Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-02-05
A Railroad Argument against Taxation
for Railroads.

the right thus to tax, arising from any
authority save the authority OF opin-
ion allnded to in my first article;
but admit the right for the time be-
ing TO test its bearings in the pToduc-
tive activities Of life Ifmy noighbor
has the right to vote me into railroad
ing certainly have the right to vote
him into merchandising, wool, pork,
or poultry growing. If the legisla-
ture can constitutionally and right
fully enable you and Hon. w. w.
Field to vote ne into a Joint stock
railroad relation with the New York
Central or the Chicago and North
western r. r., ii can enable Mr.. Field
and ! TO vote you into blaclsmithing,
potato or pumpkin growing, milling.
manufacturing Of woollens, cottons,
silks, leather, &C., and after we have
saddled tax upon you Cor these and
an endless catalogue of other CONNER
c,alncceSSltjeS how much money would
You have left TO secure your power
/ press or otherwise extend the facili.
ties OF your printing establishment?
Now hold that for the benefit OF
j. 9. Cover as we'll as the public ben
eft Of Grant County You ought to en-
JOY the right of individual enterprise
IN this matter, that YOU ought to have
the privilege of entertaining and dc
veloping individual parpose in this as
IN all other matters concerning your
self which do not interfere with the
righttul privileges of others. This is
certainly Indispensable to the best re
suits in the production, distribution
and consumption Of wealth, and yet
Mr.. Field and ('fhe majority 50 think
lag') in our zeal tor the pubic Ielfare,
can entirely prevent you by voting
your last dollar in aid OF our views Of
public usefulness. Although this, on
our part, would be nothing less than
coercing you into an undesirable form
OF communi ma communism in
which there Would be no separate
rights in property, nor yet any public
guarantee against pauperism--still,
we deny that things shall stop NOV
ing to accommodate the miscrly few
everywhere to be met in the way Of
all business. No, bIacksmithing and
potato growing are indispensable in
q high latitude, and would flourish I'M
der the impetus Of associated capital.
Milling, too, is Of the first Importance,
and if we Will continue TO enact the
folly of feeding the world of mankind,
let us do it with such refnements as
will least impovcrish us, and as for
the manufacture Of woolens, cottons,
leather, DC, why, that is of immeas-
urably more interest to us than even
the construction Of railroads. If YOU
desire proof Of this we refer you to
editorials Of the ReraH in which YOU
offer unanswerablo argument like
this: chat the bringing Of the plodu
Ger and consumer together would dis
pcnse with transportation, and cOnse-
quently home manufacture in Grant
county. would enable It's industry to
do without railroads to a great OK
tent" Thus you see, my dear sir,
that from some Of your soundest edi-
torial logic Mr.. Field and | would be
constrained to vote y0u into manufac-
turing, even if you did fail to run the
HerqH BY steam This would eyi-
IDENTIFY be hardship to you, and yet
it would be less a hardship, because .
4 greater public benefit, than my being
turned over to the New York Central
or the Chicago and Northwestern
road.
But do you realize the legitimate
bearings Of your argument on this
subject? You advocate the faaocy Of
/ crippijag the demcftS Of ,ceaith to IN
crease tie aggregate Of Wealth. Now,
IN the process of industrial accounts
Iation where there is no hope would
there DC any effort? or, where there
were no means OF control would there
be any hope or, without hope, with
out effort, would You be likely to pro-
duce wealth ? or could You have eth
er hope effort, or ueaItk, where you
had no separaterigdt in Property7 But
the onormijy ofthe proposition i8 not
confined to the prostraton upon a
common altar Of al you have and ali
yon hope for; ii is rendered even more
conspicuous in the perversion Of that
gem of wisdom-thc injunction
"mind your own business" and sub
shutting the absolute necessity Of ev-
erybody minding the business of cv-
erybody else Now, if any one thing
has been well established by all for
mer lessons Of experience it Is, that
not only in the mechanic arts but in
professional as well rs tho entire
range Of rational achievement, Dis
vision Of labor is the grand secret Of
excellence and success; and while
pursuant to first principles, in The ex-
listing order Of things, the world has
no brighter prospect ofimprovement
than springs from this source yet in
1 Your p0litico commercial communism
YOU require everybody to swing
round the circle" ofall human thought
and dilute themselves in the problem
Of universal knowledge. Is all this
good policy Legitimate taxes are
known mathematical distractions
from the ability Of production; and
here comes the specious argument Of
J. G. Cover and Hon. w. W. Field
that The proposed tax favors produc-
ton or augments wealth by increas-
ing the value OF lands Eut of what
benefit is the increased value Of land