Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-12-11
Public Debt Fast Being Paid. Our
Postal Service, the Grandest
in the World.
Bland Coinage Law Must be Re-
pealed. The United States
Navy a Sham.
Land Grabbers Denounced. &C.
rouimo and the Appaches.
Civil Service a Success.

New Miss4ssippian.l
In my last annual message to the
Congress. attention was directed to the
fact that
THE REVENUES OF THE GOVERNMENT.
exceeded its actual needs, and it was
suggested that legislative action should |
be taken to relieve the people from the
unnecessary burden of taxation thus
made apparent. In view of the pres
ing importance of the subject, deem
it my duty to again urge its considera-
ton. The income of the government,
by its increased volume and through
economies in its collection, is now
more than ever in excess of public
necessities. The application of the
surplus to the payment of such portion
of the public debt as is now at our
option, subject to extinguishment, if
continued at the rate which has lately
prevailed, would retire that class of
| Indebtedness within less than one year
from this date. Thus continuation
of our present revenue system would
soon result in the receipt of an annual
income much greater than necessary to
meet Government expenses, with no
Indebtedness upon which it could be
applied. We should then be con-
fronted with vast quantity of money,
the circulating medium Of the people,
boarded in the Treasury whenit should
be in their hands, or we should be
drawn into wasteful public eXtrava-
gance, with all the cOrrupting national
decentralization which follows in its
train.
But it is not the simple existence of
this surplus and its threatened atten-
dant evils which furnish the strongest
arguments against our present scale of
Federal taxation. Its worst phase is
the exaction of such a surplus through
perversion of the relations between
the people and their government and
a dangerous departure from the rules
which limit the right Of Federal taxa
ton. Good government, and especially
the government of which every Ameri-
can citizen boasts, has for it's objects
the protection Of every person within
its care in the greatest liberty consis-
tent with the good order of society and
This perfect security in the enjoyment
of his earnings, with the least possible
diminution for public needs. When
more of the peoples substance is
exacted through the form Of taxation
than IS necessary to meet the just
obligations of the government and the
expense of it's economical administra-
ton such exaction becomes ruthless
extortion and violation Of the funda-
mental principles of free government.
The indirect mann er in which these
exactions are made has a tendency to
conceal their true character and their
extent. But we have arrived at stage
of super1uous revenue, which has
aroused the people to realization OF
the fact that the amount raised profess
sedly for the support of the government
is paid by them as absolutely, if added
to the price of the things which sup
piled their daily wants, as if it was paid
at fixed periods into the hands of the
tax-gatherer
Those who toll for daily wages are
beginning to understand that capital,
though sometimes vaunting its impor-
tance and clamoring for the protection
and favor of the government, is dull