The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-03-04

measure u tie tariH above stated will
permit the reductJon Of rates In ceEtatn
schedules and will require the I'd
Of few. II any.
The proposal to Gsvise the tas16
mnde il such al authoritative wsy =
to lead the business community 81
count upon II necessarily haIt4 Al
those branches Of business directly
affected. and N these are most Inn
p0rtant II disturbs the whole bu1tness
OF the country. It h imperatiyely nee
essary. therefore. that tarin bill Be
drawn In good faith IN accordance
with promises made before the e3ec-
ton by the party In power and ~
promptly passed an dine considerations
will permit. It h not that the taFiM y
more important In the long run than
the perfecting Of the reforms IN re-
spect to antitrust legislation ana m
terstate commerce regulation, but the
need for action when the rey3sfon 81
the tariff has been determined upon =
more immediate to avoid embarrass-
ment OF business. TO secure the need
ed speed in the passage Of the tnri3
bill 1t would seem wise to attempt no
other legislation at the extra session.
! venture this as suggestion only, Tor
the course to be taken by congress
upon the call OF the executive IS Who'll
Iy within It's discretion
Inheritance Tax Advocated.
m the making OF tariff hill the
prime motive Is taxation and the ~
curing thereby Of revenue. Due
largely to the business depression
which followed the financial panic OF
1907. the revenue from customs and
other sources has decreased to such
an extent that the expenditures for
the current fiscal year will exceed the
receipts by 500. 100000. 1t II impera-
tive that such defScit shall not con-
tfnue. and the trainers Of the tari3
bill must Of course have in mind the
total revenues likely to be produced BY
It and 20 arrange the duties AZ 70 -
cure an adequate income. Should II %
impossible to do SO by import duties
new kinds of taxation must be adopt
ed, and among these recommend
graduated inheritance tax as correcs
in principle and as certain and easy OF
collection.
Government Economy Urged
The obligation on the part OF those
responsible for the expenditures n1aie
to carry ON the government to be as
economical as possible and to make
the burden Of taxation as light as pos
sible is plain and should be affirmed b
every declaration of government pot
Icy. This is especially true when We
are face to face with heavy defictf.
But when the desire to win the pOpu-
lar approval leads to the cutting on Of
expenditures really needed to make
the government effective and to en-
able 1t to accomplish its proper objects
the result is as much to be condemned
as the waste OF government funds N
unnecessary expenditure. The scope
of q modern government In what 4
can and ought to accomplish for its
people has been widened Tar beyond
the principles laid down by the old
laissez faire school of political writer's,
and this widening has met popular APP
proval.
In the department Of agriculture the
use OF scientific experiments on large
scale and the spread Of information
derived from them for the Improve
.ment OF general agriculture must 60
on.
The Importance Of supervising busl-
ness OF great railways and Industrial
combinations and the necessary inves-
tigation and prosecution Of unlawful
business methods are another neces-
sary tax upon government which did
not exist half century ago.
Proper Forms o. Expsmdsturs.
I The putting Into force Of laws which
shall secure the conservation OF our
resources so far as they may be with
In the jurisdiction of the federal gov
eminent, including the most important
work Of saving and restoring our for
ests, and the great Improvement of Va
terways are all proper government
functions which must Involve large
expenditures IL properly performed.
While some Of them, like the reclama-
ton OF arid lands. are made to nav
for themselves, others are OF such m
indirect benefit that this cannot be ex-
pected Of them. A permanent i'm
provement, like the Panama canal.
should be treated as a distinct enter
prise and should be paid for by the
proceeds OF bonds. the issue OF which
will distribute it's cost between the
present and future generations In ac-
ccrdance with the Dement'S derived. It
may well be submitted to the serious
consideration Of congress whether the
deepening and control Of the channel
OF great river system like that OF the
Ohio or OF the Mississippi when defl-
mite and practical plans for the enter
prise have been approved ana deter
mined upon should not be provided for
In the same way.
Then, too. there are expenditures Of
government absolutely necessary IL our
country Is to maintain its proper Mace
among the nations OF the world ard II
to exercise It's proper influence Id d.
Tense OF IT. own trade interests In the
maintenance of traditional American
policy against the colonizatiOn or Eu-
ropean monarchies IN this hemisphere
and In the promotion OF peace and In
ternationaf morality. I refer to the
COST of ma int alniu~ n Yrf,y1os Arnnv :