The National tribune., 1890-10-23

OF taxation has been imposed upon the peo-
pie to pay pensions
We challenge the whole crew of soldier
haters, from the sordid, avaricous importer
in New York, to the blatant demagog below
ing to a gang of vicious bushwhackers in
the baekwoods of Missouri, TO show single
instance where the passage Of pension act
has been made the pretext for an increase
of taxation, or a reason for not reducing the
present duties and excises.
This is plain, square, free-for-all defiance
and challenge. 1t covers the whole ground ;
it makes no exceptions 1t stamps as wilful
lies the whole farrago of anti-pensiOn chat
ter, and dares any speaker or writer TO pro-
duce single fact going to show that pensions
are in any degree whatsoever burden upon
the people of the country.
The Government is now collecting duties
upon about 1000 different articles, and Con-
gress has recently passed bill adding per-
haps S50O00,0OO q year to the pension
disbursements. Surely, if there be word
of truth in the clamor of these malignants,
they can find somewhere among those 1000
different articles few which have been tax
ed TO pay pensions, or they can find in that
total of $3.50, ,000,000a year some dollars which
can be identified as having been wrung from
the people TO pay pensions If they can,
then our challenge is answered, and our de-
fance fully met.
Let them but do 1t, and tce iDiu retire from
the discussion.
But they cannot. The money used to pay
pensions is collected for other reasons Those
reasons would exist with equal force were
there not a pensioner in the land. The
money would be collected all the same, and
after it was collected be applied to some
National purpose.
Take, for example, the article which yields
the greatest amount of money,-distilled
spirits, which pay about S70,00O,OOO year,
or One-ifth the entire revenue. Is there any
man foolish enough to say that this tax was
put on or is kept up for the purpose of pro-
viding money to pay pensionsP The whole
country agrees that on principle the tax on
distilled spirits should be kept at about the
present figure, no matter what use is made
of the money derived from it. Even the
distillers and wholesale dealers are opposed
to any reduction Of the tax, which would
disorganize their business In common
with the rest of the people they say that
the Government should continue to collect
the money and find some means OF return
ing it to the people. The same is true of
fermented spirits, which pay S24,0O0,0O0 a
year, or about one-ffteenth the entire reve-
nue. and Of tobacco, which pays $50, 100000,
or over one-twelfth.
oleomargarine, which pays about 100000
year, is taxed for the benefit of the farmers
and dairymen, and in response TO their
urgent demand.
Some unimportant sundries make up the
total OF internal revenue taxes TO $12i, ,296,-
372, or little over one-third Of the total
receipts Of the Government No man can
truthfully say that these have the slightest
relation to the use of money for the pay
ment of pensions.
Next we come to the customs duties. The
largest item of these are the collections on
sugar and molasses, which amount to
s52,OO0O0O year, or nearly one-seventh
the entire revenue. These duties were
originally imposed and have been main
tanned up to this time TO promote the de-
velopment of our own sugar production in
Louisiana, and in the sorghum and beet
root fields Of the North and West. No
thought of pension paying influences their
levying and maintenance
The next largest item is wool and manu-
factures of" which pay S32,0OO,0OO a year,
or about one-tBelfth the entire revenue.
Lar any DOuy WHO Lac liSJeueu 70 the earnest
arguments before the last Congress for the
increase Of the duties on wool, heard hint
that the money was needful to- pay pensions?
Not once. Their entire burden was that the
duties must be increased to protect the
wool-growers of Ohio, Texas, Wyoming,
California, Illinois, Montana and elsewhere,
and the hundreds Of factories which were
springing up everywhere TO the great ad-
vantage Of the neighborhoods around them.
What the Government did with these mill
ions was of the smallest concern TO them.
All they were interested in was the protec-
ton. This they were bound to have, and
they controlled the political power which
commanded it.
The next largest are the duties on iron and
steel, which amount to $22,OOO,0O0 a year,
or about one-eighteenth Of the total revenue.
The men interested in this class Of manu-
factures insisted that the amount of pro-
lection they were receiving from the collec-
ton Of this amount was absolutely necessary
TO the security Of several hundred million
I H. IL.