Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-07-12
zarcaster frltellige1lcer.
THuRspAY EVENING, JULY IL. 1883.
Mid Summer Madness.

The Republican convention or Penn
sylvania has approved Mr.. Wharton
Barker's proposition that the United
States shall raise more revenue than it
needs for its own expenses, and shall
divide the surplus among the states.
The idea compactly presented is that the
federal government shall raise the
moneys needed to pay the cost of its own
government and of the separate state
governments.
The objection to this as political
policy is obvious. 1t will make the state
governments entirely dependent on the
federal government. This is contrary t"
the idea of our union. The states are
independent sovereignties. They sur
render to the federal government only
such powers as are necessary for them t"
resign to secure the autonomy of the
union. 1t is not necessary that they
should receive from the federal govern.
ment the money to pay the cost of their
state governments. This they can readily
raise themselves. If they were depen-
dent upon the federal government for
their support they might as well be de
pendent upon it for everything. If their
governor, legislature, judges, officers and
creditors generally were paid out of a
fund provided by the United States, the
state as against the United States would
have no power at all. 1t would be folly
to cali i. independent or to style it a
sovereignty. 1t would be but satrapy.
The tendency towards the obliteratiOn
of the state in the federal government
is strong enough, under the intimate
communication between the states es-
tablished by the many avenues of COM
merce. 1t needs to be checked wherever
it may be done without public injury.
Certainly it does not need to be
encouraged by making the states de-
pendent upon the United States treasury
for their income, which they are entirely
able to easily raise for themselves a
more needless surrender of an attribute
of their sovereignty could not be sug.
gested.
The men who have suggested it, and
the Republican convention that has en-
dorsed it, have been possessed with an
idea. as though with devil. Their
idea is high tariff. Their arg gument is
that the protection of American indus
try requires the imposition of high duties
upon foreign manufacturer that high
duties make a large revenue: and
that this revenue, being more than
is needed by the United States, should be
given to the states. Therefore to protect
the industries of the state they would
destroy their independence. Their po-
sitiOn is that the states cannot be inde
pendent and prosperous. Il is a remark.
able declaration in view of their history :;
and the fact that it is made is but fresh
illustration of the fact that ordinarily
sensible men can say and do sometimes
very silly things. Mr.. Wharton Barker
has hitherto enjoyed the reputation of
being man of fair sense, and no doubt
the majority of the delegates to the
Republican convention were sensible
men. But here they go, Barker delib
erately and the others rashly, into a
headlcng declaration that the prosperity
of the country demands that the states
shall get themselves into an infant
dependence on the United States tit 4;
because, as they say. the United States
will get more money than it will know
what to do with from a protective tariff.
The fact being, all the time, that with a
truly protective tariff, the United States
would not get any money to speak of from
its duties. A tariff to entirely protect
American Industries would be one which
would entirely prevent the importation
of foreign articles. 1t would put the
duty on them so high that the American
manufacture would be the cheapest
consequently the receipts from du
ties would be small. If the United
States wants to reduce the
amount realized from It's customs,
it can do it to any extent 10y raising
the tariff so high as to be bar, Orlower
ing it SO far as to make importations
nearly free of duty or altogether so. 1t
Language the tariff to it's needs, and at
the same time give all the protection to
American industry that the most rabid
protectionist may demand.
All say the Barkerites, perhaps that
may be so, but here is the great revenue
from whisky and tobacco flowing in
upon the government as a deluge and
what shall 1T do with it ? 70 which the
reply is very simple. IL the government
is so happily situated that it has more
means of supplying its needs than it
wants, it can surrender such sources to
the use of the states. The tax on
whisky and tobacco is one which the
sentiment Of the country is in favor of
maintaining the things taxed being such
as can justly bear a heavy burthen of
taxation. The tax on whisky and tobacco
manufactured in Pennsylvania IS surren
dered by it at present to the United
States for its sources of revenue. But if
the United States no longer needs them,
they should pass back to Pennsylvania
to be taxed by her for her purpose. We
know no particular reason why Pennsyl-
vania manufactures should be taxed by
the United States and thrown into hotch
po.ch with the tax collected on whisky
and tobacco in other states and the whole
distributed among all the states. 1t