Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1865-11-16

contracted to tho true and patriotic men in
this land, who risked everything in the
way Of wealth for the salvsties Of the coun-
try, who poured cut their money like water,
and ssid--'Take it for twenty or fer forty
or for eighty years, and If you want more,
come back, and 90 far as God gives us the
means We will give it to you, ALL We
said 70 them, the States and State corpora
tioBs shall not tar your bonds. We did not
say the General Government should not tax
your bonds, for the manifest reason that
the Federal Government cannot divest itself
of power essential to its existence, which it
cannot cast off without committing suicide;
and that is the power to lay not only all the
wealth but all the life of this country, under
contributions, if need be, for the defense Of
the nation. But we did say, the States and
municipalities should not tax them either in
the hands Of the returned soldiers or the
widowed mother or the orphan children Of
the fallen brave, or in the hands of the cred
itors Of the government.
oPINI0N OF CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL.
Yen are in favor Of equal taxation. are
you2 l am in favor Of keeping faith. /
know and upon moments reflection you
will perceive that this is the most danger
Gus form of secession that either man or the
devil himself, the father Of secession as be
is the father lies, can invent. Applause.
The idea is not original with me; it was ut
tered from the supreme tribunal of Ameri.
ca fifty years age by that great man who
honored his native State of Virginia and
did honor to the human race-than whom
brighter, Robler or profounder spirit never
wore the judicial ermine.
Go ponder on that grand argument as
we'll as judicial opinion Of Chief Justice
Marshall, reported in the case Of McCul.
see how he demonstrates the fact that the
Federal Government cannot exist in safety
and perhaps cannot survive at all If the sew
eral States of this Union are permitted 10
tax the Federal securities. l am disposed
to follow the lead of Marshall.
Now what do you say, my little gentleman
Democrat2 Do you suppose you know
more of this subject than Chief Justice
Marshall? His argument was that it was
essential, absolutely essential to the main
tenance Of the Government that it should
have the power to protect its own securities
against either municipal or State taxation.
| undertake to say, more convincing, more
conclusive argument never was issued from
the judicial bench of any country. 1t was
worthy Of his great fame. And it does not
surprise me at all when | refer to it that
the moment the last syllable Of it had drop
ped from his lips, Pinckney arose in bis
place and said after this decision of the
highest tribunal of the land, the Constitu-
ten of my country is immortal" And to-
day. after such decision, we are to be told
by these paltry demagogues that they are
in favor of equal taxation-running about
among the people attempting to excite the
laboring and productive classes everywhere
against the wealth of the country. / have
not seen their papers in the State Of West
Virginia. but in the State of Ohio, notice
captions like this: THE monied aristocracy
exempted from taxation"
have said | am not in favor Of such
equal taxation. Nor is any man of you who
has reflected on the subject, in favor Of it.
Especially when great amount Of money
is to be raised. The truth is, nations on
this subject follow literally the direction Of
Holy Writ, that to whom much is given, of
him much will be required. | undertake
to say here tonight, without the least ap-
prehensicn of contradiction by any we'll in-
! formed gentleman, that never in the his
terry of the world was there tax law which
so strongly Disseminated against the rich,
in favor of the poor, the middle and the
producing classes, as does the Federal tax
law of the United States Of America. -
Why, there are individuals, these mcniea aris
tocrats, as they are called, who loaned their
money by the million to the Government in
the midst of the struggle and in the face of
these democrats who howled, You cannot
borrow any money. We have no credit. -
The debt will never be paid" Amongst
these very men thus insulted day by day by
these democrats, there are men whe pay
more to the Treasury of the United States
than all the people Of Ohio county put to-
gether And yet these men are to be de-
nounced by these miserable creatures, not
one of whom ever paid . dollar into the
Federal alTreasury-these fellows that neither
toll nor spin nor gather into barns, that
hang about the corners and howl Democra-
cy, that could not lift finger to save the
Government, that called it unconstitutional
to borrow the money in the first place, and
equally so to pay it back in the second place.
Laughter. They come and tell me, and
tell everybody, that the monied aristocracy
are protected by this law. Why, my good
friends, say here to night, and it is mat
ter of mathematical demonstration, it you
look to the returns of the Treasury Depart
ment, that tho commercial men of the
United States who are wealthy men, the
manufacturers of the, United States who
arc wealthy men, and the monied capitalist.
of the United States pay three. .fourths o.
all the internal revenue paid at the rate o.
, million day into your treasury. Iher'
. is not one farmer in hundred in our State
, land think it is true in this, unless your
are great deal better off than ours, ane
. if they are I am glad of it, for our men ar
we'll to do in the world, and your men de
serve to he for what they have done already
I but say there is not one farmer in
!, hundred in the State Of Ohio, that pay
> one single dollar of Federal tax under tina
= law. Why? Because you do not tax hi
land in the first plaee--what next? Yo
|. tax bis income--well yeu' tax 10 over an
e above six hundred dollars, and there is nc
i one in hundred that has any income owe
r that, and that therefore pays any tax. No
. YOU are in favor of equal taxation, Nj
Democrat? know the lie sticks GROSS
:" legged in your throat. Laughter and AZ
plause. What are these capitalists take
!. on their income? Five per cent. on thel
- first $4,4O0 over 5000 Of income. Wilhal
y B. Astor is allowed just the same as thu
ct little boy, and on the first "a, 400 is require
;s to pay Eve per cent, and on the BALANCE
Iy his million is required to pay ten per cen
a. =. Did you ever hear Of such tax apywher'
,e And why lay such burden on. him? Sin
- ni, bacahsa he is able to bear it, in the FIR