The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-03-27
THE COMING
Ststis,ican Sherm ans Latest Article Com
mAnds Attention,

Statistican Sherman'sL Latest Article Com
mands Attention.
Thomas e.. Sherman's article under
the above title in the January NUMBER OF
the Fta,m is likely to command the
wide spread attention that was given to
his article appearing in the same maya
zine in November. 1889, under the title:
'Who Own the United Sthtes?" Mr..
Sherman opens with a brief justification
OF the figures used in that article; and,
though lie admits that in a few cases
there may have been errors as to- indi-
vidual fortunes. he declares that it is
easy to replace the names of any persons
to whom much wealth was attributed
by the namcs of others possessed OF even,
larger fortunes. He says ''that the evo-
luton Of such enOrmo fortunes, alb
s~olutely Uncomfortable forty years ago as
an American possibility, naturally leads
us to look into the future; and to ask
how far this concentration of wealth
may 20. and whether the existing huns
b bred m%illionaires foreshadow the coming
Millionaire" Mr.. Sherman then proceeds
to discuss the question. ''Is he coming?
When will he come? What effect will
his coming have upon society??' He an
swcrs the first by the declaration that
"unless some great change takes place
in our financial or social system, the bill
ionaire is certainly coming and at a rapid
! pace He then shows how enormous
fortunes tend to increase, even where
the general rate Of interest is low, and
declares that under existing conditions
a present fortune Of two hundred mill.
, ions would become Il billion in less thar
: forty years, and that. If conditions re.
manned unchanged, the American bill
$ ionaire might reasonably be looked fol-
within that time. and several Millionaire!
. might be expected within six years. The
. Mills bill lifted only a cheese parint
a from the load Of the poor, and the Nc
9 kinney bills of the last session hav'
). added a third to their burdens.
8 The very recklessness OF such legtsla
= ton Mr.. Sherman expects, will result il
! the destruction of the entire system
: even though some hating, halfway re
!, form should be carried at too early
e day. The protectionists have at last &C
complished their purpose of making
4 moderate tariff impossible. 1t was t
!. this end that they abolished the dutie:
. on tea and coffee in 1871, and now the,
have gone a step further and abolishe.
). the duty on sugar. This defeats tn
e long struggle of the democratic party t
4 maintain q system of indirect taxatiol
sufficient to support the government
- without levying tribute upon the peopl
. for the benefit of ~monopolists. TIL
n issue of a tariff for revenue only a
against a tariff for protection
It practically dead. The protet
ton victory, however, is wors
than defeat. They have raised an issu
10 more dangerous to them than any tina
,,,n, laf~~n n~%arrl -~nr{s1 D@1;<snt
The surplus is gone. No increased rev
! the tax on whisky, and the south is OF
., posed to the tobacco tax and wants t
y get rid of it. The deficiency will il
N crease. and neither tariffs nor excise
can meet the deficit. We must have d
i rect taxation, and when direct taxes al
le once introduced on a large scale they wi
g gradually swallow up all others. Th
" repeal Of the sugar tax Ia
is given an impetus to the reciprocit
movement, and The demand for reciE
rocity will surely extend to include fro
trade with the European nations as we
as with nations OH the two America
= continents. Mr.. Sherman thus col
~ cludes his article:,
y SIN the reaction which has already b
10 gun, but which will be all the MOI
ts sweeping the longer it is delayed, a
of taxes imposed upon the poor for tt
v direct benefit of the rich will be swel
ID away. The duty on raw wool is know
d TO be doomed and the rich wool grower
< correctly predict that the duties q
wooden goods will vanish almost I;
speedily as those on wool. How Ion
' will pig iron taxes throttle New Englan
" after wool and Woolens are free? Ho
l1.,r ~ m - ~ vnptnnfixyn lv%snc c<n =,
=, after the keystones OF the arch ha,
= been knocked out? The protective fea
IS ures OF the tariff will soon be destroyed
u But before hat time shall arrive dire
u taxation will have been resorted to as
g. partial source of government revenu
es and the masses, finding themselves e.
s. empted from it, will insist upon j
D. extension, and eventually upon its sul
ID stitution for all other taxes. Nor wi
it there be any powerful concentrated il
,e tereSt to resist this demand, after tt
a. protective system has been destroye,
20 Nobody will purchase votes in favor of
tariff for revenue only
= Direct teXation, on a large scale
near at hand. The men who bougl
. and paid for the present congress ca
now choose what its form shall be. TIL
CAN have a general income tax, or tn,
can have something less open to fraut
'ag less inquisitorial in its nature, less o
ne pressive on honest men and offering
ny premium to perjury. But they kno
be nothing about the science of taXatio
he and they do not care to learn: so ii
III whole matter will be left over to the ne
st congress, and a general income tax. q
et jectionable as 1t is, seems most likely
Ia be adopted. It has already been pr
posed by Senator Plumb and Mr.. Mil
- It is one of the demands Of the fkrmel
y, alliance everywhere. 1t will be We
10 popular in the west because it will
81 collected chiefly in the east: and it W
be very popular with farmers in Oil Sc
tisns, because Incomes under ST., 600 W
I'll. be exempted, and so scarcely any far
sr, ers will payit. The protected manufa
/ q tnrers and mine owners may have q hi
BIZ vest for four years, but 1t will not he
s5sSirich as they have imagined, because CO
sumption will fall oil. After that til
81 the men OF wealth, Who bought the $
VI der vote by the promise of big pension
whioh they expect 70 saddle upon