Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1910-07-13
HOW The PEOPLE ARE SWlNDLtD,
Poor Man is made 10 Bear the Burdens Of
The Government.
BY CLYDE H. TAVENNER,

me government.
BY CLYDE H. TAvENNER.
Staff Washington correspondent
of this newspaper.
Washington, July 11.-One of
the crowning sins of the Congress
which recentl y passed into history
was its failure to pass income or
Inheritance tax legislation. All
of the first class nations of the
world have either an income tax
or an Inheritance tax, and mauy
have both.
We now raise practically all
national resenues by placing q
tariff tax on things eaten, worn
OF used by the people. This
system is unjust because it re-
quires the worklngman to ply
not less than one thousand per
cent. more taxes in proportion to
his income than millionaire.
Our protective system of course
requires the millionair t, pay a
tax on that which he eats, wears
or uses, but it does not tax him
to the extent of one penny Oh his
wealth.
Thus it might, and no doubt
frequently does, happen, that a
section hand on the railroad with
a family of six or seven children
pays more toward running the
national government, toward
keeping our standing army, than
the millionaire bachelor who is
too proud to marry and raise
children.
President Taft, and President
Taft alone, must bear the brunt
of responsibility for the failure
of Congress to tack an income
tax provision on the Payne-Ai-
drich bill. A majority Of both
houses were in favor of al income
tax. Aldrich saw that all income
tax amendment would be passed,
and, as usual, appealed to Presi-
dent Taft for aid.
The President knuckled abso.
lutely to the will of Boss Aldrich,
urging Congress to pass C orpora-
tion tax instead of all income tax.
To fool and console the people the
tTeacherous Aldrich then smiling
]y consented to a ratification of a
constitutional amendment legaliz.
ing all income tax, we'll knowing
that ways could be worked out to
thwart such ratification, at least
within the life of the present gen
Grafton.
But there remains still another
chapter of this legislative swim
die that the American people
ought to know about. As al
excuse for having killed an in
come tax, President Taft stated
that the corporation tax should
contain a publicity clause which
would enable the government and
the people to secure information
about the working methods Of the
corporations. He held out the
hope this publicity clause would
make it possible for the govern
ment to hold the law. breaking
trusts responsible incourt for their
acts.
So Congress passed the corpora
tion tax, but jokered the people
by purposely failing to provide
funds for the handling of data
which would come in under the
publicity clause. Even this was
not enough. Congress-, in the
session just closed, completed the
swindle on the public by striking
out the publicity feature all to-
getherl And Mr. Taft himself
had declared the publicity clause
was the most valuable feature in
the billl How long are the peo-
pie going to stand for such treach-
cry as this?
SENATOR CLAPP's ILLUSTRATION.
Senator Clapp of Minnesota,
Republican insurgent, was recent
ly giving an interview on the just
ness of tax on incomes. Final
ly he stopped abruptly and point
ed out of his window. He said,
"notlce that marble wall yonder.
Which stone bears the greatest
weight? The stone at the bottom
or the one at the top? Before
you answer I will add that is just
the way it is without an income
tax. Until the present tariff
schedules are revised along lines
of Justice, and until we have an
income tax to take some of the
burden of taxation from the man
at the bottom, that stone wall
will stand as deadly parallel to
to existing conditions"
THE ISSUE.
Two big state conventions were
held recently. Pennsylvania Re-
publicans declared as follows on
the tariff:
We believe that the tariff bill
recently enacted is in accord with
the Republican policy expressed
in it's last national platform
We agree with President Taft that
it is the best tariff the Republican
party ever passed"
IL %a