The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1902-09-18
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

From our Regular Correspondent.
Washington, September IS, 1902.
"Tax the Trusts" is the text of a
letter which Senator John +. MolgIn
of Alabama has recently made public
and which is likely to attract conslder-
able attention. The Senator, after
stating in lengthy preamble the
e.:'stlng problem, says, "The plan !
would suggest, IN addition to the
Sherman law, is graduated tax on
all bus ness corporations with an
o.;emptlon, in whole or in part, as to
such as can establish, to the salts
csion of the government, that they
are not engaged in any agreements or
combinations that are intended to
control the prices, or the cost of trans
portation, of commodities that are OF
the descriptions that enter into do
mestlc or foreign commerce.
"The power thus exercised is
SIMPLY the taxing power and is not
necessarily connected with the power
of Congress to regulate commerce
between the states or with foreign
countries.
at is the application of the princi-
Piles of taxation which are we'll settled,
to corporations which have made
agreements that violate the purposes
.or which they were created, to the
injury of competitive trade and the
general welfare"
The proposition of the learned
senator is simple and easy of applica-
ton. No constitutional amendment
would be required, and no change OF
the precious tariff schedules. If the
President is in earnest in his desire to
control the pernicious trusts the
scheme should recommend itself to
him, and to the members of his party
as well. A simple revenue tax bill
could be promptly enacted which
would bear heavily on every corpora.
tion but from which exemption could
be secured on proof that the corpora.
ton was not acting in violation of the
spirit or the letter Of the law or con-
trary to the interests of the people.
The burden of proof would rest on
the corporations and in their efforts to
secure exemption the publicity, SC
strongly advocated by the President
would be secured. The opportunity
offered to the Fifty-seventh Congress
by Senator Morgan, to prove that II
has the interests of the people rather
: than those of corporate wealth al
heart, is exceptional
President Roosevelt has just re
turned from his trip through the soutf
where he joined the Brotherhood O
Locomotive Firemen and spoke en-
Enthusiastically of his admiration fol
organized labor. There is little
reason to believe, however, that the
working man who has to pay $Io {
ton for his coal and 18 cents pounc
for his meat will regard the President.
action as emitting him or his party tc
the support of the laboring classes
The verbal statement that the Presi
dent is his friend will do little tC
alleviate the suffering of the man who
knows that, as result of republican
legislation, his family is cold anc
hungry.
Senator Jones of Arkansas passed
through Washington this week anC
spoke enthusiastically ofthe prospects
of the fall elections. He called atten
tion to the fact that the passage o
the Mckinley law was followed by
tremendous rise IN prices and that il
turn, by great democratic victory
He predicts that history will repea
itself. He said that all over tn,
United States the high cost of llvinI
was proving a serious hardship to tn,
poor man and that the poor maj
knew that he was suffering that hard
snip as result of republican policies