The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1882-11-23
well as TO the bondholder, then, and not till
then, will the war be over
Yes, "make the Government Poor"

sometimes rush into mortal danger despite
earnest warnings, and never realize their
situation until it is too late to retrace their
steps. There was a party Of excursionists
| in pleasure boat floating gaily down
swift-running stream, the air was filed with
sounds of laughter and gay hilarity. An
old man on the shore shouted, Look out
for the falls" They only answered, "All
right, old man, Wen look out for the falls
when we get there"
A little lower down another well-mesning
country wight hailed the pleasure seekers,
and in stentorian tones cried out, The falls
are near at hand; be careful, or you will go
over and be drowned" Still the party
foated on with JOY undated, and barely
deigned to answer back the anxious coun-
trymap fippantly, ooh, never mind, We
know where we are going"
They did not know where they were
going 4 minute more and the roar of the
falls burst suddenly upon them. For the
first time they noticed that they were pass
ing down the stream with the speed Of
racer Now all eayety was dispellcd. Their
laughter gave way TO cries for help. They
seized the oars with frantic energy and
endeavored to turn the boat once more up
the stream. 1t was no use. On they went,
pulling struggling, screaming for help that
could not save them. They come to the
verge Of the abyss of tossing water and over
they went, with shouts of terror and cries
of agony and despair They paid the PEN
atty Of their own recklessness.
The approaching Congress is in danger Of
going down the stream while all is well,
until In moment the falls are reached and
we are over the abyss III one grand crash of
financial chaos. The cry comes up from sll
over the country, Reduce the taxes, wipe
out the revenues" Politicians have grasped
this as the straw is clutched by the drown
ing In it they fancy they see political
salvation. Each party vies with the other
in plans to reduce taxation. 1t viii take
brave and conservative men to stem the
tide until the country has time for reflection
The reasons why We are especially in
danger of reckless Legislation az this time
are threefold:
l. congressman believe that the great
mass of the people are in favor of the abOli-
ton of Internal taxes, and what Congress
men think the people want is sufficient for
them The people, however, are not clam
oring for this tax reduction. The cry has
been started by the great monopolies Of the
country, which expect and would receive
the whole benefit Of it.
@ In certain sections Of the country there
is violent opposition 10 the internai-reVsIae
system This applies especially to several Of
the Southern States, where almost the only
means the farmer has of marketing his crop
is first TO distill it into liquor, whether ii is
corn or fruit. This is owing to remoteness
from railroads and the absence of stock.
These private distillers resent the interior
ence of the Government in their business.
3. The high-tariff men in Congress think
that the surest way to prevent wholesale
reduction OF the list is to cut down the in
come of the Government by the abolition of
internal taxes to such a point that the ne
cessities of the Nation will forbid the further
contraction of its revenues.
These circumstances all converge towards
one result namely, the abolition of the In
ternal revenue laws. All these elements are
united to one end.
The New York Herald is one Of those
newspapers which has urged upon the
country its theory for the reduction of taxes,
and now comes out boldly and accepts the
legitimate results OF the plan it advocates,
as shown in THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE last
week. The Herald says: Reduce the taxes
and make the Government poor 1t pro-
fesses TO believe that the only way to cor
rect what it terms certain abuses, such as
liberal appropriations for the pension list
and internal improvements, is TO wipe cut
the Governments income and make the
Government poor" The honesty and bold
ness of the Herald, in conlessing its appre-
citation of the legitimate results it advocates,
is at any rate commendabie.
Yes, let Congress 90 ahead and make the
Government poor" When the country is
made poor the people suffer. When the
Government is made poor banks will fail, saw
ings institutions will close their doors iron
mills and cotton factories will shut down, a
bushel of wheat viii sell for less than it
costs to raise it, coal production will cease,
immigration viii stop, and instead Of plenty
and abundance everywhere with the Gov
eminent rich, there will be want, starvation
and hard times.
Who will take the responsibility and
"make the Government poor?"
What is proposed to be cured by the resort
to such desperate measures as the impoverish-
ment Of the Government? IL is simply to