The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-12-19
CORRESPONDENCE
TAKING TRUSTS AND CORPORA
TONS

popular with trusts or with many lC-
corporated concsrbs, but the alHa
seems to be to make it popular with
the industrial people who are the real
producers o. wealth.
It has been observed, and is coming
to be well know n, that where the in
come tax" even in its graduated form,
is in operation, it is but a slight relief
to the workers and has still less power
as q means to check the rapid aggrega
ton of wealth in few hands.
These facts constitute the main rea-
sons for the. leagues proposed gradu
ated tax on the bonds and stocks OF
corporations as was set forth In The
Farmer some weeks ago.
IL is an admitted fact that wealth
has more influence in securing sue
legislation as 1T chooses In u Repub-
lie, than have all the people, and thus
a small minority runs the govern
ment, -" and they specially care for thei'
own in~terests-a thing not as all sur
prising. They are a unit on that pur
pose and succeed in keeping 1.-The IN
dustrial people, especially farmers"
divided 10 into different parties on
questions that there is no money in"
while they take care to hold the infu-
entail statesmen(O especially Senator'S,
as Legislators for the interest of, and
promotion of business. commerce,
stocks, bonds, companiCJ, corporations,
trusts, banking and war.
/. is true that many of these legisla-
tors when young were workers, and
they leaped from the ranks OF indus
try to the circles OF Statesmen, but
when one gets there he is surrounded
with business men, and hears talk
about dome site commerce, interna
tionaI commerce, banking interests,
trading facilities, manufacturing in
dustries, the announcement of money
investments, Mr.. Cages science oil
money, &c. There comes q food OF
these things about him, so behold he is
in a new sphere Of action and acts C
cordingly.
It is q glorious thing to talk to vot-
ers about Washington as a surveyor,
Franklin a type setter, JEFFERSON a
ploWman, Lincoln a rail splitter, Gar
field on the "tow.path" and Grant the
tanner, but in legislative circles up
about Washinzton 1.-The man with a
hoe" or with an axe, q pick, a hammer
or a pillow, is. not in all their thoughts
He is ''brother to the OK" that treadeth
out the corn. He becomes a back
number to legislators, or in fact only
a cipher with which to fill up the hun
dred THOUSAND or million dollar col
umus.
ItIam not mistaken, it is this 10
dition Of things that the Columbia
Protective League proposes to expeDd
its eff Jrts in correcting.
Tt proposes TO commence the Initia
tive and Referendum system or direct
govern ment by the people at nee.
1t proposes to put a government
license tax, adjusted On a graduated
scale upon the thousands and millions
of aggregated wealth that unites Itself
into corporations and lrusts under
special legislation and which wealth is
represented by stocks and bonds In
such concerns, owned Oy those favored
few, whose days works are worth no
more tina a skilled mechanics and
yet by SUCH union OF money power are
enabled 60 take in every day from ten
to thousands of dollars each, only lin
tied by the number OF stocks and bond
he may own.
The people should have no enmity
against such union Of money in pro
duotive enterprises and should even
clothe such with corporate power, pro
vided its owners industriously and
honestly remunerRte the general treas
ury for such special privileges.
It is this remuneration that the league
will insisE shall take form in law as a
government license on a graded scale,
upon all the stocks and bonds of incor
porased bgdies. The larger the cor
poration the more power of accumula-
ton il has, aud consequently the more
able to bear the tax burden with the
people.
II I understand further, it will be
specI6 in the reform of taxation it de
mands. Not outlining il in generalities
and thus leaving it for a few years
fight IN legislative halls, to be finally
downed, by the Longest pole" the
money power. II proposes to tormu
late the reform in plain terms, so thai
every o who runs for Office shall un-
derstand and pledge himself-no mat
ter to what party he beIongs-to enact