as in time of
war. / know no patriotism more needed in
this country today than that patriotism
which would make men willing to bear
their full share Of the expenses Of govern
ment."
Again, speaking of the making and execu-
ton of laws, Mr.. Bryan said:
mot only must the government avoid
oofc oft mi, hlt m n
justice as between individuals. What is
the use Of contributing to the support of
the government If, when you have made
your contribution, the governments sits
back and allows might instead Of right to
control"
Control of Corporations.
Referring to corporations. Mr.. Bryan
said the government prevents one person
from doing bodily harm to another. yet
the inequality in strength between people
is not great, SO that the stronger are gen.
orally not more than twice as strong as
the weaker Yet there is another fndf-
vidual in the community, known as the
Corporation" which is hundred or
thousand times as strong as other indi-
viduals. If it was the duty of the govern
ment to protect men from injury by men.
was it not equally important to prevent
this other individual, the corporation. from
injurfng men, when the corporation has so
much more power to do injury?
1.-The government" he said, that is not
powerful enough to protect the rights OF
the weakest from the strongest is not
complete government, and the government
that is powerful enough and yet does not do
it is worse than no government. 1 know
when one speaks of corporations he is apt
to be said to appeal to prejudice. am
aware of that. But 1 assert without fear
Of contradiction by any one that cor
poration called into existence by law for
a public purpose must not be permitted to
become greater than the power which Gre
ated it. That corporation brought into
existence by law can never be permitted
to become greater than the government
itself, and when corporation attempts to
be greater than the government 1t has
passed the danger line, and becomes
positive menace to the welfare of the peo-
ple.''
He went on to say that individuals have
not only the fear of the law to keep them
from infringing on the rights Of Others
but, as nearly all men believe in higher
law, they have the fear of future punish
ment to check them, while the corporation
''is subjected only to legal restrictions, and
has no existence beyond this life, and II 1t
can escape punishment here it has no fear
for the future"
Power to Crush Competition.
Mr.. Bryan spoke of the power of trusts to
crush out competition, bringing to bear in
the effort a thousand or more times the
strength Of the Individual Referring to