Lower coast gazette., 1910-04-02
Tie C%ertraIiz:1g Effect Of the In
come Tax.

THE income tax idea has a facinatior fer the
average democrat that perhaps we can scarcely
call singular inasmuch as it seems legitimate 70
tax the incomes of the very rich and OF the mod
e~rately rich proportionatcly and to exempt the
small incomes entirely. The legislatures of cne
or two Of our Southern States are among the
first to adopt the law leading to the amendment
Of the Constitution Of the United States to make
such a tax constitutional and the corporation
tax that Senator Root of New York pronounced
positively unconstitutional, is the scheme ad-
yanced by President Taft to circulnvent the
central government from reaching the individ-
uals of the various states by a plan Of direct
taxation that is so clearly prohibited. Senator
Root and others believe that if a corporation IS
an artificial person and has the rights Of a per-
son to sue and be sued, in fact all rights per-
haps that Of voting and getting married, then
these artificial persons, domiciled in the various
states, having the rights Of natural persons.
cannot be directly taxed as the Constitution
now is.
Deeming that it is equitable to tax the mod
erately rich and the very rich in proportion to
their earnings, we should rot be led away from
the cornerstone Of democracy, that is to retain
the power of teXation at hcme and retain at
home every kind Of control that is not incom-
patible with the functions Of the general gov
eminent. This government was organized in
that way 1874 years ago. The power of tax
alton Of the people of the states was in that
document apportioned among the states in pro-
portion to their population. The United States
had to deal directly with the state governments
in order to get money in that way. This main
tanned the distinctive autonomy of the states.
For instance, if the United States had new to
collect money from the State of Iowa, President
Taft would necessarily confer with the governor
of Iowa and probably confer through Senators
Cummins and Deliver as to the promptness of
the payment of the Iowa allotment. This wasa
New England idea in the beginning, the capital
of the country being. located chiefly in the New
England States and in New York. It was a re-
volt on their part from their paying taxation to
the general government in anything like an ad
valorem scale. The result was as hereinabove
stated, that taxation should be allotted to the
states in proportion to population and some taxa
ton Of that kind was had. It may be an eXpen-
sive way to maintain the autonomy Of the
but we believe that this is better than to
allow the government in Washington to reach
into every state in the union and to inquire into
every mans private affairs and to learn what
his income is and, in fact, to have a central
government laying it's finger, so to speak, on
every individual income Garner in the United
States.
1t was recounted of Edwin NJ. Stanton, when
he was Secretary Of War, that d European visi-
tor had a conference with him and was carefully
about the power Of the federal govern
ment over the individual states. Mr.. Stanson's
reply was to state, pointing to the little bell
upon his table, that he could sound that bell and
have any man in the United States arrested at
once. That was capitalization with a vengence.
It was a war measure and can perhaps be ex-
on that account. But it is very doubtful