Show 3 VERY IMPORTANT RULING This 4s a time when the people of Utah ought to calmly and impartially consider a question which is likely to form a root of dissension and tang forth buds of bitterness in the commonwealth common-wealth about to be permanentlsvestab lishedhere It is that of the right of any government local or national to use > public money for anything but a public purpose To some people this may appear so plain a matter that it needs no debate de-bate It looks like an axiom that public pub-lic roOMy must be devoted exclusively to public uses But there are many persons of sound mind and great experience ex-perience who do not accept the rule It is therefore and no doubt will be a subject of much discussion It is for that reason that < We call attention to a recent decision by the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia bearing on this question Its It-s not final but will go to the Supreme Court of the United States where there 4s little doubt it will be affirmed There Ihave been several decisions from States courts which agree that state taxes < for private uses profit or benefit are unconstitutional un-constitutional But this is a decision in reference to the powers of Congress and fit is to a similar effect as to principle prin-ciple through reaching higher as to its application The sugar bounties provision of theM the-M Kinley law are declared unconstitutional unconsti-tutional Congress it is declared has no right to levy a tax for the benefit of a private person or to take the property of all for the benefit of one or of a selected group Protectionists and bounty advocates cannot find anything in terms in the Constitution to support their position they therefore seize upon the general gen-eral welfare clause to cover that deficiency de-ficiency On this Judge Shephard in delivering the opinion of thecourt saidIf If it may be for the general welfare wel-fare of the United < States to encourage the production of sugar by the grant of a bounty it is hard to conceive why the producers of corn wheat cotton wool coal iron silver ore etc might not be paid a bounty also If Congress be conceded the power to grant subsidies subsi-dies from the public revenues to all objects it may deem to be for the general welfare then it follows that this discretion like all admitted powers of taxation is absolute Such a doctrine doc-trine would destroy the idea that this is a government of delegated limited I and enumerated powers render superfluous super-fluous all the special delegations of power contained in the Constitution and open the way for a flood of social stic legislation the specious plea for all of which has ever been the general welfare The reasoning in this paragraph is fairly unanswerable It strikes at the root of the evil which is < being planted in the governmental field The diversion diver-sion of public funds to further private ends is excused under various specious pleas in the interest of moneyed corporations corpo-rations But it will not stand the test of competent judicial Inquiry It is wrong in principle it < Is a prostitution of the powers of government and however how-ever it may appear to be justified by I certain exigencies it will Ibe found injurious in-jurious in practice and detrimental to i I the public welfare The decision is very timely It will serve to check the tendency of legislation legisla-tion in the interest of private concerns and should act as a warning to local bounty agitators It sustains the position posi-tion taken by The Herald on this important im-portant subject and Is in harmony with every state court ruling on a similar question The bounty system is in its I last struggles the end is near J I |