The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-09-22

Argument in Favor.
The instance | have already given
of an increase of 100 per cent in the
! proceeds of the tax when changed
from a personal tax to one upon the
source of income like our corporation
tax, is a most forceful argument in
favor of the propositlon-that the in
quisitorial fe lture Of an income tax
! evied directly upon the person. to-
gether with the inevitable oppor-
tunitieS for escape from the tax by
Use of perjury, makes il desirable to
avoid such a direct method of levy
ing an income tax.
But | am most strongly in favor of
, adoption by the states of the amend
: ment authorizing congress to impose
an, income tax without apportiorins
1t among the states according tC uOp-
ulatiOn; and | am strongly in favor
of this because in times of great stress
if war or some other calamity were
to visit this country. and we should
need to strain our resources, the in
come tax would be one Of the CS-
sential instruments by which we could
collect large amount of money to en-
able us to meet the exise ~ les. II
has been so in the past for during
the civil war it was understood that
the levy of an income tax without APP
portionment was constitutional! and
such a tax was levied and collected
And | consider it in the constitution
as at present construed an elemental
weakness on. the part of the central
government not to be able in times
of emergency to levy such a tax
Personal Tax Not Favored
"Of course it will be said by those
who are opposed to the income tax
that there will be a disposition t M
pose a direct income tax merely as
a means of collecting ordinar. income
taxes in normal times, and that no
distinction can be made in the ,.onsti-
tuition by which the power % levy such
tax can be limited to times If en-
! Urgency. but it is imp }ssiJle 10 de
scribe what the emergency should Re.
| agree with that ANA / agree that
there is a probability that at times
the desire to tax accumulated wealth
Will lead to the movement III favor
of Il direct income tax. But / am
also confident that its inquisitorial
character and the fact that in time
the opportunity for perjury will show
it to be so ineffective in reaching the
persons whom it is sought ~ reach
by prOportionate rate that it wiz be
found wise to adopt the course taken
in England and other countries having
great experience with such d tax and
to follow the course Of our corporation
tax rather than by direct personal i'm
If the income tax amendment pass
es, as l hope it may. we can then
enlarge the corporation tax 50 as to
include a proper burden on the bond
holders in corporations as We'll as up
on the shareholders: and this will
make this instrument of taxation even
more equitable than it now is.
'Those who favor a.directly personal
income tax for the purpose of restrain
ing greet wealth will probably find it
ineffective for the reasons given.
State Should Regulate Fortunes
Il have already considered in a
speech which 1 made in Columbus in
1907 how our great fortunes could be
divided without drastic confscatory
! methods. 1t seems to me now as it
did then that the proper authority to
reduce the size of fortunes is the state
rather than the central government.
Let the state pass laws of inheritance
| which shall require the division of
great fortunes between the children
of the decendents and shall not Permit
multimillionaire to leave his fort
I une in trust so as to keep it in a
mass: make much more drastic the
rule against ,perpetuities which obtain
at common law: and then impose a
heavy and graduated inheritance tax