The Washington herald., 1908-02-05
GAMBLERS FLAYED
In BRYAN'S SPEECH
Continued from Page One.

find the reason in his pocket
nave not selected this subject with
any intention OF presenting an argument
against stealing I am going 20 assume
that those who listen 20 me agree that
the commandment should be obeyed. It
IS my purepOse rather to make some APP
phcauons of the commandment 10 pres
ent conditions, for I am satisfied that
many are guilty without really being
conscious of disohedience to the COM
mandment or OF committing a wrong
To steal or to commit larceny may be
defined as the wrongful taking of an
others property. Law writer's have di-
vided larceny into two classeS-petit lar
ceny and grand larceny-the former term
being used when the property stolen is of
little value and the latter when the value
Is greater. There IS a tendency in mod
ern times to divide grand larceny into
two classes. so that now we are inclined
10 think of larceny as petit larceny.
grand larceny, and glorious larceny BY
glorious larceny ! do not refer 10 the
policy which nations have INDUCED in
OF taking the property of other nations
ny Io5ee-en act mat Is sometimes de-
scrlbed as not only innocent but even
patriotic; refer rather 20 that tendency,
quite disceTnible at the present day, %
regard stealing upon "A large scale as
less =, fepIehensible than stealing upon
small scale. II man picks your pocket,
or enters your house In the dark. OF
accosts YOU upon the highway and takes
from YOU few dollars, You regard him
as Il vulgar tliel-
Big Thieves Escape.
No one can have respect for such per-
son, and the pUnishments of the law are
in such cases swift and sure. if the Of
fender is caught. Even in the case Of
grand larceny, if the amount taken Is
not very great the thief finds IL difficult
10 escape, for he has no influential
friends and he cannot hire sNlltul law
yers to present teChniCalities i'm his de-
Tense. IT, however, he steals a large sum.
II becomes quite a different matter. and
the sum NAV be SO large that we over
look the mans rascality ln our amaze
ment AT the genius which he has display
ed. As a rule. the man who steals
million dollars has a better chance Of
escape than the man who steals "a thou
sand. So true is this that IL has been
suggested thar we amend the command
ment To read, Thou shalt not steal ON
a small scale. We should attempt TO
cultivate a public opinion which will re-
move the distinction between grand lar
Ceuy and glorious larceny and insure
the enforcement Of the criminal law
against all offenders alike, regardless
of the amount stolen and regardless of
the social business, or political position
Of the thief
But my object Tonight is rather to
draw your attention 20 the various ways
in which larceny may be committed.
There is q distinction that can be drawn
between direct and indirect larceny that
is between the one who does the steal
ing himself and the one who does 10
through another. and this is a larger sub
1eCt than at FIRST appears, for those who
produce conditions which result i'm such
gross injustice that the victims of the
injustice are driven 10 restitution. 10 de-
spair to desperation. and finally 10 theft
those who produce these conditions are
not entirely EuiltleSs- But the discussion
of this subject would lead us into 500
GEOLOGY, and l want to con1ne myself 10
criminolOgy.
Two Kinds of Larceny.
For the purposes of this discussion let
us divide larceny into two cIasses-Iar-
ceny in violation of the law and larceny
through the operation of law. While
both branches of the subject are inn
portant, the second branch is the larger
and the less considered 7 think l am
within the truth when ! say that. meas
uIed by the value of the property taken,
stealing through the operation of law.
If not so frequent reaches larger ag-
gregate than stealing IN violation OF the
Jaw. But the stealing which is done iu
violation of law is enormous and the
methods employed many. Take for Illus
tratiOn the administration of our tax
laws. Let us suppose that the law is
made by well-meauing legislators. and
In ITS requirements approaches justice as
closely as infalllDl1 man can approach
Justice The assessor is sometimes cor
often by influence. That IS, the person
favored does not always pay the assessor
a fixed sum, but helps 10 elect him or re-
elect him, and thus becomes RESPONSIBLE
for the continuation Of his salary
Inequality in taxation is merely q form
of larceny, If two men live side by side
and one contributes I'm taxation $40 when
his lust share is only s. and the other
only pays s. when he ought 10 pay SO
one loses s. that he ought To keep. while
the ether keeps s. that he ought 10 give
up 10 the government. The effect i'm this
case IS just the same as If one man took
the other mans property and applied 10
70 his own use. The fact that the gov
eminent, acting as a collector took the
s. from the man who is OvCrbuTdeuad
and gave it to the man who is under
burdened does not change the character
Of the transaction.
Wrongs IN Taxation.
II inequality i'm taxation is due 10 the
act Of an assessor who. at the soIicita-
ton of a property owner underassesses
him. then the assessor and the man fa-
v0red are guilty OF the wrongful taking
of the property Of others. If we examine
the assessment books IN any city we Will
find many instances such as the above
mentioned One piece Of property viii be
assessed at half its value. another piece
Of property al a third OF its value and
still another at a fourth of its value,
basis of assessment, the discrimination
is usually in favor OF the large property
holder who is able to exert an Influence
upon the assessor 10 bias him in favor
Of an differentiation
Not only is the large business block
often favored at the expense Of the small
home, but the property of big corpora
lions is often favored at the expense OF
individual holders. Take, for instance,
a street car company. a water plant, or
a gas plant On the stock market these
Notwithstanding corporations never for
get 10 count in the value Of the franchise,
and this intangible asset is sometimes as
valuable as the physical properties owned
10y the corporation. Taxes are generally
estimated On the basis Of physical prop
erty, while the dividends are paid upon
the face value Of the stocks and bonds.
II seems strange that a corporation
which receives q valuable franchise from
the public as "a gift should refuse 10 pay
taxes In proportion 20 the market value
Uf its stocks and bonds, and yet, there
is scarcely city or State in which the
public IS not IN constant struggle to
compel Notwithstanding corporations to
pay their share of the taxes ana even
then the basis upon which they paw is
VIGOROUSLY lower than the basis anon
which the individual property owner
especially the small property owner. nays
should obey Commandment.
If a certain sum is 10 be collected I'm
taxes and some pay less than they
should, the others must pay more than
their share. Is it not worth while TO
insist that both the underassessed citizen
and the interruptions official shall obey
the commandment, Thou shalt not
steal2'
need not waste time on the tax-dod-
ger or the smuEgier, for those who, by
c0neealment, deliberately deceive the as
SCISSOR or collector are as guilty of lar
ceuy as II they boldly took the property
OF others.
But what If the fault is i'm the law it.
self? What shall we say if those who
make the law write it with the intention