The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-02-14
RATES OF TAXACION SHOULD
BE DEFENED BY THE COUN-
TRYsS FINANCIAL CONDITION.

If the Changers be great and wise
and fearless, why not have the cour
age to undo the mischief done by the
politicians who pretended to represen,
them in the Constitutional Conventieni
Why haYe a government of the people
if 1t be not for the people? Why suf-
fer the placeholders to absorb every.
thing and leave the farmers and tax
payers. nothing? Why have towns
plundered because the supposed rep.
resentatives of honest, fearless farm
ers were such arrant demagogues that
.hey dared not restrict suffrage in cor
porate elections to taxpayers9 Why
submit, if this be a government of the
people, to schemes of taxation wholly
dlsproportioned to profits of industry
The governments we have are SIMPLY
machines by which money is wrenched
from outsiders to be deposited in the
pockets of taXgatherers. So true is
this, that the mania for office Is univer-
sal, and only the "insiders" are COM
Portable, and outsiders wretched and
poverty stricken. Even farmers smoke
houses are rifled of their contents in
January, and the very inducements 70
toll are taxed 10y this Rutabaga con-
stitution. Must it be endured al
ways2 Must code of taxation be tol-
Grated under which property is assessed
at prices for which it cannot be sold
and then taxed, IN towns, an average
of two per cent. and fifty cents on
each one hundred dollars everywhere9
Tennessee is happy under a scheme of
taxation defined by Sherman's thumb
screw. AS pressure inflicted by
che Federal government became terri
BILE the people stood aside. Bond
holders and receivers of taxes conduct
the Federal government. The people
are innocent victims; but in Tennessee
innocence and patience have ceased
to be virtnes, and the people have
asserted their supremacy, and when
property is valueless and money mac
cessible and business paralyzed, that
the few may absorb the whole wealth
of tie country and destroy the many,
then it was that the people of Tennes
see revolted and now pay one fifth of
the rate of taxation endured in Texas
and one-twenteth of the rate borne by
the people of Texas towns. Can the
boasted power and intelligence of the
Grangers of Texls discover no remedy
for evils we endure II it were not
difficult task to make a constitution,
it surely is not to modify code of
taxation and another of assessments.
In view of cumulative evils endured
by the people, from which they would
speedily escape, aspirants to Office m lst
declare that until the effect of the re-
peal of the silver bill is everywhere
tcCOSuiIeu, ouIucuS VI CIdCe anu tOCai
governments shall be reduced in Texas
as in ether impoverished common
wealths. When the Federal govern
ment will restore trade and reproduce
railway construction and suffer money
70 flow out from commercial centres,
and when congressional legislation is
designed to promote the interests Of
the many instead of those of the few,
then present heavy exactions imposed
by corporations and States may be
borne. But until these changes super
vene and this relief is given the people
will pay the least possible sums into
the Golfers of tax gatherers.