The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-12-01
DOWN WITH THE TAXES.
Tho Duty of Congress to Relieve the Peo-
pie from the War Measures OF Taxation.

The Duty of Congress TO Relieve the Peo-
pie from the War Measures OF Taxation.
WASHINGTON, November lS.-Tke
duties and responsibilities Of Democrats
in the coming Congress will be of excep-
tionrl importance because Of the position
of practical legislative control which they
will occupy, without absolute control of
eitheir branch of Congress the Democrats
are in uuch strength in both branches us
to be able to prevent the passage Of any
vicious measure to which they may he
harmoniously opposed, and should also
he able to secure the enactment of any
obviously beneficieut measure upon which
they will unite, or else put their oppo.
nents in an attitude Of notorious antngo.
nism 20 such measures. The Democrats
have onc.half Of the Senate and the Re.
publicans have not one. halfof the House.
Iu both branches the Democrats will havo
the advantage in strong men. Conkling
and b me are out of the Senate. and
CARTEL and some others arc not in tho
House. The Constitutional majority"
ofRepublicans in Congress will or should,
prove to be q melancholy minority in
legislative ability, parliamentary skill
and Congressional force. For these rea.
sons among Others the Democrats should
| gather together ut the opening Of the
Congress in December with lines Of pa
triotic policy distinctly defined in their
minds, and then pursue them consistent
ly.
The !, opular demand should and will
be, "Cown with the taxes" That por.
ton of our taxation system which can
most speedily and easily be reached is
the internal revenue system. There is
an urgent necessity widely acknowledged
for tariff reform; but this is slower of
accomplishment, from the extent aud in
tricacy of that method of taxation than
the reform of the internal revenue sys.
TEN, which covers narrow ground and is
within easy touch. The internal reve-
nue. tax takes two thirds rs much money
from the pockets of the people as does
! the tariH tax; and both combined take
100000, 900 more than the sum required
to pay all the legitimate expenses of the
government, all the slealings and all the
interest Oh the public debt This the
people will not and should not long pa
tieutly endure.
The internal revenue system was
among the last Of the great war measures
OF taxation to which Congress rcsorted
during the struggle for the Union. 1t was
not until three war tariff Acts had been
passed and the proceeds from them found
insufficient TINT the law making power
adopted this mode Of taxation. Ii WAS
! only proposed in the stress of the war To
raise S10l ,925,00 by this method. But
now, in time oi proiund peace, nineteen
years later, Sl35,G90,00O n year are cx-
tracted from the taxpayers BY this obnox-
| ious process
This inquisitorial mode OF taxing, as
u system, IL hostile to the principles of
equitable taxation. Bad iii principle, it
is worse in practice. Some of it gentlest
| features now in operation in this country
would not be tolerated in England The
tax on matches, for example, has been
borne without complaint here and has
been less felt than most of the other
shapes Of the taxation. The success
of this tax on this side the Atlantic
led Robert Lowe. now Lork Shcrbrokc,
| when Chancellor of the ExchcQuer, to
submit to Parliament IL propersition ior
n similar tax in Great Britain, from
which 1t was expected would be derived
much less sum than is produced in this
country. The popular clumor against the
tax WAS such that the government
WAS compelled to abandon the project.
How many years after the country has
escaped from danger will the ncoplc m
complniningly bear these war taxes,
Which are obnoxious, harshland offensive
in execution, all of them inquisitorial
aud vexatously petty, and some Of them
exhorbitant?
| The government even now steals into
the offices of brokers and other busine ss
men i'll the metropolis of the country,
spying out the land and possessing itself
OF the business secrets of men, under the
/ pretepsc of desire to learn whether or
not they hare obeycd the internal revc-
nue. laws.
There are at present sixty different
/ rates OF internal revenue taxation, and
some of these rates cover q great multi
tude of articles. A vast horde of agents,
detectives, assessors, collectors, spies, are
employed in the execution of these in
| quisit0rial war statutes, their official busi-
ness being worse. The pains and penal
ties prescribed for the enforcement of the
laws themselves are illogical and ineq-
utahle, else they would not need such
reintOrccments.
The first practicable important work
which it will be the duty OF Congress to
perform will be the revision aud reform
alton of this system Of taxation. II must
be made less petty and yaxatious; must
touch fewer agents 10 act as political
emissaries and must be reduced to the
equitable level ofthe principles of peace
taxation. In this work the Democrats
in Congress must take leading part
Republicans have only taught the art
how not TO do it. And in this work the
Democrats in Congress will be sustained
By the science of political economy, by
the reasoning of all of its great exponents
and by the "ver-taxed people of the
United States.
EARTH EATING TRIBEs.-Mr. Grew.