The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-05-16
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taxation of franchises. On the one hand we
have the perfectly simple savage who be-
lieves that you should tax franchises TO the
extent of confscating them and that IL is the
duty OF all railroad corporations 10 carry
everybody free and give him chrome. On
the other hand, We have the scarcely priIn-
tive mortals who believe there is something
sacred in a franchise and that there is no
reason why it should pay its share OF the
burdens at all.
Now remember that the man who oc-
cupies the last position inevitably tends TO
produce the man who occupies the first
position, and that the worst enemy Of prop
erty is the man who, whether from un-
Scruplousness or from mere heedlessness and
thoughtlessness, takes the. ground that
there shall be something sacred about all
property, that the owners of ii are TO oc-
cupy a different position in the community
from all others and are TO have their bur-
dens not increased, but diminished be-
cause of their wealth.
'The rich man who buys privilege from
a board OF aldermen for a railway which
he represents: the rich man who gets a
privilege through the legislature by bribery
and corruption for any corporation, is COM
mitting an offense against the community,
which 1t is possible may some day have TO
be condoned for in blood and destruction,
rot by him, not by his sons, but by you
and your sons.
THE one hope and one safety in dealing
with this problem is to send into our public
bodies men who shall be honest, who shall
realize their obligations TO the rich and
poor alike and who shall draw the line. not
between the rich man and the poor man.
but between the honest man and the dis
honest man.
PROPER USE OF PROPERTY.
"The proper use of property is to use it
as any honest man would use his property
in reference to his brother. 1t is abuse to
use 1t as any man would not use his prop
erty in reference to his brother. and all
that the Legislature, all that our public
bodies have to do Is to see that our policy
as State, that the policy OF the Legisia-
ture and the policy Of nation is shaped
along these lines, and when a measure
comes up in our State Legislature it shall
be treated. not from the standpoint known:
I am against corporations, amt going to
give them any powers or on the other
hand: The corporations-they want this?
What will they pay for it?'
NOW, send men into public who, on the
one hand, will be incapable of yielding TO
any demagogic attack upon men of means
merely because they are men Of means;
men who will realize how much this coun-
try owes to the architects OF its material
prosperity, who will realize that every man
in legitimate business benefits not only him
self, but the whole community in which he
resides, and men who, on the other hand,
will not be blinded by those considerations
to the fact that too many men of means,
too many successful men of business strive
to bring into public life the kind Of chican-
cry by which they have won in business
life, and make them understand that they
will not be allowed one advantage due to
dishonesty. due to mere smartness due TO
anything but proceeding along the recog-
nized rules of morality which We expect 10
see followed by every high-ninded and
honorable man, and when you have once
made your public men take that attitude,
not spasmodically, not intermittently, but
continuously and as a regular thing. when
you have once got them to take that at
titude it will be but a short time before you
see the disappearance of some of the prob
lene with which we are now t. tened: II
Will be but a short time before see the
disappearance, once for ALL OF smagogic
attacks upon wealth upon the one hand and
OF corrupt subseryiency to the purposes Of
great corporations on the other