Sharp County record., 1891-07-02
,w PRoTEerloN sQUANOEas.

,W PROTECTlON SQUANOERS.
htexe,nents of the Bi!lion Congress-
rnits of indirect Taxation-TaNes Big
b. Tuan Crops-Let the Farmer Figure.
me of the strongest objections to our
,tective tariff is that it collects its
from the people in disguise. 1t
.seats no tax bill and signs no tax
.sipt 1t stretches out its hand across
counter in a hundred thousand
res where the people come to trade
a stealthily pockets their hard earned
liars.
rbis fact has called forth the praise
the high tariff leaders. "See," they
,. s.there was never such an admirable
stem Of taxation: the people pay 1t
thoiit knowing when or how they do
= But this is precisely the most dan
rdus thing about the whole
riff system. Where the people pay
thout knowing it the rulers can lay
most grievous burdens upon them,
Ike the most enormous sums of money
Old them, and squander it in the most
wish and wasteful manner. All this
n be done, and these same rulers may
It be called to account, for the simple
ason that the people, so very secretly
llaged, come to fancy at last that the
,vernment has some mysterious way
creating money, that it has some
ay Of raising money other than taking
from the taxpayers.
The Washington Post, a republican
,per makes S me calculations to show
hat cur enormous taxation means in
rms of comm cd les. "A Il the gold.
lver, copper, iron, coal, petroleum and
Iad produced In this country last year,
,ys the Post, 'could not pay the eX-
enses of the government for the same
myth of time. All the cotton, all the
,ool, or all the rye, barley, wine, pota-
,es and tobacco produced in this eoun-
y In year could not do 1t. The ma
ional banks Of this country have a
ombined capitalization of $500, 900, 900.
me Years expenses Of the government
yould all but swallow up this sum.
** The revenue for this enor-
ious Expenditure is acquired in but
ne way, by taxation, by levy in one
orm or another, mainly in an indirect
orm, on the substances of the people. P"
Afew more figures of this kind may
,e given. The department of agricul-
ure estimates that the corn crop of last
rear was worth $754, 600, ,O00.s At the
ate of expenditure set by the billion
congress, this sum would run the gov
wnment eighteen months, At the same
'nte the entire wheat crop, estimated
5y tile department at 1884 100, 900,
toald be swallowed up in a little more
han eight months; and the oat crop,
worth $222, 900, 900, wolld be dispatched
ii five months and ten days.
Tie cotton crop which the southern
arlmers are now throwing upon the
market will be by far the largest ever
redching considerably over
light million bales. But the price of
,otton is very low; SO that this i'm
nense crop will not bring the farmers
more than $315, 900, 900, or just enough
o feed the government nine months.
Do not these figures show that we
ire paying too much for our govern
nentwhistle? Do they not give one
,ery good reason for the widespread
liscontent among farmers and labor
RS? And when it is remembered that
his Enormous taxing power is used by
he government for the avowed pur-
,ose of shielding certain persons from
he great law of competition, and thus
nsuring to them large profits, is it any
sohder that the conviction has grown
lf that our rich men have pull on the
FovEfnment, that the money power is
,ehind the throne at Washington? Is
{ any wonder that this conviction has
'iven rise to class movements for re-
lress of far vaster proportions than the
oufitry has ever known?
Let the farmers take out their lead
,encils and figure out what the achieve
ncnts of the billion congress mean for
very man, woman and child in the
and. Let them reflect that this profit
,ate expenditure is the outgrowth of n
ystem of indirect taxation which cov-
RS It's footsteps, comes and goes un-
cen, pliers and squanders, and even
,oasts that il is o blessing to the land!
When the farmers so to figuring and
eQecting, protection is q dead duck.