The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1904-04-16

. 1A1 NANAN -
no way to get it away from them.
Property Is sacred and the American
people respect property rights"
81 wonder who was the author Of the
assertion that property is sacred"
mused Colonel Monroe. IF ordinary
property holdings are sacred we should
invent \ new adjective to describe the
sancttty Of a billion II Is rather dim
c,ft, Friend Jenkins, to predict with
accuracy just what the American peO-
pie will do when they are forced to act
on a new question. IL is safe to pre-
DICT that they viii do something rad
Zeal. We are very fond OF assuring
ourselves that we are a practical, hard
headed race. and we admit that we are
always level tempered and cOnserva-
tive. And We are-until something
bumps into us Then there are things
happening. When all is over, the his
torians are kept busy for twenty years
explaining why and how this unprece-
dented thing occurred aud in assuring
posterity that the genius OF the Ameri.
can people Is capable OF meeting any
emergency. We are great believers in
traditions and presidents until one
stands in the way OF our progress OF
happiness. Then we wipe II out and 10
doing so form new one. \ radical
friend OF mine expressed the finest cpl
gram ever heard when ne declared
that the path of progress Is strewn
with broken precedents
at IS safe to assert that our people
are opposed TO Confscation," remarked
Judge Sawyer. Il am not in sympa.
thy with the suggestion made by the
American Bar association at its recent
national convention to the effect that
IT might be possible 10 tax 70 death
trusts and vast aggregutions OF capital
Conhseation and excessive taxation are
absolutely un-Ameriean"
''Since whenT demanded Colonel
Monroe. ''As nation We confscate,l
more than u billion dollars worth Of
property In the form Of slaves at
time when slavery was recognized as
legal institution by the constitution
Of the United States For a century
the moneyed interests Of the country
had echoed the declarations Of the
clergy TO the effect that slavery was a
sacred and divine institution. Despite
Biblical quotations and ignoring con
stituuonal safeguards. the conservative
American people appIauded the de-
StructiOn OF the vast property interests
represented by slavery. The confsea-
tion Of property is the most common
incident in this history. Every land
title Of today rests on conhscatiOn, and
In this country more than in any other
you do not have to go far back to find
the last conhscator. You say. judge
that excessive taxation Is un-Ameri-
can How about the tax Of 300 or 400
per cent on whisky How about i'm
port taxes on articles which practically
amount to the cOnfisca ton Of the orig
inal value Of the commodityI II there
IL any word In the language that Is
stupid and meaningless. it Is that word
'un- 4 merican'
Il am to understand, then, that you
are in favor Of coniscating, outright or
by taxation, the property OF multimll-
hoDaires and Of billionairesY' asked
Judge Sawyer.
You are 10 understand nothing Of the
kind" answered the colonel. Il have
been attempting to state that II il
difficult to predict what course will be
taken by the un-American American
people. The question what shall b.
done with the Millionaire is Of small
consequence compared to the problem
q 50 changing our industrial and bust.
ness system as to render It impossible
that one individual shall ever again
accumulate so ridiculous a sum Of
money. II Is only within the last fifty
years that this old world Of ours has
learned how to produce enough to SUD
port its inhabitants In comfort. We
have only begun to get rich. The
next generation Of civilized folk Will
ind II difficult to understand our defni.
ton Of poverty. In this triumph of
man over the forces Of nature the BIZ.
honaire and his lesser brethren are
trivial manifestations In the develop
nent OF the grandcst revolution ever
accomplished since snan Inhabited the
earth. The important thing Is that We
have learned how to do thIng4-bave
ascertained how TO make the neces-
stties and comforts Of life in sufficient
quantities to meet all possible de
mands."
TT seems to me that the Millionaire
and his brethren. as you term the men
Who are admittedly In control, are of
more consequence than your eloquent
statement implies" said Judge Sawyer
They own the machine and obtain the
Hons share Of its profits. II Il only
within recent years that would admit
that such a condition exists or could
By any possibility exist. / am an old
hne Democrat, a good deal OF n Bour
bon. perhaps, and have always been
opposed to the interference OF the
government in the social or business
Affairs Of individuals. But something
must be done. We have permitted a