The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-04-20

What the President has Found
in the Democratic Muck
Heap"
The Baltimore Sun certainly
takes the proper view point in
considering the income portion of
the Presidents muck rake
speech: "While President RooSe
welt was searching the pages of
Buuyan'S "Pilgrim's Progress
for 1.-THE man with the muck
rake" he seems 10 have giveA
considerable attention to the
economic and political literature
of the last ID years Thus We
find him making the following
recommendation, a> stated in the
Sunday Sun. which some day. it
may be assumed. he will cmbody
in message to Congress:
Il feel that we shall ultimately
have to consider the adoption Of
a progressive tax on all fortunes
beyond a certain amount. either
given in life or devised or he
queathed upon death TO any
indIyidual-a tax so framed as
10 put il out of tie power of
the owner OF one OF these enor
nous fortunes 10 hand over more
than certain amount to any one
individually
"Buuyan'. man with the muck
rake never made any find quite
as startling as this. Perhaps his
failure 10 do 80 was due not 10
Bunlau'S lack of industry IN
raking around in contemporary
political literature. but bectu>e
the material for 81 extraordinary
a discovery did not exist 1t is
Impossible 20 say Vet what MI.
/ Roo>eVelt'S friends aud admirers
think of the value of this dlscoV
cry in what they have regarded
a. political SCRAP heaps. Never
theleSS, the fact remains that he
has been Singularly Fortunate Ia
the past in extracting prizes
from the 'much' piles of his
former political opponents. The
RaiIroad-Rate Regulation hill
which he has been pressing with
so much energy i'll both Houses
of Congress was taken from the
democratic waste basket and i
now supported by Democrats he
cause it embodied one of their
principles. The proposition to
levy an inheritance tax and to
limit the amount of the great
fortunes which may he beqleath
ed by multimillionaireS tar ex.
ceedS any proposition which the
statesmen delying in the curioS
tiles Of Democratic literature
could reasonably hope to dis
cover. The Democrats did, in
deed. favor an Income tax. but
it was not as far reaching in its
consequences or as frankly Pop.
ulistic or Socialistic as President
R0oSevelt's latest plan to impose
a progressive tax OH all fortunes
beyond certain amount
"If President Roosevelt con.
tinueS to advance on similar eco
nOmic lines, it may not be long
before all that is left of Mr.,
William j. Bryan'S platform OF
1896 will be taken from the Dem
ocratic muck heap by the ag-
gresSive gentleman now in the
White House and transferred to
the storehouSe iu which the Pres
ident keeps his political convic
tionS. In fact, Mr.. Roosevelt
has made such vigorous use
of his rake thar ahont all that he
has left Oh the Democratic muck
pile is Mr.. Bryan 16 to l theory.
That seems to be dead beyond
resurrection, but there is ground
Tor the belief that if the emer
gency should arise Mr.. Roosevelt
might even add it to bis political
creed. In all our political his
tory there is no parallel for the
industry and apparent success
with which Mr. Roosevelt has
raked over and turned to prac
teal use the mack heap of de
feated and rejected Democratic
doctrines. The allegorical man
with the muck rake in 'Pll.
grim's Progress was not in the
same class with our bold and re-
sourceful President. For audac
} ity and a certain provision OF
possible issues of the future Mr.
Roosevelt is a wonderful man in
J many respects.
"There can be no doubt that his
proposition to limit the size of
great fortunes-a fortune,
large for instance, as Mr. Rock
efsller'S alleged accumulation OF
81 900, 900, 000-will lead to an
earnest and widespread discus
sion in this country. Another