The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-05

ments, provided these agreements
 were, were sacnetioned by the Interstate Com With these two conditions complied
 with It IS impossible to sec what harm
 suen combinatton could do to the
 have on the statute books a law incap- apie or full enforcement because both Judges and juries realize that its full ness of the country; for the result is
 to make decent railroad men vtolators or the law against their will. and to 1 put q premium on the behavilr of wil- ful wEoD@doers Such a result in turn tends to throw the decent man and the wilful wrongdoer hto close association,
 and in the end. drag down the former
 becomes q lawbreaker fin one way un- happily tends to lose all respect for
 law and to be. willing to break 1t in
 demnation 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 associations do technically violate the law, they say:
 The decision of the United States Su-' preme Court in the TransMissouri case and the Joint Traffic Association case has produced no practical effect upon the railway operations of the country. Such associat tions In fact, exist now as with the same general effect. Tn jus tice to all parties, we ought probably to add that 1t Is difficult to see how our lnterstate railway could be opera
 the shipper and the railway without concerted action of the kind afforded through these associations"
 Ttis means that the law as construed by the Supreme Court Is such that the business of the country can not be conducted without breaking it. I re- | commend that you give careful and early consideration to this subject, and if you find the opinion of the Inter- state Commerce Commission justified, that you amend the law so as to obvi- ate the evil disclosed.
 Inheritance and Income Tax.
 The question of taxation is difficult in any country, but it is especially
 difficult in ours with it's federal sys- on every ground be levied in a small district for use in that district Thua | the taxatios of real estate is peculiarly one for the immediate locality in which the real estate is found. Again. there | is no more legitimate tax for any State thanNa tax on the franchises conferred by that State upon street railroads and
 similar corporations which operate wholly within the State boundaries sometimes in one and sometimes in several municipalities or other minor divisions of the State. But there are many kinds of taxes which can only | be levied by the general government so
 as to produce the best results. because
 among other reasons, the attempt to | impose them in one particular State
 too often results merely in driving the l corporations or individuals affected to some other locality or other State The
 national government has long derived l It's chief revenue from tariff On im- ports and from an internal or excise
 tax In addition to these there ia | tenn of taxation is revised, the national government should impose a graduated inheritance tax, and, if possible. graduated income tax. The man of ! n Ia. s.nzI
 ton to the State, because he derives | special advantages from the mere ex-
 istence of government. Not only should he recognize this obligation in
 the way he leads his daily fife and in the way he earns and spends his mon- | ey. but it should also be recognized by the way in which he pays for the pro-
 lection the state gives him On the
 assume his full and pr6per share of the burden of taxation, on the other | hand it is quite as necessary that in
 who vhs vote vote the tn 'I tax pay but little of it, there should be clear recognition of the | danger of iaugurating any such system
 save in a spirit of entire justice and
 undertake to remodel our system
 along the lines suggested, we mus
 make 1t clear beyond peradventure that ! our aim is to distribute the burden Of
 supporting the government more equit- ably thar at present; that we intend l to treat rich man ard poor man on a basis of absolute equality, and that wa
 ocracy to do or permit injustice to the
 one as to do or permit injustice to the other
 1 am well aware that such a subject as this needs long and careful study fin 1 order that the people may become fa- l miliar with what is propdsed to bs l proceeding with wisdom and self-re- straint. and may make lap their minds ] just how far they are willing to go in
 the matter while only trained leEisla- tors can work out the project in neces- sary detail. But feel that in the neaI future our national legislators could enact e law providing for a graduated inheritance tax by which a steadily in. creasing rate of duty should be put upon all moneys or other valuables coming by. gift, bequest, or devise to
 be well to make the tax heavy in pro- portion as the individual benefited Is | remote kin. In any event in my | Judgment the pro rata of the tax | increase of the amount left to any one individual after certain point | has been reached. It Is most desirable
 to encourage thrift. and ambition, and tion is the desire on the part of the breadwlnner. to leave his children well
 of. This object can be attained by | crate amounts of property left: be- cause the primo object should be tt , put a constantly increasing burden on l the inheritance of those swollen for | tunes which it is certainly of no bene- i fit to this country to perpetuate
 There can be no question of the eth- teal propriety of the government thus determining the conditions upon which any gift or inheritance should be re- ceived. Exactly how far the inheri- tance tax would as an incident, have the effect of limiting the transmission by devise or gift Jf the enormous for
 tunes in question it is not necessary
 at present to discuss, It is wise that
 progress in this direction should be
 al inheritance tax, while it might be
 more substantial than any such tag
 has hitherto been, need not approxi-
 mate, either in amount or in the ex- tent of the increase by graduation, to
 what such a tax should ultimately
 Tnis species of tax has again and again been imposed, although only l temporarily, by the national govern ment. It was first imposed by the act of July 6, 1797, when the makers of the constitution were alive and at the | head of affairs. It was a graduated | tax; though small in amount. the rate was increased with the amount left : to any individual exceptions being made in the case of certain close kin
 similar tax was again imposed by the act of July 1. 1862; a minimum sum of one thousand dollars inN personal property being excepted from taxation, he tax then becoming progressive &C., cording to the remoteness of kin. The
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