The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1889-09-04


earned money out Of our pockets,
and place it to the credit OF those
who toll not, neither do they spin,
ibut who, IN bank accounts and daz-
zling riches, ontshine Solomon in
his eeatest glory The war was
the opportunity for the beginning
of the money power, and the cs-
tabIshment of the present tariff
was one of its first movements.
Under the plea of military necessity
the average duties ON all goods,
wares and merchandise imported
Unto this country for sale were
more than doubled by the Morrill,
tariff and you have had these in
crease rates to pay ever since. If
any one should come into your
midst saying that the importer or
the merchant who sells to you, or
any one elseexcept yourselves. pays
the duty on the article you buy,
don fril to remind him that the
three new insane asylums IN Indi-
ana are about finished and that
there is room in one of them for him,
but no room before an intelligent
people. What marvellous feat in
Legislation it would be if we could
make the citizens of foreign coun-
tries pay our taxes and furnish the
resources necessary for the support
of our government On the CON
trary, the tariff is a system of taxa
tion by which the wants of man
kind are levied on, and species of
toll is taken ON the things most vital
to the human race. If there was
mo consumer for an article, that
article would never be manufactur-
ed, imported nor sold. There
would be no tax gathered in from
that source, but if consumer comes
forward, the article is furnished
with a tax; in other words, the duty
is.charged in, and the consumer, of
course, pays it.
You farmers, therefore, stood an
average increase of taxation on all
you bought and consumed of over
100 per cent. during tho war, and
you paid it without murmur or COM
plant while armies where in the
field. Your sons were at the front
equally representing the households
of both political parties, and you
did not then stop to consider the
cost, nor do you now, when money
is needed for those who faced death
to uphold the flag and preserve the
Union. It is true that those who
were engaged in establishing a plu-
tocracy, as Traddens Stevens then
styled it, who were shaving the
securities of the government at so
cents on the dollar, who were cut
ting government bonds in two in
the middle and paying only half
their face into the treasury, and
who were lying the foundations of
that colossal fraud and robbery,
now known as the high protective
tariff; it is true that some of these
people, their heirs or assigns, never
saw tented field. They worship
ped mammon and had no room in
their sordid hearts for love of coun-
try, yet you and the millions like
you all over the land not only filled
up the armies and navy, but you
likewise paid them every dollar
they ever received. You did not
stop to cry out on the injustice you
suffered as long as the dire emer-
gency was on the government, but
what shall be said of man or party
who now, after twenty four years of
peace, opposes a single dollars re-
duction of taxes laid on the absolute
and supreme necessities of life as an
extreme war measure, and described
as such at the time by it's advocates?
"But Republican leaders claim
that their, party has already made
large reductions OF taxatlon. Not
dollar for the relief of the farmer,
the mechanic or the wage worker,
but the enormous reductions have
taken place in behalf of the rich
and powerful. On former occa-
sion, in speaking of the record of
the leaders of the Republican party
on the subject of taritf-tax reductio,
! made the following statement:
"Their hearts were with the rich;
their concern was for the lords of
millions; they were distressed that
the amasscd capital of the country
should be called on to meetany part
of the expenses of the government,
and they rush to the rescue of the
monopolist, the usurer, the money
changer, such as were scourged out