The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-04
EXTRAVAGANCE OUR
NATIONAL DISEASE
Senator BOrah of Idaho Uses
Theme as Text for His In
come Tax Speech.

WASHINGTON, May 3.-Dcclaring
that extravaganza has become almost n
national disease. Senator Borah today
argued for an income tax as means for
wiping out the deficit in The treasury as
we'll rs awakening public interest in ma
tional expenditures.
He said the tax which he proposed
should be used to build up Il great navy
aud a great army for the purpose Of
covering the nations Of the earth. but
that the burden of taxation should be
taken from those who dig the earth
and put upon the purses Of those who
would never miss IT.
Il believe in an income tax said
Mr.. Borah, "not that we may impose
the whole burden of government upon
the rich or upon wealth, but that wealth
may bear its just proportion of that
burden which II does not do under a
systcm of taxation resting entirely upon
consumption. Every system Of taxa
tion resting upon consumption should be
supplemented with an income tax. not
alone for the purpose Of raising extra
revenue, but for distributing the burden
Of whatever revenue is necessary more
eguitably and more Ill accordance with
the ability 70 pay,
MT. foOrdU dSScTtpu IndU Inc income
tax gauges itself according to man S
success or failure. lie said it reac hes
the income of the professional man,
who may now escape almost entirely.
Declaring that it was no more an jncen-
tive to perjury or fraud than the per
sonal tax laws in the various states, Mr..
Borah claimed that the income tax
was no more inquisitorial than the sys-
ten of national taxation of today. He
referred to the recent smuggling cases
in New York.
Mr.. Borah asserting that cxtrava-
pance has become almost a national dis
ease. said: "It premeates the home, it
permeatcs college and church, it per
vades society and it is rife in every de-
partment of government. 1t has reached
almost the point of criminality. 1t is a
disease of the blood md you can not
cure it, like appendicitis, by cutting it
off You will have to rehabilltate the
system. This will take time and great
deal of attention and immeasurable per
sistence of purpose. In other words,
you will never do it until public opin-
ion is thoroughly aroused.
Fulsome Praise of TEDDY,
Mr.. Borah referred to former Presi
dent Roosevelt as having shaped the
destinies of the Republican party, and
said that without his leadership "his
party would have gone out of busi.
ness.
lie added that 'without continued
adherence to these principles the party
Will go out of power,
ono man." he added, "is politically
SO short sighted or politically so blind
as the man who thinks the steamer
Hamburg carried away the policies, the
principles. the public interest, the
aroused public conscience and the
searching public concern which this re-
markable man bequeathed to his coun-
trymen.'
This statement was IN connection with
discussion of Mr.. Roosevelt IS sugges-
tion favoring n graduated inheritance
and graduated income tax.
Mr.. Borah also quoted Mr.. Taft 8
speech In which he spoke III favor Of
the income tax
"Does the senator believe.' Mr..
Sutherland asked, that President
Taft believed in the constitutionality
of the income tax LAWN other words,
that he believed that the law pro-
nounced unconstitutional by the SUI
preme court was in fact constitu-
tional?i
''l only know what he said to the
American people when he was a candi
date for president responded Mr..
Borah; "that he favored an income tax
which could be drawn to he made con-
stitntional- / am not willing to believe