The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1855-06-13
[For the Spirit of Democracy.
TAyEs0


Ma EDITOR II was surprised to SCI
an article in the last number Of the .spiri
attacking portion of the Democrat,
State Ticket. Now, sir, if the SPIRIT il
to become the medium of these shameless
and unjustifable attacks on the State
ticket, / wish to know it, let them come
from what quarter they may The author
of the article signed "a Citizen,o (and
the writer might just as well have signed
his true name, for every reader of the
spirit knows him as well as if he had So
done-no man can be mistaken in the
author, when he examines the style and
subject says: "Our present system Of
taxation, no thinking man will defend. y
Very well, sir, and who wants to defend
1T? have no disposition to do so, at
least at present. But l could, and may
at some future time, attempt to show that
our present system of taxation is more
defensible than "a Citizen'sn attack upon
what he calls the executive government. y
He says our system" /" of taxation "is
the mere blunder of the executive govern
ment." If he had said that the system
was "the mere blunder" of the members
of the Constitutional Convention, he would
have been nearer the truth. And it is
not the only "blunder" of that body.
But Mr.. Editor, l am at loss to perceive
why "a Citizen" vents his spleen on the
executive" and not the "judicial' de-
partment of the State, unless for the pur-
pose of shifting the responsibility from
the shoulders of the Judges of the Supreme
Court and members of the Constitutional
Convention to that of one man. And
now, sir, if "a Citizen" or any other
"lone!y, forlorn frie...u Of then new Con-
sttutlon Or of the Supreme Court wishes
10 defend the Constitution or the Court
as against the executive" (by which
g a Citizen" means the Auditor of State,
and will show that the State Auditor. and
not the Court and Constitution, is respon-
sIble for our present system of taxation,
let him "pitch in" and in six troubles /
will be with him and will not forsake him
in the seventh.
No, Mr.. Editor, this attack upon the
Auditor of State is q mere trick-a de-
vice to draw the minds of the people away
from the real authors of these wrongs. if
wrongs they be. And /, for one, am not
to stand tamely by and see it
done without raising my voice against
such gross injustice.
A Citizen /" says " thesystem has never
received the countenance of the Legisla-
tive department. Suppose it has not.
The Supreme Court has decided that that
part of the tax law allowing the deduction
from moneys and credits was unconstitu-
Iional, and hence there was and is no neces-
sity for Legislative action. The Court
las oyerrode the law, and has thrown the
whole responsibility on the members of the
Constitutional convention. And with lit
lie change in the language of "A Citizen y
might say: The Constitution and Court
created it." aLeto them "defend. y
Let every Democrat; withdraw his sup
port, and the sooner the better for the
party and the country"
I do not wish, Mr.. Editor, to get up
my feeling against the members of the
Constitutional Convention or the Supreme
Court, but l do not wish them to shift the
esponsibility from their own shoulders to
he shoulders of the innocent.
FAIR-PLAY. /