Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-08-01
BLAINE's BOMB AND IT'S EFFECTS.

BLAINE's BOMB AND ITS EFFECTS
The reciprocity bombshell, fired into tn
republican camp by the secretary of state,
has sadly disconnected the protection
boomers. 1t las divided their ranks badly
and the chasm appears to be CROWNS
wider. The paid attorneys, in Washing
ton, of the great protected interests ar
fairly dazed at the sudden over
turning Of their well-matured plan
to get the Mckinley bill through
They had good reason for be
lieving that things were all going theil
way and that the senate would, sooner ol
later, get move on itself and take some
action on the measure. To be sure, tn,
denouement of the wrecked condition o1
the federal treasury was quite a disturb.
ing feature in their calculations, but it
had no such peculiar effect ON the
republicans as the Maine mans
proposition The depleted treasury
occasioned a halt; that was all. The
reciprocity scheme, however. has moi
only resulted in adding another reason
for delay, but is splitting up the financial
fanatics who are fast guiding the ship of
state on to the reef of ruin. Bla,ne's idea
is AN attractive one. 1t proposes Il
go very much further indeed even
than ultra refOrmers among the
democrats themselves 1t would nc
doubt meet the economic views
of that idealIst, Prof VIM. G. Sumner
Applied to the globe instead of simply to
the southern half of the western hemis-
phere, it would meet the endorsement of
the veriest free-trader of Great Britain.
Coming from any other individual than
the acknowledged republican leader of this
country, the suggestion would have fallen
with an interrupted impetus, in
elegantly termed d dull thud
but put forward by Blame.
with all the plausibility characteristic of
that artful intriguer, it necessarily makes
republican destructionists pause in their
reckless course and, pausing, their ranks
are broken They are more at sea than
ever Blaine has his followers, and
Mckinley has his, while many will prob
ably take advantage of the confusion
reigning in the republican fold TO throw
cold water on bill, to whose support only
the party cato -nine-tails has hereto
fore forced them. Progress in party
Legislation is barred The republicans
know not which way TO turn in order to
extricate themselves from their awkward
position, and, foundering on, are bring
ing the scay body of their party organiza-
tion nearer to tie brink of the fathomless
abyss into which it will ere long helplessly
tumble. Great is the republican party
and great are it's principles!
THE BURDEN OF TAXATION.
An able and interesting letter will be
found in another column, from the pen of
David A Wells one of the ablest writer's
on subjects connected with political
economy at the present time 1t will re-
pay a most careful perIsal, The letter is
Il clear presentmcnt of several important
facts, which are ignored or lost sight
Of by the advocates of reckless ex
pcnditure by the general government.
The first point made is that the four hun
dred millions annually expended to carry
on the government is paid in work. The
laboring people Of this country pay it
Then it Is shown that the annual per
capita product of the whole country, in
cluding valuation Of the domestic con-
sumption of farmers and farm-laborers
the average earnings Of each person occu-
pied in all arts, and all branches of mental,
manual or mechanical work. can It ex-
ceed two dollars for each working
day, or 5000 II year. On
this sum three persons depend for
support. This gives gross product of
sixty-six and two-thirds cents, as the sum
earned for each person; that is, the value
of the product of work Deducting from
this the domestic consumption of farmers
and the cost of state and municipal gov
ernment, thee is left rs the net average
earnings of the whole population about
fifty cents IA day.
Out Of this fifty cents day must come
the burden of federal taxation. This means
that twenty days work each year on the
average, must be contributed to the sup
port of the general government, by each
person whose earnings are 81 so per day.
liy another process of demonstration, the
writer makes it clear that the burden of
federal taxation is S6 per capita, OF $50
per year for family of five persons. He
then presents the enormous increase i'll the
expense of the federal government
Between 1870 and 1880 the increase of
expenditures was only 1 per cent. while
population increased 30 per cent.
But between 1880 and 1890. the
increase of population has not been over
80 per cent. but the increase in expendi
lures has been over 42 per cent Both
these estmlteS exclude interest
and payment on the national
debt. The annual burden of intere st
has been reduced some S57,00O0O0, IN.
nually, but the expenses climb up in
faster ratio than the population increases,