The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-24
CITY INTELLIGENOE.
iron AnD1rIoNAI LOCAL IrnA.s SEE ouraIDn rAsn
TAXATTON.

Hail. under the auspices of the Union League
was inaugurated last evening by a monster
affair, the room being crowded to excess. Among
he audience was an unusually large number of
Iades, who took deep interest in everything
that was said and done. At O'clock Samuel &. /
Perkins, Esq, called the meeting to order, and
nominated Henry 9. Carey, Esq, as President,
who introduced, in few remarks, the Hon.
James g. Blaine, of Maine. This gentleman, on
approaching the front of the stand, was re-
ceived with great applause The audience being
quieteJ, the honorable gentleman sald;-
am sore that there is nothing in my personal
or political history that could warrant such
demonstration OF applause, and therefore take
u as an ascripuon, through me, to the gallant
republican party ID my state. 1t was for the
sake of Pennsylvania that they labored so bard
and successfully in that great State. They
could have laid still and tied one arm behiud
them and whipped the Democracy, but they re-
membered that you in PeDnsy ylvania had
closer election, and they wanted to show the
Democratic party that their power was gone
from them forever. We telt-as the drummer
boy said, and as wrote to General Grant Tap
plause) that the battle rested on US, and we
thought II we beat them lessl the Pennsylvania
corps would have come up in vain.
We'll, we do not owe tlis great victory entirely
to ourselves. But we had others there to help
us. One OF your great men, Judge Kelley
(applause)-dld us most gallant service; nor
can we forget the seventeen speeches of one
who is here to-night-Hon. Henry Wilson, of
Massachusetts, (Applause.) We owe our great
victory TO the aid received from other States,
and am here tonight, not to repay the SER
vices rendered by your distinguished citizen,
but simply TO acknowledge our nde btedness. |
l also came here to ask you to initiate our
example. (Great cheering, and cries of "We
will.) You really don't know how badly we
have whipped the Democrats down In Maine.
We have LETT only enough 10 be seen next
year. We buried them face downwards, so that
II they ever reappear on this mundane sphere,
it will be somewhere in the region of China.
The Democracy told in our Name
campaign that of all people in the world the
Americans at this time are the most down
trodden, the most overburdened, and the most
oppressed, iand that this overburdening and
oppression was the natural sequence of the
system of Federal taxation now in force. |
observe in a morning paper OF your own city, in
a speech by Ex-Governor Bigler that the same
refrain is taken up here, and that the people of
Pennsy ylvania are invited under the same Cry
that was raised in Maine to abandon their
support of the Republican party, and wander
off after the lead Of those to whom we are \
already Indebted for the great legacy of
rebellion, to subdue which cost five hundred
thousand lives, and twenty seven hundred
he would not encourage the mere croaRer about
taxation, but that really we are the worst tax
ndden people upon the face of the earth. He
iDtimates, however, that he had not himself
been conscious of this terrible oppression until
| after reading speech made by Mr.. Pendleton
| at Bangor, in the State Of Maine. Laughter.)
NOW, 10 JnaL speech OF PendietOn'S, my
friends, it was my privilege to reply before many
large and intelligent audiences in the s ate of
| Name, and esteem it a peculiar privilege TO be
| allowed the opportunity OF replying to it on the
soil of my native State of Pennsy lvania, and
bef re an audience OF the loyal people who have
achieved for that State her present great renown
snd In the Hs pas 1r 1r Seoe ny rG
| dieDces, as shall now inquire before this what
particular form of taxation it is that is COM
| planned OF as oppressive upon the industrial and
| labOrlnp classes this HaDDiV
| the more speedy termination OF discussion of
| this kind, questions OF taxation are essentially
| matters Of TACT. We may rest on the old adage
that Figures will not le," and therefore we are
not required to resort to presumptions and
specu' alions but are enabled to turn at once to
| the law and the testimony.
| Now, the revenue to be raised this year from
| this entire country by the National Government
| would amount to three hundred and thirty
millions of dollars. This is very large sum,
admit; but 1t must be remembered that the
| country which is called upon to pay this sum is
a very large country, and one which possesses
| immense and almost incalculable resources. 1t
| would be q burden upon the city of PHILADELPHIA
| for her 10 undertake the payment OF this three
| hume red and thirty millions; it would be oppres-
| sive upon this great Keystone Commonwealth 10
| pay that amount; it would be oppressive to
| compel its payment by any five or by any ten
| States of this Union; but when YOU take our
| whole vast domain, with its well-nigh forty
States and ten Territories and it's forty millions
| of people, with development of wealth before
| unknown aud altogether unparalleled in all
| history the amount actually, demonstratively
| and Inevitably becomes quite inconsiderable as
| burden or an oppression
| But l do not purpose to rest upon mere
| general statement of this character. propose,
| with your leave, to address TO you as an inteli-
| gent audience few questions which, If not
| answered on the spot, VIII at least, hope, lead
| to such reflections may call forth siguif-
cant answer at your polls on the 18th of October.
| OF the $3.50, 900 of revenue which have
spoken of as the Federal receipts of the current
| year. $l60O00,00 will be raised from the tariff
| on foreign imports, and S170, 900, ,0G0 from the
receipts from internal revenue. 0f.the tariff
| receipts, nearly ninety millions will be derived
from the duties on articles Of luxury, many of
| which articles are pernicious and injurious in
their general use, such as French bfaudies,
champagne wines, and wines OF other kinds
Besides these may be enumerated silks, Velyets.
costly laces, rich India shawls, and the other
| innumerable gewgaws and luxuries in which
the rich and the eXtravagant choose to in lulge
take IL for granted without arguing, that no
one will contend that revenue derived from this
source is any oppression TO the poor man or the
laboring man, or is any hiDdrance to the pro-
gress OF the industrial interests of the nation,
The remaining seventy or eighty millions that
| are derived from the tariff come undoubtedly
from the duties assessed on articles OF necessity
and used among all classes And need hardly
| ask here on the SOIL of Pennsylvania whether
| it be desirable that these duties, which shield
| our mechanics and artisans from the competition
OF foreign labor aud pauper wages, shall be
stricken down. need hardly ask here whether
you are wiling that your vast Industrial esta-
| blishnlent which have grown up in your midst,
| and have given wealth and prosperity to your
! noble state and promoted the glory and re no gp
| of our nation, shall now be placed under the
ruinous and TO them fatal competition of the
pauper labor of Europe; for such will be the
inevitable result OF striking down that system of
nTo, CctIye duties in our tariff TO which our in