The Washington herald., 1912-10-06

compelled to pay that tax will insis
upon being shown what has been done
with his money. II he doesn't get goot
roads when he knows he is paying fol
them. he will vote against the road ad
ministration at the first opportunity and
put In new administration pledged &c
mako proper use of his money, and he
viii do this irrespective of whether OF
not the administration he Is turning on.
belongs to his party.
AS In the case of country road build.
Ing. so 1t would be in a larger and much
more important sense Of the administra.
ton Of affairs at Washington. Every
man and woman who had paid an in
come tax would require of the Congress
and the President a strict accounting Of
the uses to which their money had been
put, how 1t had been employed for the
best interest of each and the country
at large. IL It had been economically or
extravagantly appropriated and expend-
ed. and SO forth.
Rich Must Pay share.
Il heartily favor the Ievying of a grad
uated income tax. / would not carry the
principle to the point of confiscation or
to the encouragement of enterprises and
thrift In the accumulation of fortunes,
but I certainly would insist upon mil
lionaires with enormous incomes bearing
their just proportion of the tax If, say,
the limitation were fixed at incomes of
two or three thousand dollars on a one
per cent basis. would have the rate
gradually increased up to the biggest in
comes. BY this process. the burden would
De equitsoly distributed among the mil
lions OF citizens able to earn from the
lowest Limitation to the highest rate,
other forms of taxation Would be revised
or abolished and wealth and frlsality
instead OF poverty. would be taxed.
The corporation tax, which / fought
Tor until II was enacted into law by a re-
luctant Congress, already yields a revenue
OF $SoWO,OoO a Year to the government, and
the corporations that pay it are not COM
planning of II as a burden"
VIII the adoption of the amendment
Tor the popular election of Senators In
any manner weaken or change the check
and balance between the Senate and the
House in the different method of their
election?'
Il think not" answered the President.
because under the proposed new manner
OF election the Senators will still be the
representatives of the States and their
term will be three times the length of the
But l am not clear in
my support of the amendment for the pop
oiar election OF Senators as arp for the
income tax
can't say from the experiment &C
tually made that the personnel of the
Senate has been improved by the nominal
ton of Senators through direct selection.
Then too. there are other considerations
that cause me to doubt somewhat the
merit of this amendment. / have heard
able. experienced. and really valuable
OF the Senate say that when
The change is made they will not be can
iidates for reelection because they are
90 poor to stand the expense of the pri-
nartes, for II is certain that Senatorial
campaigns are very expensive in some
states under the new method
His Attitude on the Canal.
On the question Of the Panama Canal
and his tnsistence upon free passage for
domestic vessels engaged IN coastwise
rade. the President displayed intensity
II interest.
He seemed especially to resent criti-
,isms in Europe and this country that
lie had violated our national honor"
He said he was as earnest In urging
compliance with national obligations as
my one, but he did not construe our
realty to mean that We could not dis |
rfminate in favor Of our coastwise trade |
1 am inclined to believe that the Su-
RENE Court may hold the discriminating |
rovisions too great a delegation to the |
Interstate Commerce Commission and
did not favor its adop-
ion in this bill because 1t is not rele-
ant to canal legislation: ] was the orr |
'inal proposer of inhibition against rail-
oad-owned steamships use of the canal.
nd urged that a discriminating canal
oil be levied against railroad-owned
teamships- 1 made it because 1 wanted
he government to be able to prevent
he transcontinental railroads from af-
Getting canal route rates after the canal
opened.
IF permitted the use of the canal on
he same terms as privately owned ships
ngaged in the coastwise trade, they
ould obtain control of the rates by driv-
lg all other steamships out of coastwise
usiness by very low rates and reckless
ompetition. They, with their great capt.
ii, could afford to do this. OF course,
ne OF the prime objects OF the great I'M
in which the government has
pent hundreds of millions Of the peo-
les money, is to cheaper the cost of
ansportation across the continent"
Negroes Deserve More Respect.
The peculiar twist given to the negro
leston by the Progressive party's ma
onal conventions refusal to admit COL
red delegates from the South, while well
'ming negro delegates from Northern
nd Western States, caused President
aft to remark:
Had the colored delegates from the
outh to the Republican National Con- ,
sntion yielded to the influences the
swspapers said were dangled before
cir eyes the Progressive party leaders :
light have viewed differently their fit
SIS for participation in the Progressive !
Irty's convention.
1T occurs to me that instead of the
,uthern colored Republicans being de-
AIRED as disqualified to participate in the !
W party, the very fact of their loyalty !
a cause they had been elected to rep
sent In our national convention should {
I'VE commended them to the Progressive I
Lrty's leaders. e
"A race which in fifty years has re- I
iced its illiteracy from IS to about 30 !
r cent is certainly deserving of more
spectful consideration than IL received I
ON the Progressive party leaders" +
Why He Vetoed Schedules,
Your veto of the wool, cotton, steel, /
ID chemical schedules passed at the I
cent session Of Congress has given rise
considerable criticism" the President :
Is reminded, land your critics are as
rting an inconsistency in your conduct.
rticularly affecting the wool schedule,
Itch you once declared to be indefensi,
:.
The uniformed seem to have appro-
lated to themselves full knowledge of
6 motives that actuated me In that
alter. President Taft responded.
hey. are saying that I vetoed the bill
L.