Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1876-07-25

! IN speech 'Hnlcn rdr. 1llOen OeilFeEeu IN
the city Of Utica, last summer, he used the
following language, which at fsst seems e1-
tFaOrdiuary:
"YOu are very justly proud that you are
tie greatest gold and silver producing nation
/ in tho world You boast that on your broad
acres of fertile soils you raiss cereals to send
abroad to exc out the supply necsasary 10
feed the population CT ths old Worids You
17send forward your grain from every part Of
| the United States You send meats, you
/ send wheat and corn and cheese. You send
| other products Of the farm. You send vast
| quantities of petroleum and then you have
/ one crop, the mass of which is exported, the
largest that any nation in the world ever
contributes to the exchanges of mankiud-I
! mean the cotton crop, which yields from
S20O,000.0U0 to S2SO,00O, 900 year foreign
/ exports. Nov, Whist is the result? When
yon have sent forward your gold and silver,
! your cheese, your butter, your petroleum,
/ your wheat and your corn, and meat and cot
ton and products of every kind, when you
havo raked and scraped this continent from
tho lakes to the Gulf, and from the Atlantic
/ to the remote interior, what have you done
! When you have gathered together all these
/ products, and paid the cost of carrying them
to tho seaboard-a cost larger even than the
+ original cost of raising the produc.s-with
every eIportable commodity carried to the
Atlantic seabosrd and deposited in the ves-
sells of foreigners. you hare paid ten months
! Of The yco' S tdres.
This statement is so surprising, says the
/ ST. Louis Times, and discloses such dis
tressful sta:o Of affairs, that the inquiry at
once arises, can it be true? Is it possible
that all the exportsble surplus of the labor of
forty millions Of people during the year is
only sufficient to psy ten-twclfths Of their
annual taxes? Is it really true that We, to
use popular expression. are working fo.
/ dead horse to this extent? It is an e1:raoT-
dinary statement to make, but Governor Til
den is noted FOR accuracy, and is not given to
/ groundless declarations
Let Us look into the matter. The annual
expenses Of ou. National Government, in
cluding interest on the public debt, have
averaged, since 1868, about 1915, 200, 900.
/ Our state, county nnd municipal taxation, as
nearly as the total can be arrived at, aver
ages about sIaO, GOO 900, making eur yearly
taxation s7G5, 100000. Our total exports
for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1873,
were only SGl3 goo 600, amounting to lit,!o
moro than tcn>tweITiLs CT our taxation. It
will bo seen, therefore, that the accuracy Of
Governor Tiiden's remnrkab statement is
unquestionab!e, and tho subject is one which
the American people should ponder seriously,
! asking themselves how long they expect to
continue such . career, and how they should
enioavor to check it.
It is hero that Governor Tildeu's simple
pIan comes into play-the plan of which he
has given Us a sample in the State Of New
York. He makes the point that We have a
total debt of s., 500, 100000, on which VIC
pay in interest 1925, 100000 q yca1. But
our annual taxes amount to S7G5. 600, 900,
or $40, 100000 moro than our interest
charges. The interest account con be de-
creased gradually, but very slowly while the
enormous Smount of other expenditures for
which We are taxed, can be rapidly and ex~
tcnsiVeIy reduced. We have seen the vast
! reduction which has been Effected in New
| York, BY means of honest and economical
government, and Governor Tildeu proposes,
if the people will allow him to do so, to put
the Same principles in operation in the pa,
tional government We haze stated above
that the average annual expenses of our na-
tional governmen: have been about S3l5 ,OOO,.
900. The amount demanded By the esti-
mates at the opening of the present session of
Congress was s3l4,000, 200. In passing the
appropriation bills, the House cut down
these estimates ovor $4,000, 900, and the
greater part of this reduction is sure to be-
come Law, in spite of the e1travagant pro.
clvi,ics of the Senate. This shows what
can be done, and it is certain that the
amounts might be still further reduced with
out imPairipg the efficiency of the public
service.
It is Governor TiIdeu5 theory that with
an honest and thrifty government our non
permanent annual xpeDditurcs-natiOnsl,
state and municip pal-coud be reduced with
in $500 600. 600, and our total annual taxa
tion be confined to the sum of 1926, 100000,
afording an annual relief to the people of
S24O, 900, 600, sum sufficient to pay off our
total Indebtedness within fifteen years. He
has illustrated this theory in his OVID State,
and confidently expects to introduce it into
national affairs after the 4th of March next
The example thus set cannot fail to exert :
most beneficial influence in all portions of
tho country.
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL SocIETr PAPERS.
We have received the June numbc. of the
.Southers Historical Society Paprrs, edited
H. d. 7 II-;1I;.-. T...- =,