The examiner. (Hartford, Conn.) 1881-188?, 1886-07-10
A POLITICAL ESSAY.

ride two horses at one and the same
time.
A POLITICAL ESSAY.
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.
has made large fortune by selling vile
poisonous liquors. How many drunkards
with shattered nerves has he been instru-
mental in making? How many women,
mothers and wives of thoss drunkards, has
he sent broken hearted to untimely
graves Has he given the world fair
equivalent for his fortune Here is an
other rich man. He has failed several
times and Windled his creditors, and now
exults in us wealth, not dollar of which
honestly belongs to him. Here is another
rich man who has made fortune by TAX
ing an unfair advantage of his capital
and superior knowledge. He has, in
various ways, contrived to make his en-
ployes work for him at starvation rates.
Many a woman and child has actually per-
ished in order that this gentleman may roll
in wealth. Here is pawn-broker, the as
sistant and encourager of thieves. He
lends poor man little money and
charges for it only about sixty per cent.
year. So he gets rich, and his sons and
daughters become the aristocrats OF this
free republic. Here is another man who
has got rich by selling shoddy articles and
adulterated goods. He has told and acted
hundred petty little lies every day of his
life, and so he has heaped up bis dirty pile.
Here is stock-broker. He CANDLES in
stocks, and, like most gamblers, he cheats
in every way he can. His whole business
is founded upon the suppressing of the
truth and the telling of lies. Here is
politician who has had an office with sal
airy of four or five thousand dollars, who
has lived at the rate of ten or twelve
thousand dollars year, and still in some
mysterious manner has become a million
aire. We could extend the list Gd
nauseana. When we consider then the
manner in which probably the majority OF
rich men acquire wealth, we think a heavy
tax could very properly be levied upon
them.
There never has been nation so blessed
and favored by the Almighty as ours. But
we are in great danger from ourselves.
All history teaches that in a republic two
classes of its citizens are its enemies-the
very rich, and the very poor. The rich
want to elevate themselves above what
| they call the masses. They would like to
be the aristocrats. They want a strong
government, which will keep the people in
1mplete subsection, and thoroughly pro-
tect their property. They would like
large standing army, perfectly under the
control of its commander, who, when Or
dered to do SO, would shoot people down
| like so many dogs. The very poor, on the
other hand, are disconnected and unhappy.
They are enyious of the rich. They are
restless and eagerly listen to demagogues.
The citizen of republic who has nothing
is ansslement of danger. He is like gun
powder or nitro glycerine. He may cause
destruction at any time. The hope OF this
republic depends upon the middle classes,
who are neither rich nor poor. This class
of citizens then should be fostered and en-
couraged. The man who has nothing, we
repeat, is an element of danger. Let him
acquire homestead, and he is apt to be-
come quiet, peaceable, conservative citi-
zen Rich men, we admit, are not to be so
much dreaded in this country, because
! they die sooner or later, and then their
property is scattered in every direction.
| But there are rich and soulless corpora
tions which do not die, but go on from
year to year acquiring greater wealth,
| influential that they control members of
the different Legislatures and Congressman
| by the score. Many Congressman is
| completely owned by some railroad. He
| is branded with the letters r. r., and the
brand being carefully concealed, he is
| turned loose, apparently free and 1nd i1
pendent man. Look at the Pacific Rail-
road. It is the offspring of fraud and vii
liany It has already swindled us out of
millions, and still broods, like the tabled
| blood-sucking vampire, over the halls of
Congress. It still continues to corrupt
and purchase Congressman and Senators
and steal our money, and contemptuously
ask us s'What are you going to do about
! it. ?'' The various Pacific railroads now
owe us, the people, more than 500, 900, 900,
and they do not propose to pay us single
cent. They will find it easier and more
economical to buy up the requisite Sena-
tors and congressman than pay us this
| large sum of money.
AS our country becomes more and more
populous, the difference between the rich
and the poor will become g. eater and
greater, and the republic, on account of
| this difference. will be in imminent danger
of destruction. Macaulay, the historian,
who by the light of the past was able to
foretell the future, predicted the ruin of
this country from this cause He will
prove a true prophet unless we guard
against this danger. If our population
were 100000, 900, and our cities were
| crowded with envious, unhappy, poor men,
| how long could this republic exist? We
would soon become involved in civil war,
anarchy and universal ruin. In the strikes
and riots now taken place we have a
warning, muttering of the coming earth
quake. The best, if not the only, safe
guard against this danger is to encourage
| and stimulate poor men to acquire home
steads of themselves.
| In conclusion, we maintain: 1. The
luxuries, not the necessaries, of life should
be taxed, and wealth represents all lux
uries. q Our plan of taxation would
cause the least distress and Inconvenience
to our citizens. 8. 1t would throw nearly
all the expenses of government upon the
rich, who practically rule the republic, and
would induce them to manage the public
money honestly and economically. 4. 1t
would have some tendency to promote
equality of wealth between man and man,
which is very much to be desired in re-
public. 5. It would protect in some de-
gree the poor man from the rich man. 6.
! 1t is not Inconsistent with, but decidedly in
accordance with the teachings of Jesus.
7. 1t would compel rascally rich men to
restore to the community portion of their
| ill-gotten wealth. Finally, it would have
some tendency to preserve us from civil
war; anarchy and universal ruin, towards
which We are beginning to drift.
W. 81. BENSON,
Philadelphia.
Six of the seven New York Bohemians
on trial for boycotting the bakeress, Mrs.
/ Landgraff were convicted Thursday after