The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-21
THE FARMER: JULY 21. 1911

States
 A tax on corporations! It was in- deed an artful dodge. Make the cor porations pay!" The soulless corpo- rations which had so long exacted ex- cessive profits from the people were at last to be compelled to turn over some of their surplus wealth to SUD- port the Government
 Stand-pat Senators with elections pending. who were timid about vot- ing against the income tax, seized up- on this opportunity to kill the amend ment taxing individual incomes by supporting as a substitute a measure with such a fair-sounding title as a tax upon corporations It would be so easy for one when charged with aiding in the defeat of the income tax to answer: "Yes. but I voted to tax the big corporations instead.'
 2 These Senators knew what Aldrich and the President knew-that every corporation would add the corporation tax to the fixed charges of the busi- ness and exact from the public, through increased rates and prices. every dollar paid as a tax to the Government. Tax corporations in- people. It was a tax which the cor porations could and did shift to their customers-the public. It was a fit amendment to come from the Senator from Rhode Island. He was always frank and open in support of meas ures of like character. but what shall be said for the President of the Unit ed States, who, in the campaign, has given the voters of this country to understand that he would favor an income tax upon the great wealth of individuals-a tax which once levied upon the individual after he had re- ceived his dividends from Standard Oil, United States Steel and railroad bonds and stocks, could not then be shifted to the public?
 It was, sir, suitable provision to be coupled with the Payne-A1drich tariff bill. It harmonized with it's whole plan. It increased the bur- dens upon the people. It added be- traya1 to betrayal.
 Tn all the record of this administra- tion no more glaring example is pre- sented of the complete surrender to special interests and the complete re- versal of Roosevelt's progressive pol icies than that shown in dealing with the amendments to the interstate com merce act. Under the guise of full filling party platform promises for the control of overcapitalization, bill amending the interstate commerce act was drafted in the Department of Justice with the aid of Wall Street attorneys, expert in all the schemes of railroad finance, and made the sub- ject of special Executive message.
 I wish it were possible to acquit the President of any knowledge of the real character of the administra- tion bill for the amendment of the interstate and antitrust laws, as drafted by the Attorney. General, for nothing is more damaging in the rec ord of this administration; but the President not only assumed the full responsibility for the bill as drafted but made 1t clear by special message submitted to Congress on the 7th day of January, 1910 that he was we'll ac- quainted with all of it's provisions, and recommended its enactment into law He said in that message after discussing the provisions of the meas ure in detail:
 By nay direction the Attorney Gen. eral has drafted a bill to carry out these recommendations"
 MT. President, it would have been difficult to have framed a piece of leg islation affecting interstate commerce more harmful to the public interest than this bill, drafted by the Attor- ney General and recommended to Congress by President Taft.
 It is fair to say that the bill con- tained some provisions in the public interest: but they were barely suff1-
 
 of the measure.
 Much credit has been claimed for the administration because the bill, as finally passed, greatly strengthened the interstate commerce law. But, sir, it is time to vindicate the truth. It is time that the country should un- derstand. It will help us to weigh at their true value the recommends tions of the Executive on the pend ing legislation if we review in this connection the record of the adminis- traitor wherever the interests of priv ilege are in conflict with the interests of, the public.
 presented to the Senate it covered A pages It was entitled "A bill to create a Court of Commerce." It was especially heralded as bill to pre- vent stock watering and overcapital- ization Like the so-called recip- rocity bill, it was a sham and was set before the country under false pre- lenses and with a false title. The Court of Commerce provision was lit- tie more than a mask, behind which, concealed in obscure and devious lan- guage, lurked the sinister purposes of the measure. For 12 long weeks in this Chamber progressive Republi- can Senators and progressive Demo- cratic Senators made war upon the
 
 hostile to the public interest. Through their efforts the bill was reconstruct ed in the face of strong opposition and continued criticism from the White House. As it was finally en- acted it was no longer the Presidents s bill; it no longer bore any resemb- lance to the measure which came from the hands of his Attorney General. Against all the influence of the great railroad corporations of the country, combined with all the power of the ad- ministration, the bill which the Ex- ecutive had caused to be drawn and which he strongly recommended was, excepting as to the provision for the Commerce Court which was much improved, literally torn to pieces and rewritten on the floor of the Senate. As drawn by the Attorney General, by direction of the President, the bill contained but four provisions that could be construed as conferring any benefit upon the public. Framed in ambiguous phraseology. it contained F provisions written solely in the in- terests of the railroads, the like of which had never been presented in any legislative body in America. It was the boldest raid upon public rights in the form of legislation that the system had ever found any ad- ministration willing to adopt and att