Gertrude Atherton Quotes
Has it ever occurred to you, that the rich are at the mercy of the poor, not the poor at that of the rich? Who permits us to be rich if not the poor?
Atherton, Gertrude. The Aristocrats. John Lane, 1901, p. 176.
The majority had held that the income tax or any tax based on income or wealth was unconstitutional (it was less than 2% only on income over $4,000--$101,000 in 2010 dollars). It took a Constitutional Amendment to have an income tax. See {587718}.
The Supreme Court had ruled that there could be no limits placed on the amount of money that could be spent by a rich company or person to campaign for a candidate. It would deny them their right to freedom of speech. That was the context of Hollings’ remark.
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was an American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state of California. Her bestseller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial, especially for her anti-communism and her white supremacist views.
