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Show DRIVING OUT CAPITAL. That capital may bo frightened away from communities by foolish legislation has been attested on more than one occasion. oc-casion. States and municipalities which gain the reputation of imposing exorbitant ex-orbitant taxes have only themselves to blame when they find that capital passes them by and develops communities where a wise conservatism has prevailed. pre-vailed. And not only docs capital shun such communities, but oftentimes it is withdrawn from them after it has been invested. A recent example of such a withdrawal is narrated in the following dispatch to the Xcw York Times: CHICAGO, Feb. -JC Illinois' tax laws have caused 1 harles 1.. Crane to abaudon bis legal residence resi-dence in this state and move to Wood's Hole, Mass., his summer home. His house in this city has been rented to tho School of Civic Philanthropy. Mr. Crane has oeeu actively interested in and helped to support nianv of Chicago s agencies for public betterment, such at the Municipal Voters' league, the City club, tho Bureau of Public l.t- . liciency and the School of Civics and Philanthropy. - Mr. Crane stated today that nu sole reason for moving trim Chicago Chi-cago was the tax lawn of the state He stated that if ho reinaine. and complied with the provisions ct the law he would bo compelled to pa;' as taxes a large part of his income, gros'lv disproportionate to Ins personal per-sonal property hnldniL's. In pis' vears he has tiled his schedules and paid taxes on il.50',i." on property, prop-erty, in addition to one half tnn tax on "tho estate of his father, H. T. i rane, appraised at o'jo,''i')0. The total personal tax bill paid hv Mr. I'rano has been something more. than Oj.il"0. , , , "Ihe cirennutaace which had brought about the pre-cnt situ-itien is cited us a good illustration ol the character of the present, taxing laws. The greater proportion ot Mr. Crane's personal property has ensi-ted until l ecer. : ly1 ol stock in the i rane company, an IHiuo.", corporation. I nder the law slo.'l'. in such corporations is not taxable. I. .-ist vr he exchanged the stuck for t.onus of the same couj an v. f'hr-e bonds, thoirjh secured upon exactly the same property which was represented th" exchanged stock, are taxable, : n-1 Mr. Crane- UlXo., if the law ere urn-'ly ap pliedwould t mltiplicd more than ten times solely became of the change in the mere foini of investment, invest-ment, lie would thus be called on to pav over f ;i0"'" a vear, about one fifteenth of the nn'ire per-onal property tax assessed -in Conk i county. ! It mav be that n zroat community like ' hi'-aco will regard lightly the de- Iparttire of one of its richest and most progressive rilirns. It may lv hie to afford the monstrous l.lunderinc and in-efficiency in-efficiency pointed out in the foregoing dispatch, bu' bc newer . oinniunit ies which depend upon out-ide capital tor their development must guard carefully against such ruiuou" mistakes. Even now some of our western state;, have brought upon tbe;n.-eh cs hard time by radical laws which mak" investments unsafe. Yeari will he required to restore re-store prosperity. Tt, will be a long, uphill up-hill fight, a.bd will leave a disagreeable memory of misfortune which might have beoo o"a,,od by a little common seni.e. The radicals in the Utah legislature, legisla-ture, who are inclined to sweep aside constitutional safeguards which have guaranteed security to investors, would do well to heed the disastrous consequences conse-quences of erratic legislation in other states. |