The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-12-09


equal business ability and despatch
The Revenue aud Retrsnchrn nt-Mr.
HoOpsr's Plan,
From the ~ T. Times.
Mr.. Hooper's proposition to reduce the reve-
nue. from internal taxes to $780, 600, 900, and
to keep the aggregate of appropriations within
that amount, may be too summary and sweep
ing to please timid fnanciers, but it will
doubtless commend itself to the favor of those
who hold that decisive measures are necessary
to save the country from disaster. The ap-
proved form of proceeding might, perhaps, be
somewhat different We should have long
and indefinite inquiries touching the possi-
bilities OF reduction under the respective forms
of income and expenditure.
There would be pairing here, and modifoa-
tion there and vague suggestions as to what
might hereafter be attempted in other quar-
ters. The Department estimates would be
taken for granted, and these would absolutely
regulate the taxation to be levied. Mr..
Hooper reverses matters, and handles them
more roughly. He asked Congress, in the
first place, to affirm the suficiency of reve
nue. from given sources not over $500 000, 600;
then he insists that the Committee on Ways
and Means shall cut down taxes until they
yield as calculated, $500, 900, and no
more; and then he requires the Committee on
Appropriations to diminish the expenditures
until they be brought within what is thus to
be made the entire available income for the
year.
The adoption Of this short and decisive
mode of efecting reforms will dispose of
many embarrassing questions. 1t cuts all
red-tape bandages at the outset, and throws
on the committees the duty of giving effect
| to the will of the House, instead of attempt
ing to subordinate its policy to their plans.
VNa nd fhn Nuhi MR
Hooper's bluntness will infict upon the
nervous gentlemen whose Investigations
usually end in showing chow not to do
it," They will shrink with horror from
motion which fixes the maximum cost Of
carrying on the Government, and so directly
saves the difference between that sum and
| the sum which the present system of taxation
extracts from the peoples pockets The dis
ease is desperate, however, and calls for
| promptitude and vigor in the application Of
| remedies. And no remedy could well be
more efHcacious than one which, like Mr.
| Hooper's, provides for the reduction of taxa
tion to degree that will be benefcially felt
by every interest
To appreciate the extent of the reform
which Mr.. Hooper invites the House to in
augurate, it is only necessary to glance at the
| total revenue, realized and estimated, as given
| by the Secretary of the Treasury. These are
the figures, derived from his report Just pub
lished:--
1885,, year ending June 3O............S49O6 634 OlO
1850, year ending June 30...-....... All, ,l6l 92S
1869, year ending June 30............ 35l 900 900
| Compared with the last fiscal year, Mr..
Hooper's reduction would amount to upward
of $4,000, 900, while for the current year it
would be over $ll7000000. These amounts
respectively represent the excess of burdens
beyond what We may hereafter be required to
carry. The difference between the proposed
aggregate and the aggregate computed by Mr..
McCulloch for the next fiscal year-$Sl 900, 900
lis the true measure OF Mr. Hooper's reform.
This it is which we may hope to see saved If a
thorough system of retrenchment be enjoined
upon those who are responsible for the esti-
mates. To leave the subject to them, or to
allow Mr.. McCulloch to cucumber current
wants with anticipatory payments on account
of the national debt, would be to lessen indef-
nitely the chances of retrenchment.
In proposing thus arbitrarily to strike
| SS1, 900, 600 from Mr.. McCulloch's estimated
! receipts for the next year. Mr.. Hooper does
but reflect the universal desire for a large and
immediate reduction of taxes. No other sub
ject possesses half the interest which attaches
| to this; on none else is public opinion so con-
centrated or infexible. On the currency
question differences of opinion creep in to
moderate the energy with which Legislators
may address themselves to its solution; but
| on this question of taxation the people are
obstruot retrenchment, and that the reduo-
tiOn of taxes shall be large enough to afford
! quick and tangible relief. Whether measured
! by the enormous revenue of the last or the
! current year, the reduction to $500, ,000, 900
will obviously meet this requirement. And
! no one can doubt that the saving begun by
! General Grant may be easily extended in
| other departments, until the entire eXpendi-
! ture of the Government be below the assigned
! $500, 900, 600.
To those who hesitate in regard to Mr..
! Hooper's proposition, we would suggest the
eXpedency OF some very large reduction oil
taxes as the most effective means of sitting
the movement for repudiation. General But
ler's agitation, having had no visible provoca.
tion, wears the air OF simple mischief. Mr.
Pendleton's, on the other hand, takes its rise
in the prevailing impatienoe under oppres
sive taxation, and derives whatever strength
it possesses fromEthe unwillingness-perh
we might say the inability-of the people tC
endure burdens which cripple and distress
them. Excessive taxation is the evil tC
which Mr.. Pendleton and others point il
justification of popular discomfort. By re-
ducng taxation, the refore, from 1880, 100000
or even $4l7, 600, 600, to $780, 100000, more
than material relief will be afforded. The
temptation to seek succor by disturbing tn,
contracts with the public creditor will be re
moved; the grievance of taxation will no Longer
be so enormous as to prompt rough-and-ready
methods of escape; and the operations of the
Government will necessarily be purged of the
extravaganza and corruption which now irri
tate and disgust the country. By all means
then, let Mr.. Hooper's resolution, or some
thing equivalent to it, be adopted. By NJ
otbar coursa NAV heln la SO etfectuallY rem