Morris tribune., 1908-11-07

plant. If it were not for the gross earnings
tax on railroads, which has to be paid promptly
and now amounts to such an immense sum, the
treasury would be bankrupt most of the time
and the people would have been forced long
ago to consider some scientific. equitable and
self-enforcing taxation.
This does not have to be invented out of
hand. AS the East had frequently learned
something from the West in the way of 1egis-
lation, so may we of the Mississippi valley learn
something from the Pacific coast this sub
ject The state of Washington is one where
the tax question has existed in the most acute
form. It shared in the popular prejudice
against all forms of credit during the hard
times when it was overwhelmed by the Popu-
list wave. Indeed, it's prosperity is entirely a
thing of the last ten years. And yet Washington
has SO far recovered, and has been able to take
so just and practical view of capital and it's
true relation to the support of the state, that it
passed, at the last session, new and import
act and this law the supreme court of the state
has just held constitutional. It becomes there
fore an interesting subject of study and a pos
sible model for other communities where
public opinion is not so far advanced.
This bill provides that mortgages, notes,
accounts, moneys certificates of deposits, tax
certificates, judgments, state county and
municipal bonds and warrants shall not be
considered as property, for the purpose of taxa
ton. And the court sustains the law except as
to actual money in practical commercial opera
H.
money" in this sense is held not to include
bank deposits or bank account, which is a
credit instead of property. And the principle
and purpose of this legislation is to exclude
credits from the list of taxable property.
This is good logic, good economics, and
good sense. Nothing has been more fruitless,
more provocative of lying, fraud and tax-dodg-
j furious to the individual and the community
than the successful attempt to tax credits.
These not property. They merely represent
which exist in other form, and
has already, in that form been taxed. Taxation
of them, therefore, is double taxation. And
the burden of this injustice falls not the
capitalist but on the poor man. 1t restricts en-
terprise and drives away capital by forcing it
to dscreditable shifts if it would not be sub
ject to impossible tax exactions; but it neither
brings in any revenue to the state nor forces
the millionaire to add anything to his contri-
button to public expenses. 1t is the mere graft
fication of hostile feeling toward capital, at
the expense of the development of the com
munty and of those owners of small savings
who cannot successfully conceal them.
It is admitted every side that this new
law will add greatly to the prosperity of the
state of Washington Capital will move there
for investment. Money now hidden will be de-
posted in banks, free from fear of the tax col
lector. Bonds will find good market and
public Improvements be possible at less cost to
the people. In thousand ways the communi-
ty as whole will benefit from this discontinue
ance of an impossible effort to tax thrift out of
existence. The state will not be worse but
better off; for it will realize an increase of act
ually taxable property the reward of relin-
gushing the futile attempt to tax credits. If
one of the newest states is so far advanced as
to adopt with substantial unanimty measure
like this, there ought to be wisdom enough in
to secure similar legislation as
partial solution of the problems of taxation
that have vexed so long and apparently so
Wing Republican.