The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-05

shown that the effort to prohibit all com bination, good or bad, is noxious where 1t is not ineffective. Combination of cap ital like combination of labor is a neces- sary element of our present industrial sys- tenn. It is not possible completely to pre- vent it; and if it were possible, such com plete prevention would do damage to the body polite. What We need is not vainly 10 try to prevent all combination, but to secure such rigorous and adequate con- trol and supervision of the combinations as 10 prevent their injuring the public. or existing in such form as inevitably to threaten injury-for the mere fact that combination has secured practically com plete control of a necessary of life would under any circumstances show that such combination was to be presumed to be adverse to the public interest. It is un- fortunate that our present laws should forbid all combinations, instead of sharp ly discriminating between those combi- nations which do good and those combina- tions which do evil. Rebates for instance, are as often due 10 the pressure of big shippers Gas was shown in the investig0- ton of the Standard oil company and as has been shown since by the inyestiga- ton of the tobacco and sugar trusts) as 10 the initiative of big railroads. Often railroads would like to combine for the purpose of preventing big shipper from maintaining improper advantages at the expense of small shippers and of the general public. Such combination, in- stead of being forbidden by law, should be favored. In other words, it should be permitted to railroads to make agree ments, provided these agreements were sanctioned by the interstate commerce commission and were published. With these two conditions complied with it is impossible to see what harm such a com bination could do to the public at large. It is public evil to have on the statute books q law incapable of full enforcement because both judges and juries realize that it's full enforcement would destroy the business of the country; for the result is to make decent railroad men violators of the law against their will, and to put a premium on the behavior of the wilful wrongdoers. Such q result in turn tends to throw the decent man and the wiful wrongdoer into close association, and in the end to drag down the former to the latter's level; for the man who becomes a lawbreakcr in one way unhappily tends to lose all respect for law and to be will ing to break it in many ways. No more scathing condemnation could be visited upon a 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 Missouri case and the Joint Traffic association case has produced no practical effect upon the rail- way operations of the country. Such as- soclations, in fact, exist now as they did before these decisions, and with the same general effect. In justice to all parties, we ought probably to add that it is diff fieult to see how our interstate railways could be operated with due regard to the interest of the shipper and the railway without concert action of the kind af- forded through these associations"
 This means that the law as construed by the supreme court is such that the business of the country cannot be con ducted without breaking it. l recom- mend that you give careful and early consideration to this subject, and if you find the opinion of the interstate com merce commission justified, that you amend the law so as to obviate 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 system of gov ernment. Some taxes should on every ground be levied in a small district for use in that district Thus the taxation of real estate Is peculiarly one for the immediate locality in which the real es- tate is found. Again, there is no more legitimate tax for any state than tax on the franchises conferred by that state upon street railroads and similar corpor- ations which operate wholly within the state boundaries. sometimes in one and sometimes in several municipalities or ,ft,at ,I ,r Ia iafa Drt there are many kinds of taxes which can only be levied by the general govern ment so as to produce the best results, because, among other reasons, the at tempt to impose them in one particular state too often results merely in driving the corporation or individual affected to some other locality or other state The national government has long derived it's chief revenue from tariff on imports and from an internal or excise tax. In addition to these there is every reason why, when next our system of taxation Is revised, the national government should impose a graduated inheritance tax, and. if possible, graduated income tax. The man of great wealth owes d peculiar obligation to the state, because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government. Not only should he recognize this obligation in the way he leads his daily life and in the way he earns and spends his money, but it should also be recognized by the way in which he pays for the protection the state gives him On the one hand, il Is desirable that he should assume his full and proper share of the burden of taxation: on the other hand, it is quite as necessary that in this kind of taxation where the men who vote the tax pay but little of it, there should be clear recognition of the danger of inau- gurating any such system save in a spirit of entire justice and moderation. Whenever we. as people, undertake to remodel our taxation system along the lines suggested. we must make 1t clear beyond peradventure that our aim is to distribute the burden of supporting the government more equitably than at pres ent; that we intend to treat rich man and poor man on basis of absolute equality, and that we regard it as equal ly fatal to true democracy to do or per- init injustice to the one as to do or per- init injustice to the other.
 I am well aware that such q subject as this needs long and careful study in or der that the people may become familiar with what is proposed to be done, may clearly see the necessity of proceeding with wisdom and self-restraint, and may make up their minds just how far they are willing to go in the matter; while only trained legislators can Work out the project in necessary detail. But l feel that in the near future our national leg islators should enact law providing for graduated inheritance tax by which a steadily increasing rate of duty should be put upon all moneys or other val uables coming by,gift, bequest or devise to any individual or corporation. It may
 be we'll to make the tax heavy in pro-
 portion as the individual benefited is re- mote of kin. In any event, in my judg-
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