Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-06-20
HOW PROTECTION sQuANDeRs.
Achievements OF the Billion Congress-
Fruits of Indirect Taxation-Taxes Big
ger Than CrOps-Let the Farmer Figure.

Achievements OF the Billion Congress
Fruits of Indirect Taxation-Taxes Big
ger Than CrOps-Let the Farmer Figure.
One of the strongest objections to our
protective tariff is that it collects its
tax from the people in disguise. 1t
presents no tax bill and signs no tax
receipt 1t stretches out its hand across
the counter in a hundred thousand
stores where the people come to 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 it
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 it the rulers can lay
the most grievous burdens upon them,
take the most enormous sums of money
from them, and squander it in the most
lavish and wasteful manner. All this
can be done, and these same rulers may
not be called to account, for the simple
reason that the people, SO very secretly
pillaged, come to fancy at last that the
government has some mysterious way
of creating money, that it has some
way of raising money other than taking
it from the Taxpayers.
The Washington Post, republican
n n a nn1o ,1nt 10, c1,
what our enormous taxation means in
terms of commodities. "All the gold,
silver, copper, iron, coal, petroleum and
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 the
wool, or all the rye, barley, wine, pota-
toes and tobacco produced in this coun-
try in year could not do it. The ma
tional banks of this country have
combined capitalization of $3.50, 600, 600
One years expenses Of the government
would all but swallow up this sum.
The revenue for this enor-
nous expenditure is acquired in but
one way, by taxation, by levy in one
form or another, mainly in an indirect
form, on the substances of the people"
A few more figures of this kind may
be given. The department of agricul-
ture estimates that the corn crop of last
year was worth 100000. At the
rate of expenditure set by the billion
congress, this sum would run the gov
ernment eighteen months. At the same
rate the entire wheat crop, estimated
by the department at 1884, roo, 900,
would be swallowed up in a little more
than eight months, and the oat crop,
worth S222, 00O, 600, would be dispatched
in five months and ten days.
The cotton crop which the southern
farmers are now throwing upon the
market will be by far the largest ever
produced reaching considerably over
eight million bales. But the price of
cotton is very low; so that this i'm
mense crop will not bring the farmers
more than S375, 600, 600, or just enough
to feed the government nine months.
Do not these figures show that we
are paying too much for our govern
ment whistle? Do they no. give one
very good reason for the widespread
Iiiscontent among farmers and LABOR
ers? And when it is remembered that
this enormous taxing power is used by
the government for the avowed pur-
pose of shielding certain persons from
the great law of competition, and thus
insuring to them large profits, is ii any
wonder that the conviction has grown
up that our rich men have II pull on the
government, that the money power is
behind the throne at Washington? Is
il any wonder that this conviction has
given rise to class movements for re-
dress of far vaster proportions than the
country has ever known?
Let the farmers take out their lead
pencils and figure ost what the achieve
ments of the billion congress mean for
every man, woman and child in the
land Let them reflect that this profit
gate expenditure is the outgrowth of a
system of indirect taxation which COW
ers its footsteps, comes and goes un-
seen, pliers and squandcrs, and even
boasts that it is a blessing TO the land!
When the farmers 60 to figuring and
rejecting, protection is dead duck.