The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-09-17
Statement OF Facts Regarding Taxa
ton and the Public Debt.

ton and the Public Debt.
We make the following extract from
aspeech delivered by Hon. J ohm A. Logan,
at Morris, Illinois. 1t furnishes facts
regarding taxation and tie public debt,
worthy careful parusal:
TAXING THE BONDS.
Well, but they say they are in favor OF
taxing the bonds. | am in favor of tax
ing the bonds, but not IN the same way
that they are. We have taxed the bonds.
We tax them now We have tax on
the interest of the bond-an income tax.
All who have over a thousand dollars
lncome-they are allowed that much
nave to pay tax on it. But these Dem
ocrats say to you that the bond holder
does not pay any school tax, that he does
not pay any State tax, and hence he has
the advantage over the farmer and the
mechanic. Now, [ wish we could all be
honest and tell the truth. It is the best
way. We would get along better and
everybody would then understand us.
NOW the Democratic party claim to be a
constitutional party they claim to be a
Eaw-ablding party. If they are, let me
ask them one question. lift is unlawful
and unconstitutional for State to tax
government bond, | suppose Democrat
would not be In favor of it. 1t seems to
me he ought not. Now don t you re-
member that during Dem ocratic admin
Istratlon previous y we borrowed money?
We owed some $50, 900, 900 for the Mex
lean war. We gave our bonds bearing
aoerSaln Interest, and we only paid up
the last of these bonds last January. Did
you eyer hear Democrat, in all your life,
during Democratic administration,
argoe IN favor, of taxing these govern
ment bonds, that they themselves had
gwen during the Mexican war. ["No,
mol! | guess not, and they never were
taxed. Why? There was reason for it.
They claim to be law-abiding men-men
that would obey the constitution. An
attempt was made to tax them. What
was the result? 1t went to the Supreme
Court, and it decided, in four or five
cases, that a State or a municipality
could not tax a national bond or the
national debt Then if the Supreme
Court Of the United States, the highest
authority, has decided thus, [ ask wheth
er if the Republican party did not want
TO violate the law by fixing tax on
thing that you cannot tax according to
the decision of your Supreme Court, they
are to be accused of disregard of the in
SereSs of the people2 Now the Demo-
Gratis do not say what the Supreme Court
has decided. Here not long ago the
Supreme Court have decided the same
principle. Upon what same principle is
this decided? 1t is upon this principle
that the national government must be the
protector OF It's own credit. The national
government is responsible for its own
debt, and it must be for its own credit
suppose the national government should
give State the authority to tax its bonds
and one OF your States, OF take eleven
States, as we have before seen, should be
IN rebellion against the government, or,
N other words, should be in opposition
TO the government, and wanted to destroy
the credit of the government. That
State would tax these bonds at such a
rate as to depreclate them much below
par, and bring doubt upon the credit of
the National Government, In that way
making the tax much higher in order to
hurt the bonds. Now, if you. had to
raise billion of dollars to- day, ask you
TO answer me this: Suppose this is the
government here, for illustration and you
want to raise billion of dollars to-day
lou go into the market and you say,
we want to borrow two billions of dol
lars. The man that has the money to
lend, says, Eyes, | will loan you the
money, but cannot some Of this crowd go
off there to themselves and tax these
bonds?' "No," you say, they cannot
do it, because we propose to maintain
our credit and hence we cannot allow a
little faction of us to destroy the credit of
the whole Then the man says, Very
well, upon The faith OF the whole, that
the credit will not be destroyed, [ will
loan the money" That is the theory
that is the government credit that you
cannot tax, and any State that taxes the
bonds is taxing the national credit and Is
depreciating it thereby. Hence the Ma
tional Government cannot allow the SOW
ereignty of a State to be higher in author
ity than the National Government is it
SELF Why this principle would ruin any
government. 1t is the principle upon
which these men seeded. They seeded
because they set the State authority
higher than the national authority; that
State was sovereign, and citizen owed
his allegiance to his State over and above
that which he owed to the National Gov
eminent Hence they seeded on these
propositions. Now, if you turn around
and claim for State authority to tax
the national credit, and thus give it high
er authority than the National Govern
ment. it is the same principle upon which
these Southern men seeded from the
government, to destroy the national
credit. Then my fellow citizens, on this
question of the taxation of bonds we pro-
tested, as | said, to tax the bonds. We
hare done it by putting an income tax on
them.
FROM ANOTHER STANDPOINT.
Now. my fellow citizens let us examine
this question of taxation from another
standpoint. As l remarked to you, the
republican party propose to pay this
have been doing. The Democratic party
Now, | wa to know according TO the
Republican. theory, what taxes do the
people of this country pay the National
Government. You pay your county tax
you pay your State tax and perhaps they
are heavy. l do not know how that is,
but what tax do you pay the National
Government? they talk to the poor peo-
pie, but say the policy of the Repub-
hcan party is protection of the poor
man 1t is protection of the mechanic
Of the laboring man, and of the farming
classes. Whenever you change the policy
that the Republicans have adopted how,
you take the burdens of the rich man,
OF the manufactures, or the merchants
aud put them on the shoulders of the
poor man. What tax does the poor man
pay In this country [ VIII venture the
assertion to-day, that there is not poor
man IN this country that pays one cent
tax to the National Government Not
one. Why? a yoice-when he buys
M ms ~ eosffeel When he buys his coffee