Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-12-07

ment has the absolute right to decide as |
tc the terms upon which man snail
other. and this point in the devolution
Of property Is especially appropriate Tor
the imposition of Tax,
HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY ENACTED
Laws imposing SUCK >nSes have re.
peatediy been placed ulcn the NATIONAL
statute books and as repeu eddy declared
constitutional by the courts; and these
laws contained the progressive prin-
reached the bequest or gift In life or
death, IS increasingly purdened anu line
moteness of blood of the man receiving
the hequest, These principles are rec,
ognEed already In the leading CIVILIZED lliS, &c,
all the estates world $500 or, less are
practically exempt from death duties.
lars in value and passes to distant
kinsman or stranger. in blood the gov
ernment receives all told an amount
/ estate. In France so much of an IN
hertance as exceeds S10.000.000 pays over
fifth to the state II 1t passes to a
/ REFERS TO GERMAN LAW
! The German law Is especially inter-
esting to us because it makes the in
heritance tax an imperial measure while
! allottins to the individual states of the
the to Of 5ms n
dition to those imposed BY the imperial
government Small inheritances are ex-
sVe that When the is st
leu Is q forest LA land t is sta taxed
stant There NO
why In the United States the national
government should not Impose IN
posed by the states, and when we last
had an Inheritance tax about one
half of the states levied such taxes con-
currently with the national government
! some cases as high as Is per cent
The French law has one feature which
. higher rate is imposed only on the ex
cess above the amount subject to thu
: of rate will apply only to a certain
: amount above a certain maximum. Thu
e tax should If possible be made to hea a
!; out the country than within It,. heav!
t. tune is in no way such a tax up9,,
8 be on q small fortune.
J. No advantage comes either to tn
r country as g whole or to the indivldual
9 transmission in their. entirety. of tn
s enormous fortunes which would be 81
ffsted by such tax; and as an 80, ~
ing, such a. tax would help to preserv
- a measurable equality of opportunity 70
!, !, the people of the generations CROWN
:, to manhood.
70 We have not the slightest sympath
r. with that socialstlc idea which woul
81 try to put lazness, thriftlessness an
aai inefflciency on par. with industry, thru
d a. and efficiency; which would strive I
Sc break UP not merely private ,proper.tt:
y, >, home the chief prop upon which oil
10 10 whole civilization stands Such theor;
3e If ever adopted, would mean the rui
X of the. entire country-a ruin whic
~ would bear heaviest upon the, veal
o. est upon those least able to shift f
" themselves. But proposals for legisl
!. ton such as this herein advocated a
81 directly opposed to this class of 8
's' calistic theories. ata
- Our aim is to recognize what Ii
tS coin pointed out: The fact that the
are some respects in which men a
ne obviously not equal; but also to insi
that there should be an. equality
self-respect and Of mutual respect, {
is equality of rights before the law, al
or at least an approximate equality in Il
st conditions under which each man o
nd tains the chance to show the stuff tn
x is IN him when compared to his fellow