INGELOW 



2992 



INHERITANCE TAX 



man, for eighteen years a United States Sena- 

 tor, was born at Middleton, Mass. He was 

 graduated from Williams College in 1855, and 

 in 1858 removed to Atchison, Kan., where he 

 practiced law and became interested in the 

 antislavery movement which was then center- 

 ing there. For many years he was editor of 

 the Atchison Champion. In 1873 he was 

 elected United States Senator from Kansas and 

 reflected in 1879 and in 1885. Ingalls was 

 noted for scholarly attainments, was a brilliant 

 writer and eloquent speaker and excelled in the 

 power of descriptive writing. He attracted at- 

 tention in his later years by his literary talent; 

 his best-known poem, Opportunity, printed be- 

 low, is destined to live: 



Master of human destinies am I ! 



Fame, love and fortune on my footsteps wait ; 



Cities and fields I walk ; I penetrate 



Deserts and seas remote, and passing by 



Hovel and mart and palace soon or late 



I knock unbidden once at every gate ! 



If sleeping, wake ; if feasting, rise before 



I turn away. It is the hour of fate, 



And they who follow me reach every state 



Mortals desire, and conquer every foe 



Save death ; and those who doubt and hesitate, 



Condemned to failure, penury and woe, 



Seek me in vain and uselessly implore. 



I answer not, and I return no more ! 



INGELOW, in'jelo, JEAN (1820-1897), an 

 English poet and novelist, born in Lincolnshire. 

 Her fame was established in 1863 by the publi- 

 cation of her Poems. This collection passed 

 through twenty-three editions and contained, 

 among other poems, High Tide on the Coast 

 of Lincolnshire and Divided. Later publica- 

 tions included Songs of Seven, Poems of the 

 Old Days and the New, and the novels, Off the 

 Skelligs, Sarah de Berenger, Don John, etc. 

 Jean Ingelow excels in descriptive lyrics, al- 

 though her novels possess much of the charm 

 of her poetical writings. 



INGERSOLL, a town in Oxford County, On- 

 tario, in the southern part of the Ontario pen- 

 insula. It is on the Grand Trunk and Cana- 

 dian Pacific railways, nineteen miles northeast 

 of London, thirty-six miles west of Brantford 

 and sixty-one miles southwest of Hamilton. 

 It is also connected with Woodstock, nine miles 

 northeast, by electric railway. Though not a 

 large town, Ingersoll has extensive manufactur- 

 ing interests, and ships large quantities of 

 machinery, agricultural implements, furniture, 

 woolen goods, flour, packed meat products, 

 pianos and hearses. After the outbreak of the 

 War of the Nations the manufacture of shells 



became one of the leading industries. Popula- 

 tion in 1911, 4,763; in 1916, about 5,500. 



INGERSOLL, ing'gersol, ROBERT GREEN 

 (1833-1899), an American lawyer, lecturer, ora- 

 tor and writer, who became widely known 

 throughout America as a pronounced opponent 

 of orthodox Christianity. For his subject mat- 

 ter he drew largely on the works of Thomas 

 Paine (which see). Ingersoll was born in Dres- 

 den, N. Y., the son of a Congregational clergy- 

 man. After the removal of the family to 

 Illinois, Robert took up the study of law, was 

 admitted to the bar and later entered politics 

 as a Democrat. In 1862 he took part in the 

 War of Secession, serving as colonel of the 

 Eleventh Illinois Infantry. After the war he 

 became prominent in Republican politics, se- 

 curing national fame in 1876 by reason of a 

 stirring speech delivered in behalf of James G. 

 Elaine at the Republican Presidential conven- 

 tion at Cincinnati. He was also notably suc- 

 cessful as a lawyer for several large corpora- 

 tions. His published works include The Gods, 

 and Other Lectures, Some Mistakes of Moses 

 and Great Speeches. 



INHERITANCE TAX, an assessment levied 

 by law upon property descending by will to 

 heirs or other beneficiaries. For over two 

 thousand years this has been one of the im- 

 portant sources of government revenue, the 

 original levy having been made in Rome be- 

 fore the Christian Era. Governments of 

 Europe upon their organization during the 

 centuries have in nearly every instance adopted 

 the plan, with modifications and improvements 

 upon the Roman method. Inheritance taxes 

 in England and Germany have provided for 

 many years a very large revenue, and in those 

 countries to-day are called "death duties." 

 Canada does not impose such a tax in behalf 

 of the Dominion, but the provinces are per- 

 mitted to make it a part of their source of 

 revenue. In the United States during the War 

 of Secession Congress passed an inheritance 

 tax, but it was repealed with the restoration of 

 peace. Several states have such a law in 

 operation, notably those along the Atlantic 

 seaboard. The revenues of New York are 

 largely increased by a state law taxing inherit- 

 ances, because of the many large fortunes held 

 there. 



An inheritance tax is approved by practically 

 all economists, but has been fought by wealth, 

 particularly in the United States, on the ground 

 that it is a direct tax, therefore illegal, because 

 according to the Constitution direct taxes must 



