Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-09-03

IN my Judgment, theTeIoIS, tlllS
convention ought to recognize the
Kansas City platform. 1t ought also
to pay the tribute of its respect to
the great democrat who has in two
national campaigns brilliantly led us,
against the republican party and its
allied hosts of non-partisan monopo-
lists.
state Questions.
Having done that. it is our duty
to turn to the affairs of our own
state. Let us be fair to our adver-
saries.They are in the majority in
the legislature, and at the last ses-
sion of that body they passed the
Longworth bill which makes it easier
in the future TO amend the state con-
stitutiOn. Under that law we of Ohio
shall no longer be tied down by the
narrow ideas of half a century ago.
The dead hand has been lifted. This
is probably the best law that has
ever been put on the statute books
of our state in the last thirty years.
But on the whole that same re-
publican legislature has lent itself
to the service of the monopoly corpo-
rationS. Most of its members car
ried railroad passes in their pockets
while they buried the bill to reduce
railroad fares to the people: and
they suppressed the bill to tax steam
railroads on the same basis of vaIua-
tion as homes and farms. The board
of equalization for railroads. all re-
publicans, had decided that the pres
ent laws are so defective that steam
railroads cannot be assessed for
taxation as high as homes and farms.
The supreme court had sustained
them in that decision. Every SUI
preme judge is republican, and
some of them were railroad attor-
neys. Respect for the court pre-
cludes our suggestion that it was
influenced by these facts. though we
all know how difficult it is for any
man, even though he be a Judge. to
escape the influences of association.
But Notwithstanding the defect in
the tax laws, the legislative COM
mittee gave but scant consideration
to the proposed remedy and the
measure was not allowed to come to
Il vote.
'Now note what this republican
legislature did to cover its tracks
1t reduced state taxes on real and
personal property more than one
half. But how did it make up most
of the consequent loss to the state
revenues? BY taxing monopolies?
No. 1t did it principally by taxing
the stock of corporations that have
no monopoly privileges but do Il COM
petitive business. This stock is owned
almost entirely within the state. At
the same time the legislature exempt
ed corporations owning rich monopoly
franchises in Ohio. the stock of
which is held almost entirely out
side of the state. The Ohio stock
holders in n saw mill company, doing
business in Ohio. are to pay taxes,
called license fees. on their capital
stock; but stockholders in mono-
poly corporations, who live in New
York, are exempted from that form
of taxation. Nor is that all. There
are gross Determinations between
the owners of stock in Ohio business
And these discrimi-
nations favor the rich. Whether
stock is worth SO a share or $500 a
share, it must pay the same tax per
share. So the farmer must pay
tiisin AllC DlO~
portion ts value, by eighty times-or
nearly 5000 per cent.
Injurious Partnerships.
''If the Legislature had taxed steam
railroads and other public service
fairly, it could have
abolished the state tax on real and
personal property altogether, without
taxing the stock of competitive busi-
ness corporations at all. But the
republican leaders could not consent
TO that. They had made bargain
with the steam railroads to permit
no hostile legislation if the railroads
would submit to a slight increase of
taxes. Pursuant to that bargain,
the. governor proposed and the legis-
lature adopted law increasing the
tax on steam railroads 100000 a year.
That is less than 10 per cent of what
the increase would be if steam rail-
roads We're taxed as much in propor-
ton to the value of their Ohio pro-
perty as Ohio farmers and home