The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-09-30
TAFT TELLS
PLAIN TRUTHS
GIVES CRITICS OPPORTUN-
ITY FOR ATTACK BE-
CAUSE OF LOYALTY
Says Information Secured by
Corporation Tax Law May Be
Otherwise Utilized.


Otherwise Utilized.
President Taft told a number
OF congressional secrets during
mis- speech upon the income tax
at Denver, Colorado and gave his
critics another opportunity to
Jump on him" because of his
frank avowal of party loyalty.
The address is occasioning much
d cussiOn.
Those who followed the course
of the tariff bill last spring and
summer probably had no idea
that the tax on +ea aid coffee
came SO near incorpora ion in the
measure or that one OF the prin-
Cipal reasons the income tax was
no pushed harder was due to the
fact that it would have made cap
ital for the Democrats. In fear
of the cry that tea and coffee tax
alton would increase the cost OF
living throughout the country the
Republican leaders shied off from
re paragraph ike a colt from a
locomotive and gave the income
tax a wide berth for the sake OF
wing the dominant party's face
If the income tax had been
pushed. the president said, the
fact that it had once been de-
clared unconstitutional by the SUI
preme court of the United States
would have placed the Republi-
cans in the attitude of dragging
that august tribunal into politics
and would have made the voters
of the country suspect that there
was not entire harmony between
the aforesaid tribunal and cong
reSS.
This would never do, Mr.. Taft
said plainly. So the long heads
of the administration were gath
cred together for the purpose of
finding something equally as
good as amoney maker for the
treasury and at the same time
something that would be entirely
free from blowholes. Attorney
General Wickersham hit upon
the corporation tax and all the
rest of the long heads agreed that
it was just the thing needed.
The president admits that the
corporation tax might be CRITICS.
ed. 1t takes corporate bodies and
let's partnerships go unscaaled; it
is more of burden to the little
fellows than to the big; it shuts
its eyes to the fat bondholders,
but gets after the lean stock OWL
er with a sharp stick. But there
are compensations even for the
stockholders, for they are better
IF under the law than mere part
ners in commercial lieo and after
all when the tax is finally collect
ed the president feels certain that
the dividends will not suffer.
The howl that went up from
the corporations when the cor
poration tax was first proposed,
will be redoubled when this
speech is circulated. The presi-
dent made noSsecre of the fact
that the officers of the internal
revenue department will do the
prying and if the president deems
it wise the secrets gained during
the inquisitorial process may be
used as a club to make bad cor
porations good.
The president concluded his
speech with two hints that will
probably stir up millionaires'
row and Wall street. One is that
the information obtained from
corporations under the operations
of the corporation tax may be
made the basis for further legisla-
tion of reglilative character and
the other is that the states them
selves get after the swollen for
tunes existing within their bor-
ders and pass laws preventing
multi-millionaires handing down
their riches in ma
Both Republicans and Demo-
Gratis assert that the speech is
likely to align the big corpora
tions against the president and
some of the political prophets are
ready to prophesy that beforel
Mr.. Taft finishes his preesnt tour
he will have Wall street as badly
scared as during the days that
Mr.. Roosevelt was engaged in
lambasting the trusts.