Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-06-19
The Warehouse Deluslon.

From the National Democrat.
"Uucle Sam, General Warehouse
man. is the sign which some of our
deluded fellow-citizens wish the Gov
ernment to hang out at every court
house in the land.
When pointing out, last February in
the National Democrat, the absurdity
of Secretary Windom's scheme for
ware houseing silver, the writer con-
demDed as even more silly those sug-
gestions which time and again had
been made to warehouse various pro-
ducts of mans industry, and showed
that, should the Government adopt
the Secretary's plan, it should certain
ly lead to warehouseing iron, copper,
lead, salt, cotton, meal, wheat and ey-
cry other production of field and forest,
mine and mlll-of every fruit of mans
art, skill, genius and industry. In
deed, it is nothing but part of the
nationalist scheme TO make the Gov
eminent the absolute owner of man
and all that man has and can produce
an imita ton of the old Egyptian
system OF Pharoah and Joseph. See
Gensis, chapters 4I-47 inclusive, and
ponder the details by which the Gov
ernment finally acquired not only the
crops of the people, but their money,
DO ldsmen forever. Joseph first levied
a tax of one-fifth, or twenty per cent,
of the annual yield of the peoples labor,
but afterwards, it seems, increased the
levy to four-fifths or more, to all the
yield not needed for home consump-
.tion. Then, at the end of the seven
years Of plenty, the government be-
gan to sell to the people what they
themselves had previously made, and
finally bought them soul and body ,aHd
their possessions forever.
"But it was necessary" some one
will say, "to tax them heavily during
the seven years of plenty in order to
save them alive during the seven
years of famine" If SO, why should
the Government sell TO the people
what they themselves had previously
produced. 1t belonged to the people.
1t was common saving fund, and
should have been used for the common
and equal benefit of all. The Govern
ment did not need it for any legiti-
mate expense for the common good.
1t should have been distributed among
them, not sold to them. The Govern
ment bad simply, as an agent, saved
it for them. But there is no such ne
cessity for our people to sell them
selves.
For years the Republican party, ac-
in rower, has been taxing
the people directly some so per cent.
or more on imports, and fully as much
indirectly or by reflex action upon all
the products of their hands and brains
for the benefit, not of the Govern
ment, but of class; and the surplus
so aecumulatipg is now largely used,
it would seem, to buy the people, or
.
souls. Falling into a trap, the people
or some of them-are deliberately
the Government to put d.
rectly on the agriculture of the coun-
try the old Egyptian Joseph tax ofone-
fifth, or 20 per cent. of the annual yield,
and that in addition to the import and
other direct tax now levied. How so?
Why, the clamor is-and bills have
beer introduced in Congress to that eff
fect-for the Government to erect ware
houses all over the land, and buy and
store the cotton, wheat, ETC., at four
fiftbs or so per cent. of its value, the
paying therefor in shin
plasters that will hardly cost one cent
per million dollars of face value,
This is out-Josephs Joseph! The peo-
pie actually offering to sell the annual
product of their labor for 20 per cent.
less than its value and to take pay
therefor in worthless rags, shin plast-
ers redeemable in no other way than
in taxes. Why, the old greenback
craze was the perfection of wisdom as
compared to the warehouse lunacy!
The Greenbackers wanted the reg
baby given to them, free, gratis aud
for nothing" or words to that effect;
W hilst the warehousemen offer to give
all they make annually, and at dis
co unit OF 20 per cent, for The privilege
of nursing machine-made rag doll!
Is it possible to find in all history "a
parallel to this delusiOn? The Egyp-
tian government of Joseph and Pta-
roah took by force the substance of the
people, stored it up, and afterwards
bought them with it. Here the delu-
sionits actually entreat the Govern
ment t. take the annual product Of
their labor at 90 per cent. discount. and
pay them in nothing. This ;s making
the Government the absolute master
Of people and products! The dream of
the Nationalist of the Bellamy school,
When before did free people ever of
fer to sell themselves into slavery?
JOHN NJ. RICHARDSON.
Daingerfeld, Tex, May %, 1890.