Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-09-18
TAXATION BY PROCLAMATION.

A Proposition That Progresses Backward
Taxation by Executive Proclamation.
The proposed amendment to the Tariff
bill authorizing the President to put on
and take of duties at his pleasure is a
most dangerous innovation. No such
practice is known in any really civilized
nation in the world to-day. Kings and
EmperorS used to have this power to
levy taxes. But the English Kings lost
that power, SO far as England was con-
cerned. when Charles ]. lost his head,
over two hundred years ago And this
right to impose and collect taxes with
out the consent of Parliament had been
denied by the best authorities long be-
fore it was successfully resisted. But
when President Harrison's ancestor
voted for the execut on of Charles / he
helped to vote this stretch of tyranny
out of existence.
1t does seem that our public men are
losing the instinct of freedom They
are blind to the teachings of history.
The schooling they have had has un-
fitted them to legislate for free peo-
pie, living under free institutions.
What We have won after centuries of
struggle-trial by jury. popular repre-
sentation, limited Executive authority,
local self-government the supremacy
of the civil over the military power
they treat as of no kind OF Importance.
So we have system which taxes one
man for the benefit of another: set OF
navigation laws which would disgrace a
community of Barbary pirates; despot
in the chair of this popular branch of
the National Legislature, bounties; force
bills, and now this mad scheme which
AZ,
tax the sixty-five million people Of the
United States.
It is not likely that the amendment
will be adopted. SO that it is chiefly
dangerous for what it indicates. Though
right in the line of march of our legis-
lation land the discouraging thing is,
that the tendency seems to be in this
direction) it is 50 very outrageous that
the country will not stand it If this
attempt will only open the eyes of the
people to the perils ahead of them in
the path which they are travelling. the
lesson will have been cheaply learned.
Knives and swords.
There are some instructive things
revealed by an inspection of the cutlery
paragraph of the metal schedule of the
Tariff bill now in the Senate. The
duty, under the existing Law, on pocket
knives of all kinds is 50 per cent That
would seem to be high enough, but it
is not as the following schedule of the
new duties will show:
All kinds of pocket and pen knives,
erasers. etc. valued At so cents and I'M
der a dozen-duty, II cents dozen and
so per cent; valued at SO cents to 81 so
a dozen-duty, SO cents a dozen and
so per cent; valued at 81 so to 800 a
dozen-duty. 81 dozen and so per cent;
valued at over 50 . dozen-dufy, 81 a
dozen and SO per cent .rl
Twelve cents q dozen on knives worth
so cents is equivalent TO a duty OF "a
per cent, which. added to the SO Der
cent, raises the tariff tax on the cheap
est knives to "a per cent at the least
Knives worth 81 a dozen are taxed 100
per cent, and SO through the schedule
These things are necessaries. and they
are. for the most part used for pacific
and praiseworthy purposes
The next item in this paragraph in
cludes swords. sword blades and side
arms On these articles the duty OF IS
per cent remains the same very
beautiful poem, written by James Shir-
lev, has this line:
Some men with swords may reap their feId;
But the American farmers do not il
is believed, belong to that class. Many
of them would not know what TO do with
a sword if they had one. So as they
don't buy swords to any great extent IL
was useless to advance the duty II il
were put too high, the farmer would
simply swear on ON swords
Knives. however. he must have; hence
up goes the duty.
I'm his message to Congress in 1854
President Arthur said: The healthful
enlargement of our trade with Europe,
Asia and Africa should be sought by re-
ducing tariff burdens on such OF their
wares as neither we nor the other Amer
lean States are fitted TO nrnduce and