The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-07-14
A SOPHISTICAL
ARGUMENT.

"A SOfdlSIlCAL
ARGUMENT.
| There Is very little sense OF reason
in the Enquirer's TRADE against an
income tax. The statement that it
strikes at every Garner" is rho
domontade and fustian. 1t Is merely
raising dust to be blown into the
eves of the people and will fool very
few. Any kind Of tax is a stroke
et the earners. Humane society may
be very properly divided into earn
ers and drones and 1t is the earners
who do the work, earn incomes, trans
act business and are Of some account
in the world. These earners pay near
| ly all the taxes no difference how they
ere levied, whether on property, on
business Or on incomes. Hence the
cnly question is, what Is the most
equitable method of levying the
money needed for the support of the
government? An effort Is made to
show that this income tax will fall
On the thirty masses and not be seve-
rely felt by the corporations and mill
lionaires. The Enquirer very sophisll-
cally argues:
Millions of our citizens would soon
be lined up with a few thousand cor
porations and few score or hundreds
OF millionaires handing in their
aardearned money to fill up the
Treasury at Washington.
IF the Federal Government is ac-
corded this power its full force and
pressure will not be so severely felt
by the corporations and the million
aires as it will be by the sturdy en-
ergetic thrifty masses of our people
who will be called to furnish by this
form OF taxation, in the aggregate a
hundred times the amount that will
he collected from the millionaires
and corporations.
1t is never the few that the taxing
power draws from.
1T may be created for that purpose,
but 1t invariably reaches for the
pockets and the cash of the well-to-do
masses and the steadily working
classes"
That kind Of an argument is what
was called In the good old days" Of
newspaperdom when men wrote in a
racy style, "hog wash. That is 1t is
an attempt to indoctrinate its readers
l'w!th self-evident sophistries and alb
surdities. Everybody knows millions
of our citizens will be lined up with
few thousand corporations and a
few score or hundreds of millionaires
handing in their hard earned money
70 fill up the Treasury at Washing
ton," anyhow, whatever may be the
S, stem by which taxes are levied,
therefore the pretense that If such a
tnx should not be levied these mil
lions" would have no taxes TO pay is
clap-trap and rotten clap-trap at
that.
So far as human experience goes a
tax on incomes starting mildly with
those OF $4,000 year and increasing
the percentage as the amount increas-
es. Is found to be about as practical
as any. Both income taxes and death
taxes ara assessed In Great Britain
and they are collected pretty equit-
ably and bring revenues TO the gov
ernmelit The assumption of the En-
I'culrer that exemption below a given
sum may not be valid is all foolish
ness. This whole Enquirer editorial
has the appearance OF having been
ordered written from John r. Nc
Leans summer retreat and some
Blacksmith about the Office picked up
pen and sailed In writing lot OF
words regardless of argument, sense,
rhyme or reason. It takes the hired
mechanics on some OF these sheets
published In the large cities to write
absurd, superficial, meretricious ar
|gumenrs te bolster up the selfish and
real reasons II their owners.