en, based upon the income tax
returns of that country, which has formed the theme of much dispute. The
table shows that in the two years, 1886 and 1896, less than one per cent
of the incomes assessed were over 10,000 marks a year, and from this
fact it has been argued that wealth in that country has not been
concentrated to any very great extent. In like manner, the French
economist, Leroy-Beaulieu, has argued that the fact that in 1896 only
2750 persons in Paris had incomes of over 100,000 francs a year betokens
a wide diffusion of wealth and an absence of concentration.[109] But the
important point of the discussion, the _proportion of the total wealth
owned by these classes_, is entirely lost sight of by those who argue in
this manner. Further, it must always be borne in mind that there is a
decided tendency in all income tax schedules to understate the amount of
incomes above a certain size, the larger the income the more likelihood
of its being understated in the returns. The psychology of this fact
needs no elaborate demonstration. Taking the figures for the Grand Duchy
of Baden as they are given, we have no particulars at all concerning the
number of incomes under 500 marks, but of the persons assessed upon
incomes of 500 marks and over, in 1886, the poorest two thirds had about
one third of the total income, and the richest 0.69 per cent had 12.78
per cent of the total income. So far, the figures show a much greater
concentration of wealth than appears from the simple fact that less than
one per cent of the incomes assessed were over 10,000 marks a year.

Going further, we compare the two years, 1886 and 1896, and find that
this concentration increased during the ten-year period as follows: In
1886, there were 2212 incomes of more than 10,000 marks assessed, being
0.69 per cent of the total number. In 1896, there were 3099 incomes of
more than 10,000 marks assessed, being 0.78 per cent of the total
number. In 1886, 0.69 per cent of the incomes assessed amounted to
51,403,000 marks, representing 12.77 per cent of the total assessed
wealth; while in 1896, 0.78 per cent of the incomes assessed amounted to
81,986,000 marks, representing 15.02 per cent of the total wealth so
assessed. In 1886 there were 18 incomes of over 200,000 marks a year,
aggregating 6,864,000 marks, 1.70 per cent of the total value of all
incomes assessed; in 1896, there were 28 such incomes, aggregating
12,481,000 marks, or 2.29 per cent of the