Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-01-19

know tUSJT IIlcUuS, duu "o "SA>
reminded of the saying when we
read President Grants jocular allu.
sir IN his Message to the Revenue
Reformers. By his Hypothetical
mention Of them, as among those
who are in favor Of raising all the
revenues Of the Government by d.
rect taxation--a process which he
rightly judges would at the present
time involve repudiation-he avow'
himself their antagonist. Neither
that supposition, however. nor any
other n,isapprehension, will avail to
separate those who, cherishing COM
mon aims, ought to act together, and
/, will, we predict, soon be found 80
acting. 1t cannot be otherwise than
an object of the Administration to
promote the great industrial interest:
Of the country, by the most favorable
adjustment Of the revenues to be
raised. Here IS just where the Rev.
enuc Reforncrs come forward and
offer to put their shoulders to the
wheel. They have just as solemn q
sense of the inviolability Of the
national faith as anybody else; they
understand just as we'll what thai
means in the way Of revenue, and
they arc just as anxious to have the
taxes 80 distributed as to encourage
to the utmost the business Of the
country. But they claim, on the
other hand, that our general revenue
system, framed during the war for
war purposes, is cumbrous and con-
fused, iiladaptcd to the present
condition Of the people, bears with
crushing effect upon many great
interests, and interposes decided
barrier to the general recovery Of the
national prosperity.
They advocate, therefore, what
they consider ~ more excellent
way" and they claim that their
policy has already vindicated itself
by it's good results, SO far as it has
been tried. Take one Of their prin-
ciplcs, namely, q constant reduction
Of taxation. The Secretary Of the
Treasury--whose fidelity and efi-
cheney as an administrator Of his
department cannot be too highly
praised was adverse last year, as he
is this, to any dininution of the
revenues. Congress, however, moved
by public opinion, near tho close of
the last session, struck off eighty
millions Of taxation. And yet the
Secretary had over one hundred
millions Of surplus last year, and the
returns of the current fiscal year thus
fur Indicate that there will beanother
surplus as unnecessarily large.
Whether the Revenue Reformers,
whose efforts first took shape on this
question, understand better than the
Secretary that this is ~ growing
country under any circumstances
even under any mistaken financial
system; or whether, while he is
thinking Of having revenue and
using 1t, they are thinking how 1t
can be raised with the greatest adj
vantage to the country, we submit
that their plan Of reduction, and the
facts they bring forward in its sup
port, arc worthy Of careful consider
alton.
As we understand the matter, they
propose to follow UP the relief to the
people. Aware that the national
elasticity of the revenue, as Mr..
Wells calls 1t, Is good for an annual
gain of about fifteen millions, and
that every judicious reduction devel.
ops revenue from unseen sources,
they claim our ability to take off
seventy-five or eiglitymillions again.
Some taxes they would reduce,
others--like the offensive, unrepub.
licnn income tax--they would abolish
altogether. They would shift the
general burden of taxation from
articles Of necessity and utility to
articles Of luxury, like tobacco and
spirits. With regard to customs
duties, they bear in mind the fact
that England now raises a larger
revenue on forty-four articles, than
SHE did in 1910 by her duties on I,lG3
articles, and they propose to materi-
oily abridge our own dutiable list, as
well as to lower the general scale.
They think 1t Is better to get all the
duty that Is due, even If it is nomin-
ally lower, than to lose large part
through smuggling, which is bad for
the Government, bad for Legitimate
trade, and bad for the morals Of the
people. They want to see duties