The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-06-26
HOW PROTECTION soUANoeas.

Achievements OF the ninlon tongress
Fruits al lad. rect Inxatson-Taxe< istg-
ger Than Crop~--iet ths Farmer Figure.
One Of the strongest objections % our
protective tariff is that II collects its
tax from the people In disguise II
presents no tax bill and signs no Tux
receipt II stretches out its hand across
the counter in q hundred thousand
stores where the people come 20 trade
and stealthily pockets their hard earned
dollars.
This fact has called forth the praise
Of the high tariff leaders. See they
say. there was never such an admirable
system Of taxation; the people pay II
without knowing when or how they do
it." But this is precisely the most dan
gerous thing about the whole
tariff system. Where the people pay
without knowing Il the rulers can lay
the most grievous burdens upon them,
take the most enormous sums Of money
from them. and squander il In the most
lavish and wasteful manner. All this
can be done. and these same rulers may
not be called 70 account, for the simple
reason that the people, so very secretly
pillagcd. come To fancy at last that the
government has some mysterious way
! of creating money, that Il has some
| way Of raising money other than taking
! IL from the taxpayers.
! The Washington Post. republican
| paper. makes some calculations to show
! what our enormous taxation means "
4 terms Of commodities "All the gold
! silver. copper. iron, coal. petroleum ant
| lead produced in this country last year.
says the Post, could not pay the ex
penses Of the government for the same
length OF time. All the cotton. all thu
wool. or all the rye. barley, wine, pota
toes and tobacco produced in this coun
try in a year could not do it The M
tional banks OF this country have
combined capitalization Of S590,000. 600
One years expenses Of the government
would all but swallow up this sum
The revenue for this enor
nous expenditure is acquired in bu
one way. by taxation. by levy in on
form or another. mainly in nm indirec
form. on the substances Of the people.
A few more figures of this kind ma
be given. The department Of agricul
ture estimates that the corn crop OF las
wear was worth s.54. 900, 0O0 At tn
rate Of expenditure set by the biliio
congress. this sum would run the GOV
eminent eighteen months At the sam
rate the entire wheat crop. estimate
by the department at 1884. 700, 00
would be swallowed up in little NOR
I - - hA
worth s222, 600, 900. wolld be dispatche
in five months and ten days
The cotton crop which the souther
farmers are now throwing upon q
market will be by far the larges. ev'
produced. reaching considerably ov'
eight million bales. But the price
cotton Is very low; 50 that this in
mense crop will not bring the farme
more than 1878. 00O 900. Or just enoug
TO feed the government nine months.
DO not these figures show that v
are paying too much for our Cover
ment whistle? Do they not give Oh
very good reason for the widespre;
discomfort among farmers and labo
ers? And when it Is remembered tn
this enormous taxing power Is used
; the government for the avowed pu
pose Of shielding certain persons fro
Z the great law Of competition, and tn
Z insuring to them large profits, b Il q
Z wonder that the conviction has grow
up that our rich men have . pull on q
!, government. that the money power
behind the throne at Washington?
I 1t any wonder that this conviction h
given rise to class movements for !
dress Of far vaster proportions than =
country has ever known?
2 Let the farmers take out their lc
pencils and figure out what the achies
! ments Of the billion congress mean
Y every man, woman and child in I
land Let them reflect that this PROT
: gate expenditure Is the outgrowth Of
: system Of indirect taxation which &
!. ers its footsteps. comes and goes =
2 seen. pliers and squanders, and ev
Y boasts that IL is blessing TO the lar
8 When the farmers go to figuring a
y ~aa~c<sor vrotecfion IL n dead duck.