The union Democrat. [volume] (Sonora, Calif.) 1854-1946, 1871-03-04
NUMBER 80.
Congressional sah.iaie..

The Philadelphia Ledger, Of yesterday. de-
votes a careful leader to discussion Of 'sCon-
gresslonsl Subsidies and gives forth no I'M
certain sound. Ii very justly says that there
are set OF public men who are always s'do-
ing their best or worst to increase the future
burdens OF the taxpayers, and to make heavy
taxation perpetual necessitv." The follow.
ing clear statement is aimed right at the tax
payer, and consequently at every man and
woman IN the community, since all are either
directly or indirectly tax-psyers:
People may as we'll understand now, what
they VIII be made to feel some dav, that eve
~ one of these schemes that gets s.subsi.
dy from Congress in any shape. whether of
lands. or bonds. or guarantees, means so much
additional taxation to them, the neople. for
the benefit OF the few spectators who procure
the subsidy This is inevitable, for every
such subsidy either diminishes the public
resources or increasest the public expenditures,
and the result IN either case is taxation that
otherwise would be escaped.
E7ery aid or subsidy IS just so many dol
lars voted oRt of the pockets of the specula-
tors who get il; and oWt of the pockets of every
man, woman and child in the country. Then
follows some very plain talk
1t is the most sham, and humhuc, and de-
ception to talk of reducing the pubic debt, of
reducing the public burdens, of reducing the
public expenditures to the standard Of honest
economy, while such work is gong on. The
calendars Of the Senate and the House. and
the various committee rooms are loaded with
them. Railway Jobs that demand whole prin-
cipalities of lands, steamship schemes which
ask guarantees of bonds by the $50 900, 900
at lick, ocean cable Jobs that want subsi-
IL ins Of If ltor e.
other steamship schemes which ask to be paid
from $40 to SEQ head for every one of the
hundreds of thousands of emigrants annually
taking passage for the United States.
Taxpayers should make their representa-
tives in Congress feel that they require them
to resist.
The Ledger hits the nail directly upon the
head when it ascribes most of this kind Of
legislation to ''the baG influence of the loose
and wasteful grant of lands and bonds to the
Pacific railways, whereby those in the inside
rings of those corporations made their tens of
millions of dollars. Now ali the moneyless
political adventures Of the whole country, all
the needy and the greedy of every sort, wish
to become millionares in the same short, swift
and easy way. Munihcent railway grants,
steamship subsidies and telegraph guarantees,
are Just the thing for them.
Loose aotions' as to the rightful province
of the General Government, the Ledger thinks,
have grown up during the last few years.
They are natural enough, since its powers
were greatly strained during the war to pre-
serve the national life, which was paramount
to every other consideration. But war meas
ures are not needed in peace time, and the
sooner we return to the strict construction
theory of early days the better for the coun-
try. The Ledger thus concludes
Government has no business to be engaged
in any of these undertakings, or to embark in
any way in any mercantile, commercial, or
trade affair of any kind. They are all out
side of the legitimate sphere and province Of
Government, and we say without fear of sue
cessful contradiction, that the Natinal Gov
eminent has never, within the last fifty years,
engaged in any outside business without max
ing failure of it, or being cheated all round
Private enterprise has always beaten it. and
always will, wheneverit goes out of the prop
er province of government to engage in COM
mereial, mercantile, building or trade transac-
tiOns