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Show ABUSE OF THE INCOME TAX. , It was unfortunate that the Democrats Demo-crats came into. power jnst as tho constitutional con-stitutional amendment had been ratified rati-fied which allows of tho unlimited im position of tax upon incomes. Tho argument for that amendment was that tho needs' of tho United States in some groat emergency might- positively require re-quire the imposition of an income tax. There was nover oven a hint during tho whole of the- campaign for the income in-come "lax: that that form of taxation was to bo made- an ordinary means of revenue; but always, it . was considered consid-ered as a reserve for emergency needs, and always it was arguod- that tho j government, might find relief in such straits, in sonio great crisis; or by reason oil its inability to impose an incomo tax. that its arm might, be paralyzed and tho country seriously- imperiled, by reason of its inability to impose such tax; especially as that sort, of tax is among the best approved methods of raising extraordinary revenues in European Eu-ropean states. But the European states arc all in constant oxtreniitios for rovja-nue' rovja-nue' The United States is not supposed sup-posed .ordinarily to be in extremity at all; but to be' able to pay its current expenses without much trouble, and without any extraordinary or harsh call -upon tho people.' Thoref ore; the income tax was to be a latent resource, negligible negli-gible in ordinary times, but to be imposed im-posed when' great need existed. But thcTe is no such need at tho present time. The excuse for tho imposition' im-position' of this tax is merely one ot partisan politics and partisan political methods. An .artificial . deficit is to be' created for partisan ends, through the removal of custom duties and the enormous extension of the free list. This extension is commonly expected to .bo injurious to the sugar industries of this country i to wool" growing, and to -other -forms of industry. Tt will undoubtedly depress tho price of wool;, in fact, it Ifaa already done so. Theoretically, The-oretically, it will also depress tho price qf, sugar, but in our -opinion it will not be actually so because .of the commercial com-mercial combines wliich control ..the markets and which aro pretty certain to keep np the price of sugar to tho ultimate consumer on about the same basis as heretofore. But tho govorn-mont govorn-mont Tvill.lose the mono-. Some $70,-000,000 $70,-000,000 will' be pocketed- by the sugar combine that has heretofore gone yearly into the public treasury. And so we do not see any opposition on the part of tho great sugar manufacturers on the' "Eastern coast aud those in control of tho sugar combiucs against putting sugar on the free list. Tt is only tho producers of sugar who make the complaint against this raid against tho sugar industries in- this, country-.. Those in control of the .markets will get enormous profits out of tho political deal. But since the emergency in the name of which the sugar tariff is to be ro-moved ro-moved is entirely artificial, tho reasons for tho-imposition of the income , tax aro also artificial, and partisan. The methods of imposing the tax arc also illogical and unreasonable. The. arguments argu-ments in favor of the different features fea-tures of tho measure as it stands arc also unreasoning and unfair. Tho proposition propo-sition to increase tho rato of tax levied upon incomes of a high order is that thereby the interest in the government of the persons thus taxed will grow according to tho amount of tax they pay. It is quite conceivable; howevor, that tho revorsc will be the case; it will not be. interest iu tho government that will increase, but hatred of the law. Tho samo pica was urged by Senator Sen-ator Lodgo of Massachusetts in favor of reducing the limit of exemption of tax to. $.1000 a year. That is, he would tax tho income of every one whose receipts re-ceipts wcro above $1000 a' year. . This also, ho urgod, twas to increase tho interest of auch persons in the government. govern-ment. . Uis argument was t.Uat interest in" the government, follows' the lines of taxation; that the person who pays no' taxes at all has no interest in the government; those who pay but little-taxes, little-taxes, hao little intereEt, while those who pay large taxes tako a correspondingly correspond-ingly great interest in-. governmental af- j fairs. But it is certain that the aver-ago aver-ago man would prefer to bo in the list with those who tako the" loast interest in governmental affairs and correspondingly correspond-ingly escape taxation by reason of that smal.lness. i)f ..intorcsl. Taxpayevs aro disposed very-gladly to concede to theorists theo-rists that they don't take much interest in tho govormnout, if by "that concession, conces-sion, they' can make their taxation light. The trouble with them, as a rule, .is, however, that this concession docs not lighten taxation, though" they aro obliged, even against their consent, to be supposed' to- take a larger, interest in the governiiicnt, by reason of the larger faxt" llu- pa. The Tribune gave yesterday morning tho leading provisions of this partisau r and class legislation. 1 1 . was strenuously strenu-ously opposed on othical grouuds, but partisan solidarity forcod it through the Soiiate and will forco it through the Houso, Tlio illogical outcome, of all this sort of thing which is thus presented was to have boon expected in tho imposition imposi-tion of a tax that was clearly unnecessary, unnec-essary, but which was determined on in order to carry out a political party theory and a partisan pledge. Tho whole business is an abomination in tho minds of the Amorican people, and tho absurd nnd illogical reasons pro-flucod pro-flucod from timo to time in support of ono or another of the evil propositions j involved, make tho wholo matter an j offense to the public mind and con- science. " |