ell?

A.: They are not looked upon as people who dispose of real estate
after they once get possession of it.

Q.: Have you the power to exact from them a statement of their
rent rolls?

A.: No.

Q.: Don't you think that ... if you are going to levy a tax
properly and fully ... you ought to be vested with that power to
learn what the returns and revenues of that property are?

A.: No, sir; it's none of our business.[159]

This fraudulent evasion of taxation was anything but confined to the
Astor family. It was practiced by the entire large propertied interests,
not only in swindling New York City of taxes on real estate, but also
those on personal property. Coleman admitted that while the total
valuation of the personal property of all the corporations in New York
was assessed at $1,650,000,000, they were allowed to swear it down to
$294,000,000.

Here we see again at work that fertile agency which has assisted in
impoverishing the masses. Rentals are exacted from them, which represent
on the average the fourth part of their wages. These rentals are based
upon the full assessment of the houses that they live in. In turn, the
landlords defraud the city of one-half of this assessment. In order to
make up for this continuous deprivation of taxes, the city proceeds time
and time again to increase taxes and put out interest-bearing bond
issues. These increased taxes, as in the case of all other taxes, fall
upon the workers and the results are seen in constantly rising rents and
in higher prices for all necessities.

LICENSED PIRACY RAMPANT.

Was any criminal action ever instituted against these rich defrauders?
None of which there is any record.

Not a publicist, editor, preacher was there who did not know either
generally or specifically of these great frauds in taxation. Some of
them might protest in a half-hearted, insincere or meaningless way. But
the propertied classes did not mind wordy criticism so long as it was
not backed by political action. In other words, they could afford to
tolerate, even be amused by, gusty denunciation if neither the laws were
changed, nor the particular enforcement or non-enforcement which they
demanded. The essential thing with them was to continue conditions by
which they could keep on defrauding.

Virtually all that was considered best in society--the men and women who
lived in the finest mansions, who patronized art and the ope