The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1921-11-02
GREATEST LEGAL eRAFTERs.

| What "Get-Rich- Quick" Wallingford
might call Legitimate graft plays a
very large part in modern financial
deals and dickers. There is q wide
spread notion that many pillars of
society" Systematically steer as close
as they dare to the line that separ-
ates jailable from unjailable swind-
ling. But the government itself is re-
sponsible for the sanction given to
the Legitimate graft of tax-exemrt
bonds. 3T&
Probably as a survival of the days
when taxes" meant tribute exacted
by the rich and powerful from the
por and weak, there is even at this
day no very strong public condemna-
ton of tax-dodgers We compass heay-
en- and earth to punish Idraft-dodgers
years after the war for which they
were drafted even to the extent of
pillorying in public print the names Of
many men who, far from lodging,
served their country nobly and con.
tracted wounds and disease in its de-
Tense. This we do in the determina-
ticn that net one guilty man shall es-
cape, even if we have to sacrifice Il
thousand innocent men. Most Of us
have sneaking sympathy for the
moonshiner or for the psuedo-saiior
who sells us alleged Havana cigars for
which NO duty has been paid to Uncle
Sam. The averag tourist returning
from European trip rather prides
himself on getting by" the custom
house inspector. In fact, an interest
ing book might be written on the
tricks and devices resorted to all
along the line by ordinary honest and
respectable citizens in the effort to
evade paying their just share OF the
public tax burden.
Yet all this illegal graft would prob
ably prove but drop in the bucket
compared with the legal graft enjoy
ed by investors in tax-exempt bonds.
This tax exemption must be extreme
ly attractive to people having money
to invest, if we may Judge from the
advertisements OF banks and bond
houses floating such bonds. They con-
sist in large part of state, county and
municipal obligations, usually paying
good interest. Bankers regard them
as 'gilt-edged' and are happy to ac.
.cept them as collateral fJr loans.
Secretary Mellon in his first report
advocates the abolition of this tax ex-
emption as one means Of raising nee.
essary revenue In the present flnan-
cial crisis. 1t is believed that the total
amount invested in such tax-exempt
bonds today is not far short of TWEEN
ty blllion dollars. Some estimates
place II as high as S4O,O00,0OO A tax
of only one per cent on the lesser
sum would produce an additional rev
enue of $2OO,OOO,OOO.
This in itself should be sufficient
reason for a revision OF Federal tax
laws that would include prohibition OF
taX.exempt securities. A further rea-
son of much cogency was suggested
to the Senate Finance Committee the
other day by Philip II. Gadsdea. of
Philadelphia, who appeared as chair.
man Of the joint tax committee rep
resenting the American Electric Rail.
way Association. American Gas Asso-
citation and National Electric Light
Association. He pointed out that the
abolition OF the exemption would en-
able regulated public utility industries
TO dispose Of their securities and raise
badly needed money "The most seri.
Gus question which confronts public
utilities" he added. lis their inability
to secure the necessary new capital
required by them annually IN competi.
ton with tax.exempt municipal securi.
ties And he added that the present
policy was one under which the coun
try was rapidly drifting into Social
ism.
Let us be frank and recognize tax
exemption OF this sort as merely an
immoral legalization OF tax lodging
The tax which one man lodges an.
other and probably less wealthy man