Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-09-17

our institutions VIII be ehtfclN oNcf'
thrown.
In support Of this apprehension J
may remind YOU ofcpcalcd cncroach.
mcnts by the same Congress upon The
integrity Of the ballot Take for IN.
stance the usc of Morgan, Of Ohio,
who. with a clear majority Of thou.
sand or moro of lcgalvotce, was denied
scat. as were also Brown and Mckee,
Of kentucky, who had received three
i0urths of the legal votes IN their rc.
spectivc districts, and others were ad-
mitted in their stead. In point OF
law and Justice, Congress might as
well 20 out amongst the mass OF peo.
pie and select whom il may TO iill seats
in that body. Outragcs upon the
rights of private citizens are too well
known to need discussion on this oc.
casion. Buffers recent capture of
private papers as the head of a nous
ing committed, in point of law and
honor, stands on a par with his man
ner of getting spoons at New Orleans.
But other evils are upon us. The
waste of the public money is without
precedent. The Radicals have al
ways talked economy, but they are
practising the widest prodigality.
We'll we all remember their reproach-
es upon the Buchanan administration
for its current expenditures and yet,
in three yearsof peace, from July, 1868,
to July, 1868, they have drawn from
tho people the enormous sum Of fif-
teen hundred and ninety-fosr millions
| Isl, ,594, ,000,O00) of dollars, and when
you deduct from that tho iAt@est on
the new debt, say four hundred mil
lions ia the same time, and the in
crease of pensions, &c, you stiil have
nine hundred millions for the ordinary
expenses of the Government, for three
years, against two hundred and fifty
six millions under the Buchanan ad-
ministration for its full term Of four
years or an increase Of four hundred
per cent. lfthey say we have larger
army and a Freedmcn's Bureau,
our answer is that that is just what
we allege, and that you should have
neither. | am sure that neither will
be retained when the Democracy come
into power.
j would not encourage the mere
croaker about taxation, but really,
gentlemen, we are becoming the worst
tax-ridden people on the face of the
earth. / am led to this strong re-
mark by certain facts presented by
Mr. Pendleton, in his recent great
speech, at Bangor, Maine. lie shows
that the total valuation Of taxable
property in the United States amounts
to s14,2S2, ,726,0sS and that the taxes
collected from the people for the last
three years exceeds ten per cent. on
this total valuation-whilst the taxa
ton in Great Britain for the same pc
riod amounted TO less than the one
thirtieth part Of the valuation. That
the taxation for the las. three years,
in the United States, amounted to
s84 25 on each individual, man, won.
an and child, whilst in France, for the
same period, it amounted TO about
S22, and in Austria, TO less than SIG.
The public debt ofour rcountryamounts
to about s74 to each inhabitant and
in France to about s53 and in Prussia
to Sl2. The recollection of the final
payment of the old public debt, by
General Jackson, is fresh in my mind,
and the debt when left the Senate,
in 1861, was a mere bdgattiie-not
enough TO make pocket money for
this spendthri1 Of a Congress, and
now ii counts $1,000, 900, 600, and, ae-
cording TO Secretary Mccullough, is
on the increase. The evils of oppres-
sive taxation are rarely appreciated.
Each feels the inconvenience of pay
ment but the general restraint upon
productive industry is seldom duly
appreciated. The Radical press and
orators are assiduous in their efforts
10 make the laborers, operatives and
mechanics believe that they pay none
of the taxes because they have little
property on which TO assess them.
This is a silly and transparent decep-
ton. These are the very men who
pay taxes, and onerous taxes, for theirs
is tax upon existence They pay
not according 70 their possessions ;
but according TO their consumptions
The poor mans taxables are composed
of his big family. lie is taxed 25
cents in gold for every pound of tea !
five cents in gold on every pound Of
coffee. lie also pays on sugar and
cloths and other articles Of consump-
ton. The laborer aud mechanic, not
taxpayers !! ! Why, gentlemen, if the
indirect taxes were called for by tax.
gatherer, they would not long be en-
dured We should have open resis-
tance from one end Of the land to the
other.
have little to say on the greenback
and bond question regard the le-
gal tender act itself as the greatest
financial blundcr Of modern times,
and the recollection that / did what !
could TO prevent its passage, is source
of some qualification. IL has added
at least one thousand millions TO the
public debt, aud for this blunder the
party in power must answer TO the
people. The exorbitant nominal val.
ues which prevailed during the wal
were largely the result OF this meas
nre. Men were captivatcd by what
they termed a rise in prices but the
rise was in truth nothing but a great
decline in the standard by which pri-
ces were ascertained, and the Govern.
ment paid oil this margin on subsis-
tence and material for the war. The
iniquity Of its operation, upon private
contracts, wherein it substituted tangi-
bio evidence of the Indebtedness of
the Government, for the constitution
al legal tender of gold and silver, will
tarnish the character of the govern
ment TO the end of time. OF the pub
lie debt thus enlarged about sixteen
millions-known as 500 bonds-i'
clearly payable in legal tender notes
and should be so paid, and the remain
der in rold. The Republican platform