HOW CONGRESS MAY CONTROL TRUSTS 227 



force the tax. Were a franchise or license tax imposed an- 

 nually in proportion to, let us say, the net receipts from 

 interstate business, the investigation of the business of each 

 corporation would be of necessity so thorough that the gov- 

 ernment would readily obtain all the knowledge necessary 

 for holding the corporations rigidly to legal action, and for 

 prescribing what seemed to be wise measures for future 

 control. 



In order to obtain these results, the tax need not be 

 heavy enough to be at all burdensome, although it would be 

 of such a nature that it might readily be made to yield a large 

 income in case of need, or even to impose positive limitations 

 in any direction desired if that should become necessary. The 

 tax might probably even be devised so as directly to check 

 stockwatering. The most important factor, however, would 

 be that when the machinery for the imposition and collection 

 of the tax was once thoroughly in order, the government 

 would have in readiness a power which could readily be 

 adapted to the needs of the case. It would naturally be en- 

 forced by a bureau as indicated above, in connection with 

 the plan of the attorney general. Were the tax made com- 

 pulsory and burdensome, efforts to evade it and the difficulty 

 of finding interstate commerce would be of the nature of those 

 indicated in the first plan ; but here again, as in the preceding 

 case, the decisions of the courts would ultimately doubtless 

 be of great assistance ; and if the corporations were compelled 

 to secure first their permit, evasion of the law would be more 

 difficult. Such a tax would fit well into our general scheme 

 of taxation, and would be a useful balance wheel in our entire 

 revenue system. The line of court decisions certain to be 

 made within a comparatively short time would aid congress 

 in future legislation. If need be, eventually the tax itself 

 might be a means of control. 



(3) A third plan is the federal incorporation of corpora- 

 tions engaged in interstate commerce. This plan again is in 

 line with both plans preceding, but is one step further. There 

 seems to be little doubt that it would be constitutional. 

 Should congress make a corporation law too burdensome or 

 rigid, the manufacturing corporations would not organize 



