Arizona republican., 1911-11-16

kings not so much because the doc
trine of Divine Right has been re-
pudiated as because kings frequently
became tyrants and dispensed tyranny
and not Justice. Whenever Il king
vas great enough To- dispense justice.
his own people rarely disturbed him.
Such rulers have been east oUt 10y
rival kings or 10y the church. but not.
10y TIE people. The people are willing
To large degree To be ruled; they
can't themselves actually rule 1t
takes 50 much time and strength 10
make a living. to DO the undramatic
and necessary work Of each recurring
DAY, that there is neither time no:
strength left for ruling. But man has
found out that when rulers represent
HIM he comes nearer To- attaining jus
tice than he did when they were sup
POSED To represent God. So he has
gradually adopted representative forms
o. government. learning meantime to
d" justice, To control himself and IN
that way to tighten the burdens of
those who govern
But ne is still long WAY from
securing justice through government
y word view reveals a shocking
condition in this respect The atti-
tude Of nations toward each other is
less frankly hostile than i'm the earlier
days. but the hostility is now backed
up with implements Of destruction so
frichtful in their power that the bar
harism which triumphed over Rome
was in comparison a humane and
civilized condition. And for it all the
PEOPLE pay. But if justice ruled it
would al disappear.
The study of no single phase of
society viii bring such conviction of
its general inefficiency and injustice
as study of taxation. The general
property tax is theoretically sound,
hut practically oppressive and ineffi
Gent The tax on real estate-whicE
is a part of the general property tax
penalties the progressive man and
rewards the parasite who gets in the
road OF progress and gets rich out of
the unearned Increment The income
tax is theoretically perfect, but prac
tically unfair and unjust: first. be
cause, as applied. it always sets class
against class: and. second, because it
is the most difficult OF all taxes fairly
to assess and collect. Because of the
inquisitorial methods necessary in its
assessment it is cordially hated
wherever it exists and is to the great
school of liars what the Frigid Zone
is to certain migratory birds-their
natural breeding ground. The excise
tax is virtually either an income tax.
OF a tax upon business activity with
out reference to profits. The tariff
tax takes from the consumer vastly
more than il gives the government
and where the balance shall go is at
the bottom of all tariff struggles.
The collateral inheritance tax. 9TH
erwise known as death duties. may
have some justification. but on its
face it is cowardly and provokes rad
zeal action because Of its cowardly
nature.
We charge a man with the duty of
a home. of making pro-
vision for his dependents. in order to
forward national development and pro- |
tect the state. and when he dies and
can no longer defend himself, we take !
even from those who are his own !
blood a percentage 50 large that the |
New York legislature. driven by pub |
10 opinion, recently reversed its ear !
lier action-taken at the instance of !
a radical gOvernor-and re-wrote a |
law under which an estate after sat
isfying the demands of New York and |
other states, might not only have
been greatly depleted but substantial
~ destroyed
The extreme features of some of
these laws represent the same states
which taxes the premiums
Of life insurance companies. The
state needs the money; it is easy to
get, and there is no such thing as
4 state conscience which may rebel
because the dead or the defenseless
are wronged.
And what shall we say of the effect II
IF religion in securing the reign of II
Justice on the earth? One hesitates
o speak in other than terms of
praise of a subject that deals with
what is most sacred to the human
leart and yet il must be confessed
hat the principle of exclusion which
uns through all the great religions
las been at the root of the greatest
and the gravest injustices.
The claim to superiority might have
afely been left to be indicated by
experience, but when men claimed to
Re the sole recipients of a divine
evalation and the sole repositories of
Irvine truth. they naturally become
and when they attained
,ower they just as naturally became
,ersecuters. No subject has divided
nen more radically; none has been
he cause of deeper animosities; i'm
10 conflicts have greater cruelty and
injustice been perpetrated. Religion
$ still a source of injustice where
yer there is church established by I
aw In this particular-perfect re-
igiOus liberty-we have unquestiOn-
.bly advanced so far that we may l
airly be said to have outstripped the
est of the world. II
Life insurance reveals the vast pos i,
abilities of scientific corporation. {
Scientific cooperation does not ban
sh connection: il does what Tenny- {