Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1913-02-07
THE SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT,
From THE Times-Dispatcl

= voluntary surrender by the States
10 the Federal government of one OF
The most valuable of inherent State
of levying tax npon in
comes. federalism has effected its
widest encroachment upon the dimin-
ishing domain of State sovereignty
to Capitalization of power in the ma
tional government there has been
cession of Unreasonable Importance.
Tho modern reaction in favor of the
Federal power, which began in the
fourteenth amendment, and which was
continued in the fifteenth amendment,
rises near the high. water mark in the
addition to the national organic law
made Monday.
The income tax amendment to the
Federal Constitution enables the Fed
eral government for the first time to
impose and collect a direct tax not In
proportion to the census.
The States have transferred to the
nation a domestic and social power
that it has never before possessed; the
State has stood aside so that the
mighty arm of the Federal govern
nent may fall upon the citizen of the
State. The Federal government is
clothed with primary power to inquire
into the citizens individual and pri.
vate affairs, and to deal directly wit!
him ir the manner of taxation. The
! first eleven amendments to the national
fundamental law are all restrictions
upon the Federal government in favo,
of the rights of the States, while the
thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth ant
| sixteenth amendments are restriction;
upon the States in favor of the power
of the Federal government. The Iati
tudirarian scope of the phrase iron
whatever source derived" in tn,
amendment ratified by the State Mon
day Indicates to what far-reachins
and radical extent its application
might go
The States, of course, still retain
the right to levy and collect State in
| come taxes, but double taxation i.
wholly aphorrept to the people. and i
is not believed that any considerable
| number of the States will impose such
tax after the Federal government
h S occupied the field. Let no one
doubt that the States have surrend
cred rich source of revenue. Half g
million dollars was collected in the
first year of the operation of the new
| State income tax in Wisconsin, and
other States could have collected fal
more. The States which levy income
taxes have, as a rule, been lax in theil
collection, but the Federal govern
ment will see to it that the tax-dodgel
comes to time, for under centralized
system of collec ing taxes such xs ths
nation will have and such as every
State ought to have, local influence.
will have no weight with the tax-gath
erer who owes his continuance ir
/ office to his success in securing proper
returns from individuals.
The best argument for a pationa
| / come tax has been that if the Demo
cratic tariff revision program is exc
clted, such deficit in the nationa
finances will be created that only tn,
return from q national income tai
uld make up the loss. Undoubted
IL the receipts from the tax will
amount to a vast sum. Future event!
may vindicate the new tax upon thu
ground of natural necessity. 1t is tt
be hoped that the Fedora. goyernmen
will provide more efficient MACHINERY
for the collection OF this tax than i
did for our only other national in
come tax that levied in 1862 and con
tinued until 1872. The returns from
the tax in that period steadily dimin
ished from year to year.
From the standpoint of constitu
tional history, the passage of the six
teenth amendment Monday is distinct
ly interesting. 1t is the first amend
ment to be added to the Fundamental
law of the republic in forty-two years
the fifteenth amendment having beer
appended in 1870. In los years Their,
have been but four amendments to tn,
Federal Constitution, of which, thai
Monday was the fourth. Not tina
there have been few amendments pro
posed-from 1889 to 1905, period O
fifteen years, 435 amendments wers
proposed in Congress, but failed il
one branch or the other to receive the
two-thirds vote prerequisite for sub
mission to the States for ratification
It seems quite likely that within the
next five years q seventeenth and eigh'
teenth amendment will be attached to
the Constitution, for President, and
rendering him ineligible for . second
term.
1t canuot be denied that to a great
degree, the State income tax laws
have made States of liars, but it lie.
mains to be seen whether the Federal
income tax will make US, in the words
OF Champ Clark, "a nation of liars -
The amendment providing for the
direct election of United States Sena-
tors by the people seems certain OF
ratification by the States, and the
Senate Saturday approved propose d
amendment providing a six-year term
for the President.
JADWYN
MalDh Fravel, butchered the boss