Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-09-11
SEPTEMBER IL, 1914.


formation that intelligent legislation
can be adopted
Senator Weeks spoke of the lobby
investigation which had taken months
and produced volumes of testimony.
The hearings were held over a year
ago and no report has been made up
to the present, because there was
nothing found to verify any sugges-
ton of the correctness of the charges.
IF any legislator is improperly in
fluenced," said Senator Weeks, ut is
because he is a bad man himself and
those who sent him to Congress are
responsible for his being there and for
the things he does"
In answering the claims of the
Democrats in regard to the income
tax, Senator Weeks declared that
while it was right to tax the wealth
of the country this present tax was
framed in the interests of the Demo-
cratic party and to get votes because
the majority of voters are excludes
from it's provisions.
"Of course" said Senator Weeks,
IF an income tax is to be a perma-
nent means of raising revenue, 1t
should be assessed in proportion to
personal income without regard to
Limitation. There is no reason why
man having an income of $500 a year
should pay his share of the expense
of the National Government which
will not apply to the man who has an
income of $1,000, and the same general
reasoning would apply to all other In
comes. But in addition to the vote
getting reason for making this limi-
tation, there are other reasons. l am
almost the last person who would
suggest sectional argument, yet it is
simply stating a fact to say that Con
gress is now controlled by the south
ern states which are agricultural COM
munities. These have comparatively
little surplus wealth and even now
pay comparatively small part of the
general expenses of government. 1t is
the purpose of those who are repre-
senting the South to make this part
as small as possible.
Let me show you what this means
as applied to this income tax, by
quoting the amount paid by the states
of Maine and Massachusetts,. and, in
cidentally, the residents of four states
New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois
and Massachusetts-pay$ i9,00O,000 OF
the SOS. coo, 900 of the income tax col
lected this year. although they have
but little more than one-fourth of the
population of the country.
Maine with a population of 10000
pays an income tax of $4,000 ana
Massachusetts with a population OF
1866, 900 pays s1.505,o00, more than is
paid altogether by the states OF Ala
bama, Arkansas. Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and
Tennessee which have a combined
population of 22,3SS,000. Alabama
having three times the population Oh
Maine pays only about three-feurths
of the income tax paid by Maine citl-
zens. Arkansas with twice the popu
lation, pays little more than one
half of the income tax paid by Maine.
Georgia with nearly four times
Names population and the richest
state in the South pays only so per
cent. more than that paid by Maine.
Mississippi with two and one-half
times your population pays about one
! half your income tax. North Caro-
! lima with three times your population
pays only two thirds as much as you
and South Carolina with twice your
population pays about one-third the
! tax you pay.
"These are the states that are re-
| sponsibe very largely for the action
which has been taken. The chair
man of the committee from which this
| legislation came is a resident of Ala
| bama."