, 1870-03-25
CASTING INTo THE sEA.


Congress recommending the payment of
subsidies, both general and special, to ocean
steamship lines, enforces his argument thus:
IT ~ national humiliation that nc arr now
eomheucd e raJ from SO 600 900 to 80 900 "a.
should share With other nations, to forstTnem for
doing what should he done by Amcr1can.ownet
and AneTacan-1nanned vessels This IL direct
much money equal to oasttng il INTO tAe s< 70 far
the hatlcn Il concerned
Is it true that the voluntary payment of
money for the transportation OF articles
which VIC procure from abroad, or of arti-
cles which We send abroad in exchange for
them, is the same thing AZ 'casting it into
the sea:' This is an extraordinary prop
osition- It is not exactly novel, be-
cause Mr. Boutwell, advanced something
very like il in his last annual report, We
believe he called it paying tribute to for
eignerA Now, "tribute" is a sum of
money e1torted by conqueror from the
conquered. II is the badge and mark of
military srbjugation. It is an involuntary
payment, ta1, an e1tortion without value
given in return In what particular does it
resemble the payment which one man vol
unfairly makes to another for carrying his
goods ncsoss the ocean? We pause for q
reply.
But President Grant says it is like cast
ing no much money into the sea What
is freight or passage money? It is the
compensation which man makes to his
fellow-man for carrying his goods or his
person- II there were any Law compelling
people to pay particular price for freight
or passage on the ocean, than the difference
between that and fair price would bo in
the nature of tribute, and might fairly be
l1ened to casting The difference or excess
into the sea. But when the price is mat
ter Of free bargain between the carrier and
the person carried, it is not trne that
tribute has been exacted, nor is it true that
my money has been cast into the sen,
whether as regards the individual OF the
nation. If the individual whose person or
property has been carried has made
money by the operation land he would
not have made his bargain otherwise), the
nation to which he belongs has not lost it.
We are surprised that such fallacy could
be entertained by anybody for moment
fallacy which was exploded and Kicked
out of thinking circles half q century ago.
II there be large class Of people iid!a
and wanting employment, by reason of the
decadence OF American ship-bullding, that
is an argument for removing the causes
which have e1tinguished that once flourish
ing industry. The principal cause, as we
learn from the report of the Select Com
nittee, which the President extols 50 highly,
is eree*Sire taxation. The casiest thing to
do, in this sublunary sphere, is to re-
move taxes. The hardest thing is to
pay them. The President argues
that because ship-building has been taxed
out Of existence other industries ought to
be taxed heavier 10 make that particular
industry whole again. The President WIS
educated Mt school where mathematics
ere taught as specially. Weput it to him
MS n question Of mathematics whether any
other people than the American people pay
American taxes Are not all taxes, whether
imposed for one purpose or another
whether levied to support the govern
ment, or to protect the iron masters, or to
pay subsidies to ship-owners- assessments
upon the aggregate industry of our own
people? Does the money to pay these taxes
descend to US on moonbeams, or is it earned
by our labor? Is there any other source Of
supply in all the universe than the brain
and muscle of the American people? If
there be any other, then in Gods name let
lis cease paying taxes md rely upon that
other source altogether. II there be none
il oil these taxes Ate paid by ourselves, and
by nobody elsc-then is it downright cruelty
to impose more taxes upon the people to
accomplish given purpose, vixen the same
object can be reached by removing por.
ton of those which we now bear.
We might go on and show That if the
payment of money to foreigners for ocean
freighta is the same thing as casting it into
tho sea, then is the payment Of money to
them for land freights casting it into tho
| sea-|rgo that all the foreign capital In
vested in building American railways and
canals Las been a damage to US. Wemight
60 still farther, and show that If the pay
| 1nent Of freights to anybody is like casting
money into the sea, then the payment Of
money to anybody tlsr for freights, wheth-
er upon land or water, is casting it
into the sea for, after all that can be said,
tits only rendering compensation for scr
vice freely sought and freely performed.
We might show likewise that the payment
Of subsidies is opposed to the principles m
nounced in the Presidents inaugural I'D
dress We content ourselves with remark
ing that the American people, upon
| grounds Of enlightened selfshness, will re-
fuse to be taxed for any such purpose.