The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-02-15

Assembly adjourned tlll Monday evening Feb
29th, at o'clock.
X. EEALLET, Secretary pro tam.
-
Direct TmxaelOm.
We have received the following commu-
nication from valued correspondent al
AcGregOr, Iowa. We bespesk for 1t . care
ful psrusal on the part Of our readers -
Our present revenue system was designed
to make he poorer classes support the gov
ernment, while the wealthy classes are coma
parAtiFely exempt from taxation. They con-
troll the government and are represented BY
our law makers, who legislate for the rich
} against the poor.
But who represent in Congress the inter-
csts Of the poor Of the hundreds Of thou
sands out Of work in the land this winter ?
of the two soldiers widows and their child
rem who died Of starvation, in the city Of
Brooklyn, last summer, and Of the unknown
scores who have died and will die from the
same eausef 1es, poor voter, slave to some
political party, perhaps, who represents you
in the Congress Of your country? Did those
men who framed asystem Of internal revenue,
whereby you pay an indirect tax on all you
buy to support rich mans government
system which pays premium TO licentious-
ness and abortion by taxing the heads of
family the more outFRgeoasly the more
children they have. Were those your rep
resen Gatves who authorised the system OF
" National Banks" By which the rich bank
ers get nearly 100 per cent. per annum on
every ten thousand dollars they leave in the
hands Of government, besides their banking
usury? No you may have voted for them,
but they make laws for the rich, not for the
common herd like you and me.
Both political parties are alike in the in
terests OF the monied aristocracy. The
democratic leaders and papers viii harp
about u. 5. Bonds and their non-taxc tion,
high whisky tax, &C., but they do not, and
will not, advocate what they know to be the
only just and equitable system OF taxation,
viz an equal assessment and collection of
taxes on all property and incomes, whether
that property or income amounts to ols
hundred dollars, or one hundred million
dollars. And the Republicans are sold,
body and soul, 70 the Bond-ho lders and Ma
tional Banks, with the exception of here and |
there a little love for human rights. So |
there is no hope from either party.
The population Of this country is 81, 0O0,- !
600. Only 900 persons returned an in
come Of more than one thousand dollars in 4
1866; that is only one person out of 500 has \
an income over 81 900 year. Now let US
suppose that fifty persons out of every five \
hundred are voters, and al returning in
comes are voters, which is probably very
nearly correct, thus we have the poorer
classes, constituting forty voters to one
doe voter. What an overwhelming majority
for gaining our rights at the ballot box from
~ Ia cf h. av1
bond holders. Sovereign voters, will YOU
longer allow $4,000, 900 human beings to be
ruled for the pecunary benefit of a few
thousands? Ale your families 90 well edu-
oeted and refined, your wives 90 blessed with
eisgant leisure, your daughters so pure, your
sons 70 noble, that you dare no longer al
low the great bulk Of our people to be thus
ruled and robbedS Every man With fam
lily Of six persons, has, on the average, paid
an indirect tax cu what be has bought for
himself and family, of two hundred dollars
per year for the last six years. And these
fifty thousand working people out Of ploy
ia the city Of New York, to-day, ought to
have the sixty million dollars taxes they
have paid for the A. I. Stewards, Astors and
Vanderbilts, 10 feed and clothe their fam
lies this winter.
=
relei, as they are driven to it BY the fears
Of an outraged people, But We propose tue
only common sense remedy, that is, the i'm
mediate formation Of Peoples Political
Party, which shall ignore entirely both the
Republican and Democratic parties, and
build up this nation on the principles of
equal taxation, universal suffrage, ahti-usu-
ry, anti-monOpoly, legal-tender currency
instead Of a legal coin, and repre-
Sentation of the producing classes, by up
right and intelligent laboring men. Such
party could elect representatives to make
laws for the common millions, Instead of the
monied thousands, and could establish a
system Of taxation something like the fol-
lowing.
1t is hereby ordained by the Senate and
House Of Representatives, in Congress as
bled,
That all real and personal property within
the boundaries Of these United States shall
be equally assessed for the support Of this
government. And
That the incomes also Of all residents
within the same boundaries, shall be equally
assessed for the same purpose.
ProDi3el. That all incomes and all real and
personal property shall be exempted from
taxation to the amount % one hundred dol
lars. And
That every head of family shall be ex-
empt on an additional hundred dollars for
his wife, from either income OF personal
property tax, and have an additional exemp-
ion from the same taxes, and on the same
amount for each member Of his family de-
pendent on him tor support.
And it is further ordained, that the en-
tire system Of internal revenue Of these
United States is hereby completely abol-
ished, together with ali systems Of tariffs,
except those which are strictly protective Of
lab r.
Such party il being already formed, and
is called the Workingman's, or National La
boz Reform Party. II you love yourself,
your children, your fellov man, your coun-
try, or your God, mot Mammon,l sustain
such party, BY all means 10 your power,
ard sustain the National Labor Congress, the
eight hour system, and all labor reform pa
pers and efforts. Also support the peoples
legal tender money system, to measure, ex-
change, and represent value; system
thousand times cheaper and better than dig
ging gold to barter with; and universal suf-
lss~e, without distinction Of color or sex;
for aslds s sTc.c .S;ght The ssQ'ki2s cca3sses
want all the votes Of white women anJ col
ored people of both sexes, to vote down the
accused power Of the golden god in this
land, and vote up the principles Of that car
penter's son, who said, "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one Of these (poor, over
taxed ones,) We have done il unto me-"