The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-11-25
TAXED TO DEATH. .
TARIFF REFORM THE REAL BATTLE
FIELD IN POLITICS.

TARIFF REFORM THE REAL BA LIZ
FIELD IN POLITICS.
Farmers Especially Interested In Bring
ing about Legislation Whereby the Con-
stantly Growing Encroachments of
aIonopolists may be Checked.
TO the Editor of the NezDS and Courier:
The apparent blindness or inditfer-
ence of our people to the real cause of
their troubles is almost ineXplicable.
It's true that during the last campaign
there were unusual manifestations of
political unrest that developed into
Various schemes of reformation. But,
unfortunately, the blows were dealt, to
a great extent, in the wrong direction.
The whole burden of attack was upon
State and county affairs, while Federal
politics, the true seat of the difficulty,
escaped comparatively unnotice1. Here
should have been, and must be in the
future, the real battlefield for reform.
Doubtless there are some faults in our
State and county governments that
could be corrected, but these dWindle
into insigniticance alongside of the
enormities of Federal legislation. 10
enumerate these enormitieS is entirely
too stupendous a task for the limits of
one article. The Presidents message
of December 6, 1881, states that the
revenues of the government for the
fiscal year were $3.50, ,782, ,292 81. AS to
how this outrageous burden falls upon
the people, it may be interesting to
read the following extract from a
speech made by Senator Coke in the
Senate February I, 1882:
"For every dollar paid into the ma
tional treasury under the existing tariff,
six and half dollars, ut the Lowest
calculation, go into the pockets of the
manufacturers. If this vast sum of
money were collected annually from
the pockets of the people directly, to he
given to the already richest class OF
people in this country each year, its
INDUSTRIOUS iniquity would, of course,
he so apparent rs to defeat it. But it
is collected indirectly, slough rs sure
ly, in an increased price OF everything
they consume, in everything they eat,
drink and wear; in every tool and i'm
Dlement they work with; in every
article which enters into the construc-
tion of the houses they live in, whether
used for strength, or utility. or orna-
ment; in every book or newspaper they
read. This tax is us all-pervading us
theat mosphere they breathe. and they
have been SO accustomed to it that they
neither feel no appreciate its enor-
nifty"
lie then makes list of the articles
most heavily taxed, such as blankets,
clothing, salt, soap, sugar, nc, and re-
marks:
81 appeal to the tariff list in proof of
the assertion that the poor people, the
working people of the country, who
are least able to bear it, pay more than
double the amount of taxes under the
tariff. in proportion to their consump-
ton than any other class
There are some who want to say that
the tariff does not bear SO heavily upon
the laboring people, and yet, in addi-
tion to the above, Mr.. Spofford, in his
American Almanac for 1879, shows
that where S29,O97,2sS were raised on
such luXuries as diamonds, dolls, fans,
feathers, silks, &C., $50, 6,O35, 800 were eN-
acted from cotton and woollcn goods,
ClUChClO3 ouSll Iiilt oSiiSA ASSSocoA 3Sto
of life. Another outrage connected
with the system is the cost of collec-
tion. Mr.. Thompson, Of Kentucky, in
q speech in the House in 1882. makes
a list of tifty.two places at which the
cost of collection far exceeded the
amount collected AS sample, at
nine places in Maine it cost $26,92S to
collect $4.217, and at five places in Vir-
ginia it took S10,032 to collect $l,074.
The present system is kept upon us
by the corrupting influence Of rich
monopolistS to still further enrich
themselves, and there is no doubt that
it will be rectiled as soon as the eyes
of the people are properly opened to
the enormity. When this happens we
will then see Our Representatives step
ping more boldly, and the following of
Randall ended. it is the people to
whom we must appeal between now
and the next election. The last Con-
gresS did substantially nothing in the
way of tariff reform, although there
was Il good Democratic majority in the
House; and it is a significant sequence
that the party lost badly in the recent
elections. There seems, therefore, little
prospect for anything to be done in the
coming Congress with a greatly reduced
Democratic majority.
The only hope is for the tariff refor-
mers to organize, and work with sys-
tenn and energy to better matters in
the future; and to this end they should
allow no encouragement or opposition
to banlc or impede their efforts. 1t is q
.,.,ll
I'LL owe. the Union. ought to unite.
S. X. VI.
Orangeburgc, November IS.
Fatal Logging Accidcni.
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