Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-01-17
TAXING THE NEEDY.
Some More Light Thrown on the Iniqui-
ties of the Allison Bill.

Some More Light Thrown on the Iniqui-
ties of the Allison Bill.
The more the Allison bill, now I'M
der consideration in the Senate, is eE-
amined, the palmer becomes its pur-
pose to reduce the taxes of the rich and
to increase the taxes of the poor.
Recently we showed by what device
the tax on fine pen-knives was reduced
from so per cent. to SO per cent, while
the tax on the cheap Congress knife
would be increased from so per cent.
to 80.
In guns the same rule has been APP
piled. Section III reads as follows:
"All double barreled, sportng breech-load-
ing shotguns, ten dollars each and 25 per cent.
ad valorem.
Double-barreled shotguns costing So
abroad are to pay an import tax CT
S11.25, or on twenty guns costing 500
tax of 1925.
But take a fine shotgun, such as the
rich buy, costing 800; the tax will be
only $50. Thus, twenty poor men
buying shotguns valued at just what
one rich mans gun is valued at, are
taxed in the aggregate 1925, while the
rich man is let off with tax of $50.
Why?
Because at Syracuse, n. Y, are
three firms making cheap shotguns.
and they want to have prohibitory
tax put on that grade. AS the Senate
as now constituted exists only to re-
cord the edicts of the manufacturer,
Allison draws the bill that is to draw
the blood.
The same principle runs all through
this infamous till. The common
things of life, the articles needed by
the poor-building materials, house
hold articles, fencing, farming nipple
ments-are taxed doubly, and the AL
lison bill is drawn for the purpose of
reducing the revenues by increasing
the rate of taxation.
Senator Vance illustrated the meth
DDS adopted when, in discussing the
proposition to take macarOni from the
existing free list and taxing it at the
rate of two cents a pound, he said
he had one day last summer peeped
into the room of the Finance Com
mittee, where he found "chipper
Dutchman" telling the subcommittee
what he knew about macarOni, and
who said he had been making macaro-
nj in Cincinnati under the impression
that there was a duty imposed upon
it, and had been doing very well,
but he s. couldn't believe his eyes,
when he read recently that it was on
the free list. He wanted a duty on
it of three cents per pound. MIR.
Vance read some amusing extracts
from the testimony of this witness.
One of the strong points made by
Mr.. Vance was the pleading of the
witness that the duty would be a very
small thing for the public, but that
g" it would be a big thing for u.s.
He commended this point in political
economy to the Senator from Con-
necticut (Nlr. Hawley), as it sustained
that Senator's argument the day before
about salt.
1t seems to the Republican members
of Congress a little thing to tax the
people one cent head on salt, and
two cents head on cotton ties, and
cent head on macarOni, and one dol
lar head on pig iron, and fifty cents
q head on steel rails, but in the aggre-
gate the burden is something enor-
nous, and, though the Republicans do
not see the danger ahead, they are do
ing just the things which may precipi-
tate in the next four years an indus
trial revolution which will destroy the
whole system of legalized robbery, root
and branch.
Every proposition made by the Dem
ocrats to lower these taxes of the poor
is rejected by the unanimous vote of
the Republicans. Every attempt to
remove the absurdities and inequali-
ties of the tariff is opposed by the
united Republicans. But when Mr.
Allison, now the spokesman of the
trusts and monopolists, proposes an
amendment still further to grind the
faces of the poor, he is supported by
the unanimous Republican vote.-
Louisville Courier-Journal.
THE RACE QUESTION:.