Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-01-18
"PROTECTION" AND THE POOR
MAN.
Lecture OF Thomas G. Sherman
Before the Brooklyn Revenue he"
form Club.



A very large audience greeted MIR.
Thomas G. Sherman when he was in
troduced to deliver the third lecture OF
the course on free trade and protection
before the Brooklyn Revenue Reform
Club last evening. The lecturer was
applauded when he declared himself
opposed to any tariff whatever. at any
time or under any conditions. After
considerable Introductory matter the lee
turer remarked that the great dispropo-
ton of condition and means between
the top and the bottom stratum OF
society constituted a real and increasing
danger. He alluded to the enormous
growth of fortunes since 1845, and re-
marked that this would be well
| enough if the earnings OF the
poor kept any reasonable pace
with the development of riches.
But they did not, and the poor were not
unreasOnably dissatisfied, knowing that
| they earn twenty times as much as the
rich. and yet that few rich men save
| twice as much as the whole mass below.
| The Door man blames usury laws, specie
payments or some other feature of the
| organization of society for this state of
| affairs. but he does not stop to think that
| there is all the time working a system of
| indirect taxation which takes from every
bod carrier more than thirty times as
| much in proportion TO his means of pay
| ment as it does from Vanderbilt Gould
or Aston. All the Federal taxation was
| indirect, and a large amount of the State
| taxation also. All indirect taxes being
| LIVED on property. which men buy and
consume, fell upon them in proportion
to their consumption and not to
their income. A man whose in
come was 800 900 year
and who spent only $4,000 paid not
one cent more than the man whose in
come was only $4,000 and who spent it
| all. If Mr. Vanderbilt chose to live in a
modest way upon 800 600 year he
paid no more to the Federal Govern
ment than 500 errand boys earning 5000
each. This was not all.
Under indirect taxation the merchant
and retail dealer must be paid his regu
lar profit on the tax as well as on the
actual prices of his goods. This profit
| rolled over and over until in order to
| enable the government to receive $500,
600 600 a year the people have to pay at
least $500, 600, 000 AS the merchants
could earn this profit in other ways I'M
der direct taxation this 800 900 600 per
/ aunum was wasted as absolutely as if
thrown into the sea. Nor was this all.
| Not content with this enormous waste
we so arranged taxes as to increase the
| prices of articles of daily use to the
amount of at least $3.50. 900 900 every
wear. AS the Federal taxes were $400,-
600 000 the local taxes $500, 900 600,
the merchants commissions on taxes
500, 900 900. and the extra cost of goods
caused bv the ''prOtectve" side of the
system $3.50 600 600. made a total bur
den of over 81 500, 600, 900 annually,
almost all of which was borne by the
people according to their expenses
and not according to their income.
Men like Gould and Vanderbilt were
taxed less than per cent. on their an
nual savings, the Wealthiest citizens OF
Brooklyn were taxed per cent, the
average successful man of business &c
per cent, and the great mass of labOring
men so per cent. If it were not fOl
this system of indirect taxation, com
bined with protection. Mr.. Sherman
argued that the IA 600, 900 persons who
live by their daily labor in the country
would save every year over 81 400, 000
600. while all the more prosperous classes
combined could only save about $3.50.
O00, 600; so that if taxes did not inter
fere the laborlng classes, as a whole
would in twenty years be worth $11,
600 O0O. coo more than the upper classes.
But taxation did interfere with sucI
effect that if the upper classes used the
slightest economy they would in the
next twenty years be worth 81 900 O0O
600 more than all the laboring classes
combined, while 100 900 men at the tor
would be richer than all the rest of the
people in the United States combined.