Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-12-10

was shown in thu investigation e< the
Standard OIL company and az Aas DcS1
shown since by the investigation OF TIE
tobacco and sugar trustsl as to the init
alive of big railroads. Often railroads
would like to combine for the purpose of
preventing a big shipper from maintain
Of small shippers and Of the general pub
lie. Such q combination, instead or oein4
forbidden by law, should be favored. II
railroads to make agreements, provided
these agreements were sanctioned oy tns
interstate commeree commission ana
tons complied with 1t is impossible to
see what harm such a combination could
do to the public at large. It Is public
Incapable of full enforcement because
both judges and turies realize that It's
full enforcement would destroy the pusi-
make decent railroad men violators OF
the law against their will, and to put
premium on the behavior of the wilful
wrongdoers. Such a result in turn tends
to throw the decent man and the w1lful
wrongdoer into close association, and in
tho end to drag down the former to the
latter's level: for the man who becomes
to lose all respect for law and to %
m NOUNS sc at sAN Condemnation could Be
visited upon law than is contained in
the words Of the Interstate commerce
t the fact that The Numerous Joint traffic
associations do technically violate the
law, they say: The decision Of The
Trans.s ssssSs SRss ana the joint
Traflc association case has produced ne
practical effect upon the railway opera
in fact, exist now az they did before
these decisions, and with the same gem
srsl effect In justice to all parties We
to see how our interstate railways could
be operated with due regard to the inter-
est Of the shipper and the railway
without concerted action OF the kind AZ
forded thru these associations
This means that the law az construed
by the supreme court So such that the
business Of the country cannot be con.
Quoted without breaking 1t. I recommend
alton to this subject and II you fnd the
mission justified, that you amend thS
law 80 as to obviate the evil disclosed.
Inheritance and Income Tax.
1t was expected that the president
In the necessity for the curbing OF enoc-
nous fortunes, and he has done 80 ey
recommending legislation for both IN
come and an Inheritance tax He BE-
lieves the government should impose q
graduated inheritance tax, and, IL posi-
Bile. a graduated income tax. He says:
II am we'll aware that such q subject
as this needs long and careful study IN
order that the people may become fan1il-
lar with what Il proposes TO be done.
ing with wisdom and self-restraint, and
may make up their minds just how Tar
they are willing to 60 "a the mater;
out the project In necessary detail. But
I feel that in the near future our nation
al legislators should enact . law erovidr
ing for a graduated inheritance tax by
which steadily increasing rate OF duty
should be put upon, all moneys or other
yalqabss coming By gift. 6 6eguest;; or
1t may be well to make the tax heavy
In proportion as the individual benefited
is remote of kin. In any event, in my
increase very heavily with thR increase
of the amount left to any one individual
1t is most desirable to encourage thrift
thrift and ambition is the desire on the
part of the breadwinner to leave his chill.
by making the FAX very small on moder-
ate amounts of property left; because
stantly increasing burden on the inner
itance of those swollen fortunes which
1t is certainly of no benent to this coun-
There can be no question of the eth
zeal propriety of the government thus de-
termining the conditions upon which any
Exactly how far the inheritance tax
would, as an incident have the effect OF
limiting the transmission by devise or
Il is not necessary at present to discuss.
Il Is wise that progress in this directlon
should be gradual At first a permanent
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
IMPOSED tnT 9 by the act Of July 8. 1897, when
the makers of the Contribution were
alive and at the head Of affairs. 1t was
a graduated tax; tho small in amount,
the rate was increased with the amount
left to any individual, exceptions being
made in the case of certain close Kim
act of July l, 1862; minimum sum OF
81, 900 in personal property being excepted
from taxation, the tax then becoming
progressive according to the remoteness
1898, provided for an inheritance tax on
any sum exceeding the value OF $l0,o00,
the rate of tax increasing both in accord
ance with the amounts left and in &C
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 a direct tax but
an impose of excise which was both con
stitutional and valid More recently the
Justice White, which contained an ex-
ceedingly able and elaborate discussion
of the powers of the congress to impose
death duties, sustained the constitution
aIity of the Inheritance tax feature OF the
War-revenue act of 1898.
10 Income Tax CONSTITUTIONAL
In 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 it involves no question Of the per-
pstuation of fortunes swollen to an IN
essence a question Of the proper adjust
ment of burdens to benefits. AZ the
law now stands II is undoubtedly diff
cult to devise national income tax
which shall be constitutional. But
whather 1t is absolutely impossible is an
other question: and Il possible it is most
come tax law was past by the congress
in 1851, but the most important law deal
ing with the subject was that Of 1894.
This the court held to be unconstitu-
tional.
'@The question 10 undoubtedly very in
trteAte, delicate, and troublesome The