The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-12-07

was shown in the inveBtigafion OF the
o By aRs saa has Of Ss
ative Of big railroads Often railroads
preventing big shipper from maintain
ing improper advantages at the expense
Of small shippers and Of the general pub
| forbidden by law, should be favored. In
other words, 1t should be permitted to
railroads to make agreements, provided
were published with these two condi-
lions complied with It is Impossible a Lett, 70
| do to the public at large. 1t Is public
evil to have on the statute books law
incapable OF fu ,res t because ;ss
| full enforcement would destroy the busi-
| ness of the country; for the result Is to
the law against their will. and to put a
wrongdoers. Such a result in turn tends
wrongdoer into close association, and in
| the end to drag down the former to the
| latter's level: for the man who becomes
to lose all respect for law and to be
| willing to break 1t In many ways. No
more scathing condemnation could be
visited upon law than is contained in
| the words Of the interstate commerce
| commission when. In commenting upon
| the fact that the NUMEROUS joint traffic
| law, they say: THE decision of the
| United States supreme court in the
Transmissssippi case and nI the Joint
| practical effect upon the railway opera
lions Of the country. Such associations.
fact sHss and sa
eraI effect In justice to all parties, we
ought probably to add that it is dihicult
be be U with due regard to the inter-
est of the shipper and the railway
without concerted action Of the kind af-
ba angu that ths law as
by the supreme court is such that the
business of the country cannot be con-
that you give careful and early consider
| alton to this subject, and IL you find the
| opinion of the interstate commerce COM
| mission justified, that you amend the
Inheritance and Income Tax.
1t was expected that the president
| would refer In some way to his belief
| nous fortunes, and he has done so by
recommending legislation for both in
| come and an Inheritance tax. He be-
! lieves the government should impose a
| graduated inheritance tax, and, If posi-
| BILE, a graduated income tax. He says:
| IT am well aware that such subject
as this needs long and careful study In
| order that the people may become famil-
| lar with what is proposed to be done,
! may clearly see the necessity OF proceed
ing with wisdom and seif-restraint, and
may make up their minds just how far
| they are willing to go in the matter;
| while only trained legislators can work
| I feel that in the near future our nation
| al legislators should enact law provid-
ing for grsduatsd inheritance tax by
which steadily increasing rate of duty
should be put upon all moneys or other
devise to any Individual Or corporation.
In proportion as the individual benefited
is remote Of kin. In any event, In my
Judgment the pro rata Of -. the tax should
| of the amount left TO any one individual
| after a certain point has been reached:
! 1t is most desirable to encourage thrift
thrift and ambition is the desire on the
| part Of the breadwinner to leave his chill
dren well off; This object can be attained
| by making the tax very small on moder-
! ate amounts. of property left; because
the prime object should be to put con-
stantiy increasing nTrden fo on 1as whcb
| ii Is certainly of no benefit to this coun-
| try to perpetuate.
| There can be no question OF the the. EN- IN
| termining the conditions upon which any
| gift or Inheritance should be received.
Wouid as ne am incident. have the effect Of
| limiting the transmission by devise or
| gift of the enormous fortunes In question
| It is wise that progress in this direction
| should be gradual. At first q permanent
| national inheritance tax, while It might
| be more substantial than any such tax
| has hitherto been, need not approximate,
| either in amount or In the extent of the
| increase by graduation, to what such
| tax should ultimately be.
Inheritance Tax Constitutional.
This species Of tax has again and again
| been imposed, altho only temporarily, by
the national government; It was first
| the makers of the Constitution were
| alive and at the head of affairs. 1t was
q graduated tax; tho small in amount,
| left to any Individual, exceptions being
| made in the case Of certain close kin. A
similar tax was again imposed by the
| 81 900 In personal property being excepted
| from taxation, the tax then becoming
progressive according to the remoteness
| 1888, provided for an Inheritance tax on
| any sum exceeding the value OF $4,000.
| the rate Of tax increasing both In accord
| ance with the amounts left and In ac-
| cordance with the legatee's remoteness
| Of kin. The supreme court has held that
| the succession tax imposed at the time
of the civil war was not q direct tax but
| an impose of excise which was both con-
| stitutional and valid. More recently the
court. in an opinion delivered by Mr..
Justice White, which contained an ex-
| eeedingly able and elaborate discussion
| of the powers of the congress to impose
death duties, sustained the constitution
atty of the inheritance tax feature of the
war-reyenue act of 1888.
IL Income Tax Constitutional?
I'm its incidents, and apart from the
main purpose of raising revenue, an
| income tax stands on an entirely differ
| emit footing from an inheritance tax, be-
cause 1t involves no question of the per-
petuation of fortunes swollen to an un-
healthy size. The question Is in its
| essence a question of the proper adjust
ment of burdens to benefits. AS the
| law now stands il Is undoubtedly diff
cult to devise a national income tax
which shall be constitutional. But
whether 1t is absolutely impossible is an
other question; and If possible it is most
certainly desirable. The first purely in
come tax law was past by the congress
| in 1861, but the most important law deal
| ing with the subject was that of 1894.
This the court held to be unconstitu-
tional.
1.-THE question Is undoubtedly very In
tricate. delicate, and troublesome. The
decision Of the court was only reached
by one majority. It is the law of the
land, and, of course, Is excepted as such
and Loyalty obeyed by all good citizens
Nevertheless, the hesitation evidently
felt by the court as whole in coming
to a conclusion, when considered to-
gether with the previous decisions on
the subject, may perhaps indicate the
possibility of devising constitutional
income-tax law which shall substan-
TALLY accomplish the results aimed
at. The difficulty Of amending the con-
Ifof