The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-30
TRIUMPHANT PLUTOCRACY
By SAvOYARD

and resided in London he would pay thousands of pounds sterling in way of of taxes to support the imperial gov ernment.
 When that iniquity, the Payne -Aldrich tariff, was made, there was some brave talk of clause providing an income tax. Senator Bailey announced that he could draft the provision with a copper bottom as to constitutionality. The per- sonnel of the supreme court was radical ly changed, and in 1911 only two members of that tribunal remain who were on the bench when the income tax of the Will son law was pronounced unconstitution- al. And here I will digress to say that it is now known that MT. Justice Shiras was not the member of the bench who changed his opinion of the mattere For years and years that grand man bore abuse, villification, contumely, in dignifi- ed silence, wrapped in the armor of his innocence. It was another member of the court who changed, and he was lit tie enough to allow the world to sup pose that Shiras was the man.
 We'll, they passed the corporation tax, which extracts from the man with one share of stock in the same proportion it does from him who has 100000 Then they resolved that the state legislatures should pass on an amendment providing for the legality of the income tax, and they let it go at that.
 
 would not vote for an income tax at popular election and give the proposal an overwhelming majority. All this row we have had comics from the attempt the successful attempt-of the rich to shift the burdens of taxation upon the masses. We see that in the tariff, which is purely tax on the consumer and for tine advantage of monopoly. Carne- gie is a product of the tariff, and yet they said it was for labor. Carnegie is rated at $500,0O0,00O, and he got it by the act of the American Congress which shaped it's tariff laws so as to allow Carnegie to levy a tax on every man, woman and child in the union to swell his millions, and Carnegie now comes and says that the tariff on steel is no longer necessary, but A1drich and Can non disagreed with him. and the steel schedule reeks with it's pristine infamy.
 As I remarked, it was up to the legis- latures to authorize an Income tax and some astonishing things took place. Both Virginias opposed it. Nobody was sur prised at West Virginia, the annex of Pennsylvania, and the property of the coal trust; but old Virginia, too forbade the taxation for national purposes of Carneges $5OOOo O,O00 So did Georgia So did Louisiana, so did Arkansas. l doubt very much if the Hon. William Lorimer favors an income tax.
 What was the excuse? Why, states rghtsi l recollect that 34 years ago states rights were invoked to enable the republican party to steal the office of President of the United States, though less than score of years earlier three million men got their guns and went down south to shoot states rights to death. And now states rights are pros- tituted to the office of shield to pre- serve the billions of Wall street from the clutch of the tax gatherer. The tariff monopoly chuckles over the result for if $1O0 000,0O0 were raised by a tax on incomes, it would make imperative a vast reduction in tariff duties and hun dreds of articles now taxed to the quick would be carried to the free list.
 The Illinois legislature that sold sen- atorship is mighty bad. But
 Washington, March 24