Workmen's advocate., 1889-11-23

ally administered? or shall the revenue be limited only by the possible yield of the graduated tax? In the latter case there will be a large surplus above the requirements of government; what shall we do with it?
 Let us illustrate, and simplify the question by supposing that the railroad | business will be carried on at cost for the benefit of the people," and, there fore will yield no net revenue. We have thus to consider only the graduated tax.
 At the present time the expenditure
 of government is about three hundred
 million dollars, but the incomes above
 5000 are considerably over three thou
 sand million. Shall the tax be made to
 yield three hundred million only, or
 any sum between three hundred million
 and three thousand million?
 If the tax IS limited to three hundred
 million there will be no change whatever
 in the condition of labor other than the
 doubtful one which might be brought
 about by the abolition of the excise and
 customs duties. Capital will draw from
 its investments the same net revenue as
 it did before it will control production
 and dispose of it in the same manner,
 and the benefits of the reduction in the
 cost of transportation will not even go
 to the working class, since it will be i'll
 the power of capital to either keep up
 the price of necessaries if the rate of
 wages is maintained, or reduce the
 wages of labor to the full amount of the reduction in the price of necessaries. , If the tax is made to yield sum con sderably in excess of three hundred million, what shall we do with the sur plus?
 , Shall we cast it into the sea? Or shall [ we distribute it equally among the people 7 so that they may all share alike " the rewards of life," regardless of their respective share in the wealth-producing 7 toil? Or shall we, as the Socialists de- : mand, transform our political govern r ment into an economic agency of na- !, tional cooperation by erecting national t factories, constructing national machin D cry, building national warehouses, open
 ing national stores and otherwise giving |. every man free access to the means o1 \ production and distribution, the share r. of each in the rewards of industry Il being in proportion to the share that ht 6 will have freely taken in the wealth il producing toil?
 y Manifestly, the two first questions r. must be answered in the negative is Manifestly, also, if the last question Ii a answered in the affirmative, nothing il @ left of our correspondents objections
 to the platform of the Socialist Labo q Party.
 if It falls under the sense, however, tha l. the application of the surplus to sucl st uses cannot be brought about without s. thorough organization of the working ,e class into a strong and intelligent polit n ical power. The Government to-da, Ie has large surplus revenue whicl of might be immensely increased. evel e. without an income tax; but 1t IS not s ts applied, and the question that puzzle &, both parties is, How to reduce it. ,d Why? Evidently because the working le people are not sufficiently educated am m united to demand that it be so applied as Better education requires greater leis d. ure; that is, reduction of the hour
 of labor, more children at school an in fewer Tn factories, etc; jus as nations $, cooperation in industry requires pel he feet organization of labor.
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