The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-08-16
THE pR0TEcTIoNIsr LAST DITCH
a Plan to Bribe the Taxpayers of the
Country.

penses of the Government for the pur.
pose OF distributing the surplus among
the States, it was simply the speculative
scheme of Il Protcctionis: professor in
Philadelphia. Yesterday. however, it
was seriously embodied in The platform
OF the Republican party in Pennsylvania,
rs 8 proposal for permanent change in
the fisca! system OF the country. Moth
ing which has yet been said or done
about the tariff furnishes so good an H..
lnstratinn as this does of the way in
which the protective system debauches
or perverts the minds of its votaries on
nearly all political topics. In Pennsyl.
vania it has produced kind Of fanaticsm
which in some Of its effects is not unlike
religious bgotry, and exerts a decidedly
narrowing influence on the social and
intellectual life Of tho State, rs well rs
on its politics. 1t would really seem
now, if we are to accept the Republican
Convention as a fair exponent Of the
popular feeling in the State on this sub.
Ject-which we are not by any means
prepared to do-as if the Pennsylvania
Iro:ectionists were prepared to change
the form of the Government sooner than
submit to reduction of import duties.
They have apparently got into the state
OF mind of the French Legtimists, who
would sooner see France ruined than see
the Republic succeed. A great many of
our high Tariff men have worked them.
selves into sort Of hallucination, in
which government carried on with low
import duties seems almost the same as
no,government, aud a high Tariff stands
side by side with security for life and
property, among the essentials of polit-
lcal organization.
ihis will not seem too strong language
to those who seriously consider the prob.
able effects on our aystem of government
OF the permanent collection of "redun.
dant revenue, to be distributed from time
to time to the several States, on the basis
OF population, to relieve them from the
burdens OF local taxation and provide
means for the education Of the people" !"
Aud these effects are so plain that it
would be atiectation to suppose that the
iennsylvania politicians do not perceive
them. The burdens of direct local tax
alton are the most legitimate and mos,
useful burdens tue people have to bear
so much SO that indeed they may be call
ed the cornerstone of our system OF
government. 1t is to the fact that so
much OF our taxation is local and direct.
In fact. that we owe the surce.s of the
Republican experiment on this Continent.
II not only prevents the growth at Wash
iBgton OF corrupt centralized power.
with duties so multifarious, and an army
ol oihclals 80 vast and so scattered as to
oe beyond the reach of any effective
criticism or supervision, but it cduca,es
the taxpayers in the duties and respon
s'bllltles of government. 1t is because
no much OF their taxation is, and always
has been, local taxation, voted OH the
spot ny the men who pay it, aud spen,
under their eye by their own officers, tina,
Americans are the best politicians in the
world. Ii, However, the process of de
riVIng local expenses from central fund
IN washington once began no local taxa.
interest IN taxation would rapidly disap
pear ana each State. town and county
would commit its affairs to the manage.
meni OF a set of shrewd lobbyists perma-
nently stationed at Washington, with iu-
structlons 70 make the revenue as ere
dundant' as possible. In fact, members
of Congress would soon find that This
was their principal duty. Ifany locality
found itself short of schools. bridres
roads or other improvements. it wonld
simply send an appeal to Washington for
more redundancy. And when its share
of the redundancy came to be spent far
from feeling any of that interest in
honest administration which ia now the
salt Of our politics, the taxpayers would
look on at its outgo With much The sane
mixture Of Indifference and amusement
with which they witness the extravaganza
Of very rich man.
Nor Is this all. We have at this mo.
ment a lamentably large number of
States in which the willingness 10 nav
taxes is at a low ebb, in which yery
dishonest attitude Of mind toward the
Puoiic obligations is very common, and
III which there is large body of grossly
ignorant and therefore easily corrupted
voters. Everybody knows where these
States lie. We do not need to make a
list OF them. To these tho adoption of
the redundancy system would seem like
establishment of an annual scramble for
vast sums OF money, the most adrot and
9rn1scrupulous r1 TO have the largest share.
lhey would sell their support at cyery
iresidentia! election and at every divis
ION In the House TO the party which
promised most redundancy, and this
would be one Of the iew party prom.
lses which would have to be kent. In
fact, under the influence OF the lively
competition which we see between the
parties in other things, we might event.
ually come to have redundancy enough
to pay off the farm mortgages in son,e
States and give pianos to the farmers
wives. The only thing certain about
the working of such scheme il that it
would create vast sea of corruption. in
which the Government would either
speedily founder or totally change it,
form. The local governments would no,
long survive their growing dependence
ior money on the Federal treasury, and
the Government ut Washington could
not manage The machine which the re-
dundancy would create, without an en-
largement OF the executive powers and
corresponding corruption of Congress.
which would soon leave little of Repuh
iicanism beyond the forms. We are.
however, glad on the whole that the
Pennsy!vania Convention has pronospd
the scheme. No Free. trader could desire
a better revelation of "the true inward.
ness of the protective system.-Mc,o
York Erening Post.
Killed by His Wife.