Evening journal., 1916-07-25

would do or recommend.
DUPONT Company's Attitude.
The following letter forwarded by
the DUPONT Company. has been filed
with the finance committee. setting
forth the companys protest and lis
opinion of what would be a fair tax:
Wilmington, Del, July %, 1916.
Chairman Of the Finance Committee
United States Senate, Washington
d. c.:
MY Dear Strive believe that
taxation to be just, fair and Ameri-
can, must distribute its burden over
the entire community benefited. or.
II bearing more heavily on some than
on others, must do so for reasons of
public welfare. thus taxation on lux
uries discourages luxurious living:
a tax levied on imports encourages
american manufacturers; and taxa
tlon on alcoholic beverages lessons
uquor traffic An income tax. Of
moderate graduation. may be defend
eu on the ground that governmental
Iunctlon is proportionately Of more
peneht to the rich than to the poor.
however all such special taxation
should have a justified cause for ite
being, for the very day that the bur
dens OF taxation are placed upon a
class Of persons. or upon an indus
try without justification, but because
of the inability of the tax taxed to
make defense--that day the founda-
ton Of American tradition and nrin-
ciple is undermined, and the repub-
llcan form Of government ceases to
exist.
1T is necessary to turn to unusual
methods in the levying of taxes that
are necessitated by the developments
OF the European war, and il is not
extraordinary that such taxation
should be drawn from the persons or
corporation whose very condition de-
mands public aid in guarding pres
ent prosperity and future Develop
ment. Those to whom opportunity
/ has been opened should not, and will
not, oppose providing the safeguards
necessary TO their future welfare nor
will they begrudge the benefit that
Will accrue to the whole community
through this contribution.
"A well distributed tax on persons
and corporations in their business ac-
tivities cannot be successfully evaded
by argument as long as opportunity
is afforded for the choice OF action.
An individual or corporation may
sum up the risks Of business IN face
Of adverse conditions and elect, wheth-
er or not the future justifes further
effort. But what foundation for indi-
vidual or corporate enterprise exists
when, having measured with care the
] faNrnrnh1a and %
ing invested capital and accented the
hazards and labor Of an undertaking,
the industry is seized upon by the
Government on whose protection all
development should be built. and is
deprived Of the legitimate reward CT
success. and left with an allowance
insufficient to attract capital toward
investment in secure lines as pub
lie utilities or national banks.
Unless the investor is promised
the full reward Of success 10 Offset
the hazards Of his undertaking CANT
tai cannot afford to invest. or 10 con-
tinue investment in enterprises such
as manufacture of military ex-
plosives, where a stroke OF lightning
or the carelessness Of one imam or
the error of a foreman, may. snuff
out, in an instant, not only prospec-
tive profits, but even the investment
itself II is as ill-principled for the
Government to cut off the proper
profits Of the successful as Il would
be to make good the loss Of the un-
} successful out of the public treasury.
1t is proposed to levy against
manufacturers Of explosives a tax.
which, though apparently innocent in
its assessment Of eight per cent. OF
gross receipts. is, in reality 10 r
l. DUPONT de Nemours and COMPANY.
a prospective tax of thirty per cent.
OF the total profits OF the year 1916.
and amounts to S35 per share on the
common stock OF the company. and
to nearly 20 per cent. OF the capital
paid in by the common stockholders,
before the reorganization OF the COM
pany on October 1, 1915. While such
a levy is more than sufficiently oner-
Gus, the provisions of the bill now
before Congress may. under circum-
stances quite fairly conceivable, call
for a payment of fifty per cent. or
even seventy per cent. of the total
yearly profits of a company. whose
gross receipts bear certain relation
to their capital investment That such
burdens should be placed intention
! ally on the innocent investors, by as
sessing profits made prior to the
e passage OF the act, is unbelievable.
, and will doubtless be rectified by
proper amendment.
"If the conditions, growing out Of
the European war, had brought upon
the Government an extraordinary ex-
penditure that made possible the
great developments Of special indus
try, which have occurred. IL would
seem just that this development
shodld bear a special burden, but
y such docs not seem to be the present
situation. No effort on the part of
rtthe community has been necessary 20
= make possible the carrying out Of the
{ great enterprises that have arisen
d out Of changed conditions.
at is true that Governmental ex-
O lpenditure of the future will be for the
!. protection of industry that will pros
4 per on account Of development that
= has occurred. and this benefited in
e dustry may well bear q large share
o Of its own protection; such burden
o should be placed, not upon industry
6 that has thriven and vanished
a through changed conditions, but upon
j, that industry that is yet to come. and
q is to benefit from, and is TO demand