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Show than t300,COO In personal prcpcrty. Last year Mrs. Aetc'r r tid on Jf2oO,CC3. This year she Is not on the lis'tT EliLu Boot, who has charge cf th.5 destiny of the United States and is wet curse to the new Hon-rcVdoctriHe, Hon-rcVdoctriHe, wa 'on the-boots for 100,000 last year. - Kow he does not pay a cent of personal taxes. These "people have either become non-residents or have in some manner convinced the tar commissioners commis-sioners thai they-have no property." 'Now, if Mrs. Astqr-can wear a costume and jewels worth more hn (300,000 at her ball and still "evade taxes, the assertion of Auditor Storms is pretty well borne out t v ' ' v r ' The very rich in this country have come to regard re-gard themselves as above the law; They enjoy privileges priv-ileges inferior to those of the residents of no oter country. They often amass their wealth by illegal means, and when they have acquired it THEY ARE LACKING IN GRATITUDE TO THE GOVERNMENT GOVERN-MENT THAT HAS BEEN SO LIBERAL TO THEM. .They lie deliberately about the value vof their possessions and think it folly to pay taxes. YOUR POOR MAN OR YOUR MAN OBMODERATE OBMOD-ERATE MEANS, HOWEVER, HAS JO PAY OR LOSE WHAT HE HAS. The assessor and the collector col-lector do not overlook him. It is opparent that Mrs. Astor and those of ber ilk Everywhere REGARD THEMSELVES AS SUPERIOR SU-PERIOR TO THE LAWS which govern others, and it is plain that: they do not pay thelr.taxes. The officials are .awed or bribed and make little effort to collect that which rightfully should be paid. IS IT ANY WONDER THAT WE HAVE GROWING i DISCONTENT? Instead of the rich whose oppor-tunitier oppor-tunitier are great setting examples of patriotism and fidelity to ; principle they flaunt the law and make it a jest THE EFFECT CPON THOSE LES FORTUNATE IS TO MAKE THEM. 'ATTEMPT 'AT-TEMPT TO, EVADE THE LAW. The spirit per-meates per-meates the whole body politic, - The plea of the Indiana official for equal taxation taxa-tion should be heeded in all States, THE RICH SHOULD BE COMPELLED. TO PAY, THEIR JUST PROPORTION OF TAXES. IF THEY ARE NOT, THE CONSEQUENCES ARE CERTAIN TO BE GRAVE. k 3 . Tbe lwltss'lUch. ' Indiana has an official who is not afraid to speak - .the truth. He is Daniel E. Storms, Secretary .of State, and in an address delivered recently before ' th'e tair commissioners and county assessors, he made some statements that should benefit Indiana, and also should have weight In other States. ' ' . He said in brief that equal taxation would make ' the tax rate less. ' He elaborated on this phase, saying say-ing that it was the middle class that paid the taxes. The extreme rich, he declared, did . not pay their share of the taxes in proportion, to what . they owned, and the extremely poor pay no taxes. If the rich man would pay up the taxes on what he really owned the increase In the income to the State would be so great that the rate would be bound to be less; He said there was a small per cent of the people owning a large per cent of the taxable property which they do not list. Honest taxpayers complain and nobodv can blame them.. ' ' i . The other night in New York Mrs. Caroline As tOTf THE Mrs. Astor'of what styles itself society, gave a ball. , It was, perhaps, the most magnificent and costly affair of the kind New York or theNa-A tipn has ever known. The hostess wore jewels val--ned at f 280,000. Her gown was worth at least f 50,-000. 50,-000. The cost of the ball must have been great. To give such an entertainment a person must have almost al-most unlimited wealth. . K ' The same Issue of the New York -paper which tells of the ball also gives an account of the tax returns re-turns made by wealthy people. From the returns it germs' there are only twenty or so persons . In. the greatest city of the Nation that are .worth more |