An extraordinary doctrine is now being propounded in many quarters. It is held that the accumulation of a surplus is evidence that rates are too high and ought to be lowered; just as if the man who earns, saves and puts a dollar in bank to meet future contingencies thereby admitted himself guilty of either dishonesty or extortion. It is held that a railroad has no right to receive or enjoy income derived from any other source than the operation of its plant. It is asserted that a railroad has no right to the natural increment in the value of its property, though this is not denied to any other corporation or to any individual under like circumstances. It has been attempted to apply these principles to the regulation of railway property, stripping it of privileges enjoyed by citizens and other corporate entities under the constitution. But how about the other side of the shield? Does the state recognize and abide by this same doctrine when its own revenue is at stake? All the earnings of the railroad, from whatever source derived; all the property to which it holds title, no matter how acquired or held, is taxed by the state as the property of the railroad; either indirectly by a tax on gross earnings or directly on assessed valuation. The state has taxed surplus and all improvements made from it just the same as those made from the proceeds of stock and bond sales. Can it do this--can it tax all earnings, improvements made from earnings and surplus without confessing that the holders are entitled to the property and the income from it as truly as the state is entitled to the tax? The rule of fairness and the equal hand of the law should make the obligations and the privileges of the railroad co-extensive. The taxes paid by the railways of the United States in 1910 were about 13 per cent of the total interest and dividends. They were over 25 per cent of dividends alone. That is, the state received from the property one-fourth as much as all the owners of it put together. In the face of facts like these, no just man and no court that regards either law or equity should question the right of the railways to enjoy the natural increase and to earn the normal rate of profit on all the property they hold, no matter how invested or employed.