Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-09-22
CLEA RF1ELD, PA
RINGS
THEIR TAXATION, rxTRAvAoANcE AN
OPPRESSION.

OPPRESSION.
We extract the following from
brief speech recently made before 1
convention in Chester county by II. Il
Monaghan, Esq. II is plain exhibit
and one that the people should moi
pass over without serious thought. II
impresses the lesson that must becom,
apparent to every thinking man, viz
that the extraordinary salaries and
enormous taxation of Federal, Stat,
and municipal governments must be
brought down or the people must be
come bankrupt. Mr. Monaghan said
The question now interesting tn,
people is whether their general
and State governments shall be car
ried on for their advantage or in tn,
interest Of cliqucs and rings2 This il
the question the people are now agita
ting and discussing.
The crops are good, the products ol
iron and other manufactured articles
are consumed as never. before, yet we
find business paralyzed and a financial
panic o'erspreading the whole country
What is the cause of all this ? II can
be none other than bad government
tho truth is, we are managing our 10,
cal, State and national affairs corrupt
ly and at too great cost.
His statistics taken from the reports
OF the departments and traced from
the general government to the lowest
offices in the land showed the cxpcn.
ses of each increased from one hun.
dred to three hundred per cent. Lin
coins salary s25, 900, and now for the
first time in the history of the gov
ernment the salary of the President
has been doubled without the first iota
OF cause, with none demanding il, ex-
cepting the chief executive himself
Extravaganza in government once in.
fused will permeatc the whole body
polite.
The ordinary expenses of the Uni.
ted States Government, Tor the exccu.
tive, Judicial and legislative depart
ments in the first year of Linconsad.
ministration (hc was quoting from Re
publican administration throughout,
was SOL, ,5Sl, ,45G, while in the year
1874, of Grants administration the
same expenses amounted TO sl67 ,ii0,.
297, an increase OF over two hundred
and fifty per cont He had no time to
examine the expenses of Congress, or
the other departments, but the same
rule of an increase would be found ap-
plicable to each and all Coming nearer
home we find the same condition of
our governmental affairs Take Penn
sylvania, Curtin's salary in 1862 was
$4,000, and now Tor the first time in
the history of the State tho Govern
or's salary is $4,000, an increase of
one hundred per cent In 1862, the
general expenses of the State govern
ment were sli9, 900, while in 1874 they
amounted to 81 ,096, 600, an increase OF
one hundred and fifty per cent. 60
IL you please to the legislative and ju.
dicial departments, it is the same. In
counties and cities the rate of increase
ranges from one hundred to two hun
dred and fifty per cent. These are the
secrets of our hard times. IL men
should farm in the same way and in
crease their expenses to the same ex-
tent, they would be soon bankrupt
And the worst of it is, that it is our
money that is thus recklessly squan-
dered-monoy taken from the pockets
Of the laborers and business men of
tho country, and a paralyzation OF
every industry has and ever will be
the result. If1nlfo HN
Our government today, though Re
publican in form, in practice more
closely resembles an Aristocracy. The
distinctive feature between them is,
that the former is made and governed
by the people for the people, and the
latter is ruled by a few, and for the
benefit of the rulers. And when n
State, under whatever name il may
be called, is managed for the advan-
tagc Of the oflice-bolders, it ceases to
be q Republic for the people, and be
comes an Aristocracy or personal gov
ernment. In an Arlstocracy the few
flourish but the many suffer. Rings
and ringsters are rapidly be.
coming the Aristocracy of our coun-
try and wherever in power their will
is as despotic, extravagant and cor
rupt as that Of any Aristocracy on the
earth.
Alas, at the head of our ring ruled
States is old Pennsylvania, and in the
hands of as corrupt ring as God ev-
er let live outside OF q penitcntiary.
Mr.. Monaghan here drew u start
ling contrast in statistics between a
number of our States.
Thus we see wherever States are
uncontrolled by corrupt rings salaries
are kept steadily down TO a fair stand
ard, and in the ring.ruled States the
moro potent the ring the higher the
salaries. Compare the salaries of the
Governors of these two classes of
States, either on population or prop
erty basis, and the extravaganza will
appear more potent,
These startling contrasts show that
We are ruled to ruin by allowing our
selves to be ruled by rings. Our pco-
pie are overburdoned with taxation.-
The State, county, city and town tax
alton of the United States, exclusive
of that by the Federal Government
Tor the year 1860, was, in the aggrc-
gate, s93,774,i2l, and for 1870, ten
years thereafter, the taxes for the same
purpose over the same territory were
1917 ,S02, ,495-an increase of nearly
three hundred per cent. How long
ran this be endured? How. long can
any nation stand such taxation How
far distant is bankruptcy if this be
not stopped? F? Now il is not so easy
10 pay taxes as in 1860 when compar-
ntively free from debt. To-day he was
told by an intelligent man that in one
of the wealthiest townships in Ches-
Ter county there were only three prop
critics free from mortgages and liens.
Besides our individual liabilities,
huge mortgage in the shape of our
public debts rests upon all our posses
'ions. The Federal debt is s2, l0O,- |
100000, Of which Pcnnsylvnnia's
'harc Is one-tcnth, or s2l0, 5000; TO |
which adding our county, city and
State debt OF s1OO,OO0,00O, we have
he mortgage of this State at over
s3lO,0O0,O00. Each year Pennsylva-
iia pays over sl5,OOO,OOO interest on
his great debt, aud as no one to-day |
kinks OF dishonoring any public obi
cation, we must eventually pay the
lupe princinal Yet this burden mnat