Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-04-20
ERUPTION GREATEST SINCE THE YEAR 49,.
Matteucc Outbreak Equals in Intensity
1851 1872.

day afternoon the occasion for the de-
livery of remarkable address on public
questions in which he condemned the
unbridled criticism of public men and
institutions and advanced the remark
able idea of taxing out of existence great
fortunes above II certain amount
This is the first time Mr. Roosevelt has
delivered public speech since his tour of
the South last autumn and is also the
first time he has had an opportunity of
addressing the Senate of the United
States since his Inauguration, more than
a year ago. He seemed to address the
Senate almost exclusively. The members
of that important body, which is thwart-
ing his will in so many particulars, sat
almost Immediately in front of him on
a staging erected above the foundations
of the great palace which is in course of
erection for the uses of the members of
the other house of Congress. He talked
to the Senators about the men who had
been accusing them of being traitors to
the State and he scored writers who
could only see the evil side. In doing
this he rather defended the men with
whom he is in conflict, and he received
from them much applause and sympa
thetic hearing
When the President, after speaking of
public men having to deal with the same
t. ndencies for good and evil that were
evident in Washington's time, said that
it was about some of these tidings that he
wanted to speak to-day, he made a dis
tinct gesture over the heads of the Sena-
tors, looking down upon them. When he
spoke of the ''potant forces of evil he
was applauded by the Senators, and he
especially talked to the Senate when he
said There is mighty little good in
spasms of REFORM" and the Senators
clapped their hands with hearty will.
The Presidents speech, so far as it treat.
ed of the misuse of criticism as displayed
in the yellow" magazines, was modelled
somewhat on the lines of a similar speech
which he delivered at the dinner given by
| Speaker Cannon to the Gridiron Club on
March II, when Mr.. Roosevelt was also q
guest. but it was materially changed and
illusions, and to-day the President did not
feeling as then.
When the President spoke of great for
tunes and said that he felt that the time
was coming when the national govern
ment would find it necessary to impose
on them a tax 80 framed as to put it out
of the power of the owner of one of these
enormous fortunes to hand on more thar
a certain amount to any one individual,
those who had not already read the speech
were nightly interested.
1t is impossible to obtain from any OF
the Senators and others interested tonight
any expression of opinion of this rather
startling proposal. Several prominent au
ditors of the President said that it wa.
advanced socialism, but they declined t
allow the use of their names. All ad
mitted that the prominent position tina
the President occupied would result in thu
matter being widely discussed, and some
of them advanced the opinion that i
might start a debate which would over
shadow many of the other economic ques
tons that are now so prominently before
the public. On that point, the Presiden
Observed
is IT AN INCOME TAN?
1t is important TO this people to grappl
with the problems connected with tn,
amassing of enormous fortunes and tn,
use of those fortunes, both corporate an(
individual. in business. We should dis
criminate in the sharpest way between
fortunes well won and fortunes ill won
between those gained as an incident t,
performing great services to the commu
nifty as whole and those gained in evi
fashion by keeping just within the limit
of mere law honesty. Of course NJ
amount of charity in spending such for
tunes in any way compensates for mis-
conduct in making them. AS a matte
of personal conviction, and without pre-
tending to discuss the details or formu
late the system, feel that we shall ulti
mately have to consider the adoption O
some such scheme as that of a progress
sive tax on all fortunes beyond certain
amount either given in life or devise
or bequeathed upon death to any ind
vidual-a tax so framed as to put it on
of the power of the owner of one of thes
enormous fortunes to hand on more tha
a certain amount to any one individus
the tax, of course. to be imposed b.
the national and not the State govern
ment. Such taxation should, of course
be aimed merely at the inheritance G
transmission in their entirety of thos
fortunes beyond all healthy limits.-N
Y. Herald.