must have tax reform. The method of raising revenue ought not to impede
the transaction of business; it ought to encourage it. I am opposed to
extremely high rates, because they produce little or no revenue,
because they are bad for the country, and, finally, because they are
wrong. We can not finance the country, we can not improve social
conditions, through any system of injustice, even if we attempt to
inflict it upon the rich. Those who suffer the most harm will be the
poor. This country believes in prosperity. It is absurd to suppose that
it is envious of those who are already prosperous. The wise and correct
course to follow in taxation and all other economic legislation is not
to destroy those who have already secured success but to create
conditions under which every one will have a better chance to be
successful. The verdict of the country has been given on this question.
That verdict stands. We shall do well to heed it.

These questions involve moral issues. We need not concern ourselves
much about the rights of property if we will faithfully observe the
rights of persons. Under our institutions their rights are supreme. It
is not property but the right to hold property, both great and small,
which our Constitution guarantees. All owners of property are charged
with a service. These rights and duties have been revealed, through the
conscience of society, to have a divine sanction. The very stability of
our society rests upon production and conservation. For individuals or
for governments to waste and squander their resources is to deny these
rights and disregard these obligations. The result of economic
dissipation to a nation is always moral decay.

These policies of better international understandings, greater economy,
and lower taxes have contributed largely to peaceful and prosperous
industrial relations. Under the helpful influences of restrictive