Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-12-04

other. and this point in the devolution
of property is especially appropriate
for the imposition of a tax. Laws i'm
posing such taxes have repeatedly been
placed upon the national statute books
and as repeatedly declared constitu-
tional by the courts. and these laws
contained the progressive principle
that is. after certain amount is reach
ed the bequest or gift in life or death
is increasingly burdened and the rate
of taxation is increased in proportion
to the remoteness Of blood Of the man
receiving the beQuest. These principles
are recognized already in the leading
civilized nations of the world.
Germany's Inheritance Tax.
The German law is especially inter
esting to us because 1t makes the in
heritance tax an imperial measure
while alloting to the individual states
OF the empire a portion Of the pro-
ceeds and permitting them to impose
the imperial government. Small inner
itances are exempt. but the tax is so
sharply progressive that when the in
heritance is still not very large. pro
vided 1t is not an agricultural or a for
est land. 1t is taxed at the rate of %
per cent If it goes to distant relatives.
There is no reason why in the United
States the national government should
not impose Inheritance taxes In addi-
ton to those imposed by the states,
and when we last had an Inheritance
tax about one-half of the states levied
such taxes concurrently with the ma
tional government. making combined
maximum rate in some cases as high
as 25 per cent
To Tax Nonresidents Higher.
The tax should If possible be made
to bear more heavily upon those resid-
ing without the country than within it,
A heavy progressive tax upon a very
large fortune is in no way such q tax
upon thrift or industry as a like tax
would be on small fortune. No ad
vantage comes either to the country
as whole or to the individuals inner
iting the money by permitting the
transmission in their entirety of the
enormous fortunes which would be at
fected by such a tax, and as an Incl
dent to its function of revenue raising
such a tax would help to preserve
measurable equality of opportunity for
the people of the generations growing
to manhood.
We have not the slightest sympathy
with that socialistic idea which would
try to put laziness. thriftlessness and
inefficiency on a par with industry,
lrift and efficiency, which would
strive to break up not merely private
property, but, what is far more impor.
tant, the home, the chief prop upon
which our whole civilization stands.
Such a theory if ever adopted would
mean the ruin of the entire country,
but proposals for legislation such as
this herein advocated are directly OPP
posed to this class of socialistic the
cries.
Enforcement of the Law.
A few years ago there was loud COM
plant that the law could not be in
voked against wealthy offenders There
Is no such complaint now The course
of the department of justice during the
last few years has been such as to
make it evident that no man stands
above the law. that no corporation Is
so wealthy that it cannot be held to ac-
count Everything that can be done
under the existing law and with the
existing state of public opinion, which
so profoundly influences both the courts
and juries, has been done, but the laws
themselves need strengthening. They
should be made more definite, so that
no honest man can be led unwittingly
to break them and so that the real
wrongdoer can be readily punished.
Moreover, there must be the public
opinion back of the laws or the laws
themselves will be Of no avail. The
two great evils in the execution of our
criminal laws today are sentimentality
and technicality. For the latter the
remedy must come from the hands Of
the legislatures, the courts and the law
yers. The other must depend for Its
cure upon the gradual growth Of a
sound public opinion which shall insist
that regard for the law and the de-
mands of reason shall control all other
influences and emotions in the jury
box. Both of these evils must be re-
moved or public discomfort with the
criminal law will continue.
lnjunctions.
Instances of abuse in the granting
of injunctions In labor disputes con-
tinue to occur, and the resentment In
the minds Of those who feel that their
rights are being invaded and their lib
erty of action and Of speech unwar-
rantably restrained continues likewise
to grow. Much Of the attack on the
use Of the process Of injunction is
wholly without warrant, but am con-
strained to express the belief that for
some Of it there Is warrant This ques-
ton is becoming one of prime impor-
lance, and unless the courts will deal
with it In effective manner it is GER
tain ultimately to demand some form
of legislative action. 1t would be most