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Re "Tax evasion" (Forum, Feb. 2):

If Jack McDonald wants to make a case for not vilifying pro golfer Phil Mickelson and other wealthy people today, it is not wise to compare them to "the likes of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan and Ford."

It was comparatively easy for these gentlemen to make an outsized imprint on our society because they all made their vast fortunes before 1913, when the 16th Amendment was ratified, authorizing the federal government to collect income tax. How big would their fortunes have been if they had had to pay income tax?

And let's not forget that at one time or another, all of these men were totally ruthless and virtually enslaved their employees because of the lack of labor laws.

John L. Paxton

Murray