The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1892-03-03
THE TARIFF
BIZ w. H. KITCuS

The government must nave reVe-
me to run or il m.et crumble TO
pieces. And until sOue better mode
of raising revenue Lhaa taxation can
he devised we mast raise money
enough to run the government out OF
the people by taxation. 1hls IS
right and proper, 1.-THE government
protects the people, the people ought
to support the govern nent. ihefe
are several modes Of taxation. A
direct tax on mans house and lot,
COW and calf, meat end corn, is one
mode. An indirect tax On the artl-
cIes consumed By an Individual and
not on the property he owns, Is an
other. A tax on incomes, trades and
professions, is another mode.
The state of North Carolina has
adopted the direct mode OF taxation.
This has It's advantages ADD dlsad
vantages. If ali men we're honest
and gave in their property and We
could have il all valued 1t It's real
worth, there could be no better
scheme for raising the revenues for
the state government. 10 defray
the expenses of the government, the
indirect system was adopted. This
is the most unjust and inequitsble
system of taxation ever devised. II
puts the burdens of the government
upon the shoulders Of the consumers
instead of upon The property holders.
Both classes Of course consume, and
both classes pay the taxes on TIE ar
ticles consumed, but 1T takes as
much to feed and clothe poor man
as it does to feed sid clothe rich
man therefore, the poor man pay s
as much to support the government
as the rich man, If he co"sumes es
much. This may be q necessary
Ieyil, bat there are evils and wrongs
| connected = til this mode Of taxa
ton that are not necessary, but are
| inflicted upon The people out o. spir-
it Of injustice and greed. If none o.
| the necessities of life were taxed at
all, neither the rich nor poor would
| pay anY.tax on these. If only luxuries
| were taxed the rich alone would pay
the taxes But IS a rule the luXu-
ries are exempt or the tax is very
light and the necessities are taxed
THIS puts as much of the bordens
upon the backs of the poor as it does
Iupon the backs of the rich; neither
lpaying according to his wealth, but
both paying according to the amount
The consumes.
But these are other wrongs and
ioutrages in this System that can anc
fought to be CORE cted. When tax
Tor duty, IS the lawmakers call it
lof one dollar is laid on every pair o.
shoes imported into this coll t.
from other countries, that tax, or du
lty, of one dollar enhances the seIliD&
price, or you may say value, of thai
pair OF shoeo oNe dollar and make.
that pair Of shoes cost the man whc
wears ITEM one dollar more thar
they would cost him il II had not bee
for the one aulIar lax collected t.,
the government. Now, If only tb,
Iprlce Of imported shoes were RAISED
one dollar by this tax Do one woulC
be hurt but those who buy the Im>
tpo-ted shoes. But every shoe manu-
facturer in the United States adds
lone dollar to the price of his shoes
of like make ana when he sells bis
| shoes made in America the buyer
Ipays him The one dollar extra and
he puts that dollar In his pocket aud
lpays not one cent of It to the gov
lernment, because there is no tax OF
duty laid on shoes made Ia tnis
lcountry. Now, what is the result (
| Nlnety-nine one-hundredths of al
the shoes III this country are made
IN this country and the maker of the
shoes is simply enabled to charge the
amount Of the tax whatever it is oytr
land above the cost and his le1iti,
mate profit and puts the same into
ibis pockets at the expense of the
Ipeople who buy the shoes and not
lone dollar finds It's way into The
icotfers of the co. ernmeat. And
this ls Whist the robbers call protec>
ton TO American industries. But j;
is what honest people know to he
Istealing under cover of the law. What
is true in the case Of the shoes, is
true of every yard Of cloth, every
| spool Of cotton, evety bed, BLANKET
and every other article we consume
Ia our families We do not make OF