The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-09-12
SENATOR MORGAN TALKS
 OF TRUSTS AND TAXES

EN an interview at Warm Sulphur
 Springs Va, where he has been z spending the summer. Senator Nor gan of Alabama discusses at some length the trust question and the power of the general government to tax.
 q think 1t Is admitted on all sides,' says he. that the power of congress to levy taxes extends to every description ot property that Is not exempted by the character of it's ownership. If 1t belongs to a state. or to the federal government or is an instrumentality of such govern ments, it is exempt from taxation; but all kinds of property, not so exempted, are subject to taxation by act of con- gross. If it is real estate, the taxes must be apportioned among the stat,s. accord ing to population. These are the only restrictions upon the power of congress to tax any description of property that I need advert to.
 tA corporation is an "artlfcial person" whose property Is as liable to taxation as that of a natural person, and the capital stock and all assets of a corpo- ration are taxable as property.
 A great any instances of such taxa ton, in a great variety of forms. under state and federal laws can be cited to snow that corporations are liable to tax ation in ways that would be in restraint of constitutional rights ana privileges, if applied to natural persons. For exam pie, their franchises-being their right of legal existence-may be lawfully taxed, while human life is not taxable. Being creations of the law, corporations have no right of exemption from taxation that are not conferred by law.
 The power of congress to tax persons and corporations upon all descriptions of property, being clear and without limit as to the form of taxation or the amount of the levy. the purpose of taxation should be the raising of revenue to sup port the government and promote the general welfare. These purposes are att tributed to all tax laws, no matter what other motive may actually lead to their enactment This is exemplified in the tax ation of the circulation of the state banks, which are public corporations. created by the sovereign powers of the states, and cannot be repealed by con- gress, but their circulation is lawfully re- pressed by federal taxation, under the ruling of the supreme court. This law was enacted by republican congress and approved by republican President
 On the same principle the manufacture and sale of oleomargarine has been sup pressed, virtually and Intentionally, by the act of a democratic congress, ap- proved by democratic President, and that tax law has been sustained by the supreme court.
 In both of these tax laws, the real pur- pose was to control certain alleged evils that affected the general welfare, in the case of the bank tax; and the private in- terests of the producers of butter in the case of the tax on oleomargarine; and these purposes were openly avowed ill the debates in congress upon the passage of these measures. So that the supreme court and the great political parties have affirmed the power of congress to tax corporations on the business they are engaged in, and natural persons upon their industries. when they affect the general welfare injuriously.
 Corporations are the nesting places of the combinations that are called trusts" for the reason that the risk of the heavy operations necessary to give them con- trolling power are too great, even for the boldest audacity of those who have large capital and extensive credit; and such risks are covered. largely. by the shelter that corporations afford their stockhold- CTS against personal liability.
 If the corporations can be controlled by law, so that such combinations can be severely checked, if not prohibited