The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-10-05

adopted at the outset OF the war SO q
to have raised a revenue adequate t
the cost of the war the imitation G
prices would not have taken place.
d The entire expenditures during tn
first year of war were less than $500,
+ 100000. Had greenbacks been issue'
: to that extent, and at the same time
# tax of S500,OO0,O00 been levied upol
II the people, and that system continued
I at the close of the war there woult
d have been no debt. The S500,00O00
}. ernment into the hands of the people
n for the purchase of munitions of wal
: would have come back into the Treas
4 ury in the form of taxes paid by tn
b people, and the currency would hav,
S remained at par. Had this polio,
t then been adopted, the cost of the wa
e would have been only $1,53S. .O0O, ,O00
: instead of $3,170,000,O00. But could
e this amount have been raised during
3 the four years of war? My answer
t is that during the four years of peace
/ following the war 81, 1856, ,OOO, 600 W err
raised, SO that had the same amount
: of revenue been. collected during the
| four years of the war that was collect'
} ed during the four years of peace fol-
} lowing the war, all thelwar expendi.
} lures would have been paid off and
: we would have had balance in the
Treasury of, $500 100000; and upon
: the return of peace war taxes would
have been abolished. But some one
says, What good could come of Gre
ating debt?" No good, my friend,
but much of evil. The debt was cre-
ated not because it was necessary to
carry on the war, but as basis upon
which to build up huge moneyed
oligarchy. Mr.. Sherman and his Re-
publican allies succeeded. They fas-
teded upon you, as mortgage upon
your homes and your industry, a debt
which consumes the profits of your
toll, and appropriates. your labor for
the benefit of the banker and the
bondholder, .therebyssenriching a few
/ persons, at the cost of, the great body
of; the people. 'I9iAA-' i'-'''3'i-t,i2f 81
deem it unnecessary, my friends,
to occupyoveryi much time in demon
strating the truth of the propositions
have enunciated. And I will proceed
to review Mr. Stefman's defense of
himself and those aiding him in bring :
ing this ruin unongth country, L hold
in my hand "a speech delivered by
him on the night of the 21st of June,
in Columbus. I read from the Ohio
State Journal He says: tt., .,s-AJ-S--s
"The policy of the Republican par
| ty in levying taxes is also shown by
what we have done. During the war
it was money that we wanted, and
from all sources and all quarters
From the very close of the war to this
hour we have been reducing taxes.1ass
Remember, my, friends, this asser-
ton of Senator Sherman, and tell it
to- your neighbors. He says: "From
the close of the war to this hour we
have been reducing taxes.vt Senator
Sherman makes the statement delib-
erately, "that from the close of the
war to the present hour" the party in
power has been steadily reducing tax
es. What are the facts ? The entire
revenue of the Federal Government
during the war amounted to $712, 2,0OO,-
QUO. This revenue, as you are aware,
results from the Yarious Asystems- of
taxation. Now, instead of the taxes
being reduced, in the very first, wear
of peace following the war the Fede-
raj revenues amounts to $6l9, 100000,
or within $92,000,000 of the whole
amount collected during the four
years of war. l repeat again, that in
the first year of peace following the
war the amount of taxes collected
from the people was within $92OOO,-
OOO of the entire amount collected
from them during the four years of |
war. And during the four years of
peace following the war the amount
of taxes collected from the people was
S1,SS6, 100000 against $7l2, 100000 col !
lected during the war This the |
learned Senator calls reduction of |
taxes. He says s'since the close of |
the war down to this hour the taxes
have been reduced and yet the Off /
cial report Of the Secretary of the I
Treasury, which hold in my hand, I
shows that during the four years of /
peace following the war ST., Ia, ,OOO, 600 |;
more money was collected by way of |,
taxation than during the whole four
years of the war. And yet Senator
Sherman, in the face of these facts, 4
dares to tell the people that ever since 4.
the close of the war their taxes have
been steadily reduced. How is it pos,
sible, citizens, after this for any good I
and worthy man of the Republican
party to place confidence in the state Z
ments of Senator Sherman How, b
can the people act wisely. and well in
the discharge of their duties as cleo
tors when they are deliberately mis-
informed as to the condition of the
country by the aekn owledged leader
OF his party in. the. Senate said,
and repeat, that the man who delib-
erate1y misstates facts to the people is I
an enemy OF the people, and especial-l
Iv the enemy of his own party friends.
9. Taxation. has been steadily reduce {
ed since the war says Senator Sher-
man, and yet during the six years OF :
peace, since the conclusion of the
war, the men in authority at Wash {
ngton have collected 50, 7O0OO0OO0-
81, 700. GOO, 900 collected from you! ia 9
Ken from the profits of your cropsI ta-
zen from the proceeds of your toili c
AIKEN from your wives and your chill I
1ren,s comforts and your Recessarics
which they might have otherwise en-
Dyed. The money You would have ]
aid by to purchase farm for yeur Q
ons youare forced to pay into the 9
lands of the. tax-gathere to be stolen T
~ him, or ,squandered after it reach T
8 the Treasury! Twenty-seven hum h
Ired millions of dollars!o Why, sirs, 4,
he amount is so stupendous that none G
# us-neither nor you, nor any 9TH
+ man-can, without some standard d
f measure, form any idea of what 10
hat enormous sum means BIZ" Ia
I will suggest measure-a stand E
rd by which you can convey to your 81
wn minds some idea of what the il
um of 50, 1905 100000 means, Citizens, ts
rom the time of the Inauguration of CT
Seorge Washington down to the in a.
uguration of Abraham Lincoln, fl
eriod of over eighty years, the en- il
re expenditures of the Federal Gov Il y
rnment including the cost Of the a.
lree years war with England, the m
wo years wariwith Mexico, the thir- I'll
years OF lnulan Wars-less pay tie
rents on the public debt-was less ri
ian Sl,400O00000. And yet we find m
nat the men in power; in six years of tr
Uninterrupted peace--peace at home, m
nd peace with the. world-extorted te