Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1906-12-06


standard OH company and az has been
shown since by the investigation OF the
tobacco and sugar trustee az to the init
alive OF big railroads. Often railroads
would like to combine for the purpose Of
preventing q big shipper from maintain
Ing improper advantages az the expense
Of small shippers and Of the general pub
lie Such combination, instead Of being
forbidden By law, should be favored. In
other words, II should be permitted to
railroads 70 make agreements, provided
Interstate commerce commission and
were published With these two condi-
lions complied with i is impossible %
see what harm such a combination could
do to the public at large. II Is public
evil 20 have on the statute books a law
incapable of full enforcement because
both Judges and juries realize that It's
full enforcement would destroy the bust
ness of the country; for the result is to
make decent railroad men Wolators OF
the law against their will, and to put
premium on the behavior of the wilful
wrongdoers. Such o. result In turn tends
to throw the decent man and the wilful
Wrongdoer into close association, and in
the end to drag down the former to the
latter's level: for the man who becomes
a lawbreaSer In one way unhappily tends
to lose. all respect for law and to be
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 supreme court in the
Transmississippi case and the Joint
Traffic association case has produced no
practical effect upon the railway opera
tons OF the country. Such associations,
in fact, exist now as they did before
these decisions, and with the same gen
eral effect. In justice to all parties, we
ought probably to add that II is difficult
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 af-
forded thru these associations"
This means that the law as construed
by the supreme court is such that the
business of the country cannot be con-
Quoted without breaking II. ] recommend
that you give careful and early consider
alton to this subject, and II you find the
opinion of the interstate commerce com
mission justified, that you amend the
law so as to obyiate the evil disclosed.
Inheritance and Income Tax.
1t was expected that the president
would refer in some way to his belief
in the necessity for the curbing of enor-
recommending legislation for both in
come and an inheritance tax He be-
lieves the government should impose
graduated Inheritance tax and, IL posi-
BILE a graduated income tax He says:
II am well aware that such a subject
as this needs long and careful study in
order that the people may become famil-
lar with what is proposed to be done,
may clearly see the necessity of proceed
ing with wisdom and sef-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
I feel that in the near future our nation
al legislators should enact a law provid-
ing for graduated inheritance tax by
which a steadily increasing rate of duty
should be put upon all moneys or other
yalH9ables coming y gift bsauest ,o or
1t may be we'll to make the tax heavy
in proportion as the individual benefited
is remote of kin, In any event, In my
Increase very heavily with the increase
Of the amount left to any one individual
after a certain point has been reached.
and ambition. and a potent source of
thrift and ambition is the desire on the
part of the breadwinner to leave his chill
dren well of; This object can be attaiped
ate amounts Of property left; because
staRtly increasing burden on the inner
it IS certainly Of no benefit to this coun-
try to perpetuate.
There can be no question OF the eth
lcal propriety of the government thus De
termining the conditions upon which any
gift or Inheritance should be received.
Exactly how far the inheritance tax
would, as an incident, have the erect or
limiting the transmission by devise or
gift OF the enormous fortunes In question
It is not necessary at present to discuss.
Il is wise that progress in this direction
should be gradual. At first permanent
national inheritance tax, while it might
&c more substantial than any such tax
has hitherto teen, need not approXlmate'
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
the national government 1t was first
the makers of the Constitution were
alive and at the head of affairs. 1t was
graduated tax; tho small in amount
the rate was increased with the amount
eft to any individual, exceptions being
made in the case of certain close kin.
similar tax was again imposed by the
act Of July /, 1862; minimum sum of
81 900 in personal property being excepte j
from taxation, the tax then becomine
progressive according to the remoteness
of kim The war-revenue act of June l3,
1895. provided for an Inheritance tax o.
any sum exceeding the value or $4,000
the rate of tax increasing both In accord
ance with the amounts left and In &C
cordance with the legatees remoLeness
OF kim The supreme court has held that
the succession tax imposed at the time
Of the civil war was not direct tax Dat
lIlDO4e
stitutional and valid More recently the
court, in an opinion delivered by Mr
Justice White, which contained an eN-
ceedingly able and elaborate discussion
OF the powers of the congress to impose
death duties, sustained the constitution
atty of the inheritance tax feature OF the
war-revenue act Of 1898.
Is Income Tax CONSTITUTIONAL
"In it's Incidents and apart from the
main purpose of raising revenue, an
income tax stands on an entirely differ
ent footing from an Inheritance tax, be-
cause Ii involves no question of the per-
petuation of fortunes swollen to an un-
healthy size. The question is in its
essence a question of the proper adjust
ment of burdens to benefits. AS the
law now stands il is undoubtedly diff
cult to devise a national income tax
which shall be constitutional. But
whether ii is absolutely impossible is an
other question; and il possible 1t is most
certainly desirable. The first purely in
come tax law was past by the congress
In 1861 but the most important law deal
ing with the subject was that of 1897
This the court held to be unconstitu-
tional.
THE question is undoubtedly very in
tricate. delicate, and troublesome. The
decision of the court was only reached
by one majority. 1t is the law of the
land, and of course. is excepted as such
and Loyalty obeyed by all good citizens
Nayartha1aeg the hesitation aVidant1v