Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-10-03

I rit0tA tI tootId AlOft0 ny tIo EOfCiifiirfto
of the country, and that the paper
money, as we'll as both gold and silver,
shall be full legal tender money. These,
then, are the leading issues now before
the people.
The constitution of the United States
conferred upon congress the power to
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts,
and excisesr for the support of the gov
ernment, but for quite period past the
great bllk Of the revenue has been raised
by imI)sts alone. This method of taxa
tion, although the most unequal, is the
most popular for the reason that no per-
son really knows how or when he is pay
ing the tax. As Turgot, the French
statesman, justly declared atariff taxa
tion IS the art of plucking the goose so
rs TO get the largest amount of feathers
with tive least amount of squealing.'
Taxation by imposts, when framed in
the most just manner and with the
greatest care, cannot fail of being fla
grantly unjust. The only just standard
of faxe.ion is the one that compels
man to pay according to his wealth, for
the plain reason that the more wealth
he has the more 1t is to his individual in
terests to be protected by law, and as
governments are instituted for the pro-
lection of property as we'll as life, he
should pay for its support in proportion
to the property TO be protected. This is
PLAN rule founded upon reason which
cannot possibly be gainsaid. But this
plain and Just rule cannot be obeyed in
the collection >of taxes by imposts.
Take, for instance, the most just method
of tariff taxation, which is q purely
revenue tariff. Such tariff would have
to be laid exclusively upon articles not
produced within the country, for the
plain reason that any tariff levied upon
any article produced within the national
domain would to \ greater or less extent
afford incidental protection. In this
country, then, a purely revenue tar1n
would have to be laid mainly upon tea,
coffee, sugar and spices. With the tariff
30 laid, the prices Of those articles would
be 80 UNNECESSARILY enhanced as to be
most positive burden upon the poor. ifnot
an actual inhibition to them against their
use. With this, the most just system of
tariff taxation, every one can discover its
manifest injustice Under it the poor
man with large family OF children, ii
he uses tea, coffee and sugar would be
compelled to pay much more for thesup-
port of the government in taxes than
his millionaire neighbor who has but
himself and wife in the family. Under
the tariff as now laid upon very great
number Of articles, the poor man is
taxed III still more unjust proportion,
but as the difficulty of the discovery of
such taxation is so great, he can only
perceive its effect In the discouraging
fact thnt 1t is almost impossible to live
we'll aud make both ends meet. It Ii,
however, when q tariff is laid so as to
afford protection that the greatest in
Justice il perpetrated, for then the tax
payer il not only taxed for the support
OF the government but for the benefit Of
the individual producing the article pro-
tected. The benefciaries of protective
tariff taxation realize its value to them
selves to full greater extent than its
victims realize its injurious effects. For
the last tbree-quarters OF century at
every session OF congress, the represen-
tatives OF the industries clamoring for
protection have hung around the lobbies
Of congress like buzzards around car
cass. The latest fad in congressional
legislation is TO pass tariff laws protect
ing everything that wants protection.
This Til is the Mckinley doctrine. The
great original inventor of this doctrine
Governor McKinley--in its defense.
when lie took his seat rs presiding officer
Of the state Republican convention In
Ohio, threatened that IL the tariff was
taken off the wool on the Sleeps back,
he would demand that it should be taken
off from tho clothing on mans back. This
same threat he repeated when he took
his seat as chairman of the national Re-
publican convention at Minneapolis. 1t !
was uttered in defense of the Idea that
protection was very broad policy, and
ought TO be handed all around. Now, let
us for one moment examine this
matter. He asserts that IL the woolen
manufacturer Is protected, the farmer
who raises wool should also be protected.
There is so much justice In that propo-
sition that no one can successfully deny |
1t. In this government no favor should
bs extended by law to one class that Is |
not equally extended to another class. |
Governor Mckinley is right in this re-
gard. But lot us see where that sublime |
doctrine irresistibly leads MS to. No |
favor. he asserts. should be extended the
manufacturer that Is not extended to tho |
sheep raiser, That is most just. And |
is II not equally just that no
the manufacturer and the producer |
poor laborers, and millions of consumers
who are Mother producers nor manufac-
turers? Mr.. Mckinley would bs per-
fectly fair in distributing his protection
equally between the sheep raiser and
the manufacturer, II they were the only
two parties affected by 1t, but the range
OF his yision Is so elevated that he has
not yot discovered the poor consumer,
who IL also pecuniarily interested to
very great extent in the matter. The
higher the protection to the wool grower
and manufacturer the greater the rob-
berry Of the consumer. Now, II his doc
trine that protection should be equally
accorded, and IL the case of the con-
sumner is considered, an he must concede
that IL ought TO he, this most profound
viii discover that the only
possible way In which he can protect
the consumer is 10 cease robbing him
for the protection OF others. The weight
Of the Mckinley argument, when APP
piled to all classes as II should be, Is
sufficient To break down entirely his sys-
tenn OF protection. He has furnished to
the country a most notable instance Of q
man hoistei by his own petard. A pro-
.ectiye tarih TO be effective must be un-
Just, aud its effectiveness is in exact
'atio with its injustice. II there could
possibly be Just protective tariff, by
which each protected industry would
pay for the protection of other indus
rics exactly what II receives from
'thers TOR It's own protection, then no
me would desire IL, as no one would be
,eneftted by 1t. Justice and q pro-
ectiye tariff are hitter foes. and cannot
i've peaceably together in the same