Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-08-08
FALSE AND FOOLISH.
some of the silly Stuf Circulated by .
Mugwump Free-T-ade Organ


Some of the Silly STAFF Circulated by .
MuEwump Free-T-ade Organ.
The New York Evening Post holds
that any law which seeks to divert one
mans earnings to another mans ben
eht, under whatever guise or plea,
temporarily or permanently. is an act
! OF spoIiatiOn and an infringement OF
human lib1rty. And then the tariff is
held to be such law, and the people,
and especially the farming people, are
( invited TO arise in their anger and de-
/ stroy it The plea is wicked and
! Wanton, false and foolish. Every law
/ by which money is levied or expended
dIverts "One mans earnings to the
benefit of another and ever must do
So And so. too. every voluntary per-
sonal expenditure for food or clothes.
for education or amusement, s'diverts
! one mans earnings to the benefit of
I another" and ever must. The city
taxes you TO" sewer or street, and a
part of your earnings is diverted to
the benefit of the contractor, the brick
maker, the labOrer. The count taxes
you for gravel road. and a part Of
your earnings is diverted to the ben-
eft Of the men Eho build it. You give
to church. and part of your earn
ings is diverted to the benefit Of the
preacher. You buy suit of clothes,
and part Of your earnings is diverted
to the benefit of the tailor who made
them, the merchant who sold the cloth,
and the man who raised the wool and
spun 1t In fact, you don't get any
thing for nothing nowadays If you
have any thing you get it by diverting
part of your earnings to the benefit
of another man.
This is very rudimentary political
economy, and it is strange that free
trade journai--of advanced views
should have been ignorant of it, es-
pecially since little Mr.. Perry has un-
dertaken to instruct the youth of the
country in what he is pleased to term
''the doctrine of satisfaction" A
country is we'll or ill governed in pro-
portion as the taxes levied are spent
upon necessary or needless objects, for
the benefit of the people or otherwise;
or in proportion as they receive what
Mr.. Perry calls ''satisfactions' for
the expenditure of their money, or
otherwise. So that any successful at
tack upon the tariff or other revenue
SvStam muSt Shnu tbo+ tho raODla do
not derive benefit from it, or that they
would derive greater benefit from the
adoption of another system. Now,
there are only two systems of public
revenue known to man; the one is by
direct and the other by indirect taxa
tion. Tariff revenue is by indirect
taxation; internal revenue by direct
taxation. 1t falls upon the free traders
to prove that direct taxation benefits
the people more than indirect taxa
ton. And they decline the task. 1t
is not possible one.
Revenue must be raised; revenue
raised by tariff laws increases the
productive power of the country, as
is witnessed by the marvellous growth !
of trade and manufactures under the |
protective system. Revenue raised by |
direct taxation decreases the produc- |
tive power of the country, for it is
plain that if the Government demand |
300 as a license or fee precedent to
your engaging in any business you
have inst 800 less caDitaI tO entar into
business with. In either case the
revenue is taken from zone mans
and applied to "the benefit |
Of another man. the man who
builds war vessel, or furnishes
arms, clothing or food TO troops,
lraws pay as Congressman. or Presi-
lent, or pdblic servant of whatever
legree, or sells things of any kind for
Government use, or does work of any
Kind for the Government We regret
hat the Evening Post should be in
avor Of stopping all sorts of expendi-
.ures, public or private, including
hose by which part of zone mans
are taken" in the form of a
'early subscription ''for another mans
,enetit," such other man being the
of the Post. And we humbly
rust that this brief lesson in some
'udiments of political economy may
cad to its revision of the delusive
entence which we have made the oc-
asion thereof Chicago Inter Ocean.