Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1868-10-03

question it is the subject of taxation Of
which am speaking, and allude to the
national banks only to show you that they
.pay into your Federal Treasury ten million
dollars annually as taxation, and that they
pay about as much more Of local taxes in !
the variaus communities in which they do
busipess. Certainly this ten millions that
we derive from national banks is not an op.
preston to the poor man. Holders of bank |
stock are not generally regarded as poor
men, and, as legislator, am quite at
loss to know how ten millions of dollars
could be derived from any other source so
easily as from this of the banks.
have thus hastily and somewhat crudely
enumerated all the sources from which our
internal revenue is derived. If you will
take pains to add up the various sums
have named you will find that they give
you the aggregate Of one hundred and sew
enty millions of money. The system OF tax
alton under which this is raised is not acci.
dental or fortutous; IL Is the product Of
laborious research and investigation on the
part of a Republican Congfess-a Congress
anxious to so adjust the scale of taxation
that the industrial interests Of the country
should not be affected, while the burden fell
only upon articles Of luxury and accumu'
lated capital On this system of taxation
| the IeDuUllCuu ptity lucy w NV
apologize for it, they justify it, and they
assert that to perform efficiently the work
of accumulating the amount of money now
raised, and to render its payment assured
no other system could possibly be devised
| by which tile burdens would be so little felt
| by the great mass of the community. Long
continued applause. Happily, on this point,
we are at sharp issue with the Democracy;
for on this question Of taxation the Repub.
lican party and the Democratic party are
Numerically and irreconcilably hostile.
The system approved and endorsed by the
Republicans is the system now in force.
In opposition to that we find that the Dem
ocratic party, in their National Convention,
made the following declaration on the sub
ject. l beg to read it to you verbatim, and
to beg that you will specially remember it:
"HesotCed, That we demand the equaliza-
tion of every species of property according
to its real value, including Government
bonds anG securities"
To the latter clause of this resolution
shall refer directly it is to the former por
tion that now invite your attention. The
proposition is that every species of property
shall be taxed according to its real value,
Now, under such policy, beg to ask this
audience which one of you could escape
from the oppression of direct taxation How
many of you to day ever see the face Of
: Federal tax. gather But under the opera
tion of the proposition laid down by the
Democratic platform, pray tell me which of
you would not see his face, and that contin-
ually Why, this runs into the extreme of
absudrty. Let me illustrate. In your city
of Philadelphia to day you can distil gal
Ion of whiskey at about the same cost at
which you can buy gallon of milk.
Tho Rnpul,lirapc to v thn nalluu nf Ipltsl "
Fifty cents; the Democratic platform would
tax the gallon of milk just the same amount;
every species of property according to its
real value" is their motto. A barrel of beer
is WORTH in your price list, presume, some
. fifteen dollars the Republican legislation
taxes it two dollars. A barrel Of flour
I throughout the country averages about tif
teen dollars the Democratic platform would
tax it two dollars also. They would tax
, bread the same as beer; milk the same as
, whisky luxuries the same as necessities
churches the same as theatres, making nc
distinction between a lager beer concert
: room and vestry for prayer meetings. 1t
i may seem absurd thus to carry out theiI
principle in its legitimate applications bu
take it in its less offensive and mlder form
, and where would it stop2
To day the Republican legislation doe.
not tax your clothing, your hats, your boots
the tools of the mechanic, the machinery o
the factory, the farm, the garden, the dwell
ling, the household property; not one o
, all these is taxed by Republican Legislation
y They prefer rather to gather the Govern
!, ment funds through the channels have in
= dicatcd but the Democratic proposition j
= TO make your system of taxation a dea'
: level to put sewing machine under til
same law that taxes the billiard table; ant
. to put tie machinery which supports tn
= families of hundred artizans under th
u same taxation that the pleasure yachts u
, the New York sporting clubs are to da
; asked to pay. ! do not really think tha
the Democracy knew Just what an absurC
: thing they were doing, when they adopted
u the first clause of this resolution. The,
:, were SO anxious to get a lick at the Govern
ment bonds and securities, which arc includ
J. cd in the second clause, that they quite los
;. sight of the ridiculous position to whicl
. they were committing themselves in the frs
y clause.
Z And that brings me to say word abou
: the taxation of Government bonds | woult
. here remark that various questions hav
, sprung up in regard to our national deb
. which have created embarrassment in th
!. minds of the people, and in the action o
. Congress. There is the question o! whethe
| tdautlOu SHOuIu Uc SeucTal or local, ana, l
) Federal, whether it should be through tn
), internal revenue system, or by so much be
u ing taken off the coupon. And then ther
e is the question whether the bonds are paya
II bic in gold or in greenbacks, which, in m
judgment, is not a practca! question: no
n one whose determination is any more neccs
h sary to our progress as a nation than that O
q the immediate settlement of all the ques
II tions relating to the exact location of tn
s North pole.
IS But these questions having been raised
\ the Republican Congress at its last session
l. abored diligently and earnestly to affec
It their adjustment; and to that end they
y passed what is known as the funding bill
r That bill proposed to exchange all outstand
C ing bonds for long bonds running fort
e years at ! per cent. interest on the bond
= to be distinctly payable in gold at the dat
Y, of maturity, forty years hence, and the in
y terest saved by the / per cent. (amountin
.e to thirty six millions annually 20 be devo
IF ted to the reduction and redemption of tn
,r principal of the debt.
,, Political Prospects.
The political advces so far as receive
Il