Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-10-24
NOT AN ABsTRUsE QUESTION.

The Chicago Herald" thinks it was a
fortunate result Of the Presidents mes
sage Of December, 1887, that it made
high tariff the question Of the Presiden-
tial campaign of 1883. Previously 1t had
been the taunt of third parties that there
was no real difference between Republic
cans and Democrats. With the opening
of the Presidential canvass by the st.
Louis convention the issue became a
clear one for the electors. Should it be
high OF low, war or peace, taxation ? )
These opposing ideas having Joined
for a verdict before the people, the high
takers have, with n accord, taken to
the plan Of struggling their shoulders at
the ms and outs of the tax question. 1t
is an abstruse subject, say the Republic
can advocates. 1t is a debate not easily
understood. It is good in theory, but
fails in practice. The low-tariff men
mean well, but are vague and fanciful.
The question is one of long columns of
figures, percentages, political economy
and metaphysics. To this effect the
average Republican orator pirates, and
passes with gusto to the familiar shibbo-
leth of the bloody shirt.
But the question now at issue is not an
abstruse one. 1t is not a matter of fig
ures and statistics, for SO long as men
figure on one side of the ledger there
can be found other book-keepers to make
the same ciphers tell the opposite story.
The issue Of 1883 is right or wrong, high
tax or low tax, freedom OF oppression,
equality or oligarchy. No two things
are more different than is the platform
of st. Louis from the platform Of Chi
cago. It is as light to darkness. The
men who is able to tell when a thief has
his hand in that mans pocket; to tell
when a thief is taking a shawl off the
wife's shoulders, taking a blanket off the
bed, or taking food off the table-that
man is capable of judging between the
present contentious of the Democratic
and Republican parties.
The taxes levied at the custom houses |
are the. survivals Of the highest rate of
assessment ever imposed on a people. |
The internal taxes, which once excused |
the outside taxes, have nearly all been
taken away. Instead Of reducing the
outside taxes in proportion, the outside
taxes or duties have been increased. The
result is an oppression by classes rarely
equaled in modern times. The question
now is, Shall a part of this system be
abolished as a trial Of better ideas? The
Democrats say yes; the Republicans say
no. THE MINER, in this statement, uses
tho official utterances of the parties.
There are, however, hundreds of thous- |
ands Of Republicans who have always
sympathized with tariff reform. These,
1t is expected, will vote for reform Con-
gressmen this fall. Voting for such Con-
gressmen, such voters will not be likely
to aid a Presidential candidate who would
veto an act of reform. 80
The Mills bill is a reality, and will
reduce unneeded taxation. That taxa
as it is levied through the custom
houses, falls equally on the rich and the
poor in the degree of their consumption
Of the bare necessaries of life. The we'll
TODD clerk, with a family Of seven souls,
as much sugar as the family of Jay
Gould; the poor man eats as much salt,
wears as much wool, and uses as much
lumber as the millionaire who makes a
profit on the tax.
Therefore, on all contributions de-
handed of the citizen, the national GUS
tom house duty is the harshest, aud,
besides this, if it really confer protection,
t visits still another hardship In the
nigh valuation which it puts on the
goods the poor are compelled to buy.
Beginning wrong, this taxing dogma
must end wrong. There are no figures
n it. The taxes are not needed, and
hey should have been abolished before
hey tempted a false and pro1igate SEN
tie to the scandalous appropriations of
he present session.