The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-23

ceipts upon 1t to circulate as currency. On
the other hand, we have got ourselves in
such a fix by unwise legislation that we
cannot, for years TO come, return TO free
coinage as IL existed prior to 1873 We
must return to the dollars Of the daddies
gradually just as we must reduce our pres
ent outrageously high tariff duties-by
steps. and not abruptly. II looks TO me as
II we must strengthen our gold reserves,
so as to strengthen our silver currency.
IL we neglect our gold reserves and at
tempt to increase our silver coinage ootn
VIII suffer. because the strain upon the
United States government 70 keep Doth at
parity will be too great. Break down
this sacred and supreme duty or the United
states to keep UP this conviviaOillty OF
its issues of gold. and silver, and paper, and
the whole system Will come TO grief, and
We Will find ourselves upon silver mono
metallic basis. and thus cut off from the
great nations of the world. In the light
Of our present experience (for our hind
sight is always better than our fore
sight it a mistake, as it seems to me,
last spring not TO issue s40,00000O Of bonds
TO buy gold for the United States treasury.
That would have tied up the storm. But
perhaps not, for the storm was bound to
come, and IL Is better to meet it and make
an end of 1t. repeat. / am a bimetallist
50 are the great majority of our people
We can no more afford to demonetize sill
yer or gold than man can afford TO cut
Off one OF his legs, or put out one of his
eyes, or destroy one of the lobes of his
brain to improve his locomotion, sight or
worse than silver king Both. fortunate
~, are extremists and are object lessons
teaching the dangers of fanaticism
TAX LEGISLATION.
This Is an old subject and I can say
nothing new upon it. 1 believe there should
De less tax on consumption and more tax
on property. All of our federal taxes-over
SoVV'OOO.OOO year-are levied now upon con-
sumption, and with the result that the la
Dorer of the country pays enormously out
OF proportion to our property As our fed
eral taxes are now adjusted, the heaviest
burden falls upon the poor, and the lghtest
upon the rich. To reform this abuse we
must reduce our tariff taxes all along the
line, and thus reduce the cost of living
What matter If you put 81 into a working
mans pocket and take 81 out of 1T the next
minute by increasing the cost of his living?
An income and Inheritance tax would be
most valuable reform for the reason that
said taxes fall upon property, and not upon
consumption. NO man or woman has any
business to inherit over 81 OOO COO and the
big income should be made TO contribute
10 the government taxes increasingly ac-
cording TO their size. A man with 81 900, 600
income per annum Should contribute 1000
times more than enc with $1,000
should tax whisky, and tax it heavily,
dho increase the tax upon tobacco. If
man wants to get drunk, let him pay for it.
should break up, by taxation, land grab
ping: We now fine people through taxation
Ior improving their real estate. Would it
unlmproved property, and thus instead of
encouraging the nonimprovement encourage
the Improvement of real estate? The con-
llscauon or the enormous unearned mere
ment OF our real estate by the owners of
unimproved property amounting III the
United states to s5OO,0O000O per annum) is
crying evil, and calls for legislative re-
George.
I'VE should in Indiana do our own in
surance. From $20,000,000 to $4,000 900 q year
goes abroad for this purpose that might
Just as We'll be kept at home There is not
to-day half dozen life and fire insurance
companies In Indiana. The fact that acct
dent and assessment companies flourish Is
significant. Why should they be for the
most part secret societies? l would not
only FAVOR indiana Insurance by legislation,
but would favor the investments of this
surplus by wise and preferential laws.
INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS.
After all, the cure for hard times is
personal and not legislative The snap
must be in the horse and not in the whip.
Public prosperity is invariably measured
by private industry and thrift Talk will
never cure hard times. Talk is no substf-
tute for work. 1t is a rocky road to travel
that we have before us-this road to bet
ter times through economy and labor If
you want to avoid hard times keep out of
ueDt ana i've within your income Interest
is both like and unlike the great planetary
motions; it never rests by day or by night
put, unlike them, it is always in a hurry
When due. Nearly all the Wasteful wants
or life are unnecessary wants. The amount
required to live comfortably is small. 1t
Is style, and custom, and fashion that
Keep US poor. Then our vices make us
poorer yet. These are unwelcome words
no one cares to hear them. Nevertheless.
the undisputed truth is that the shortest
road out Of hard times is that homely one
pointed out over hundred and fifty
SS I've a hgi:nt In poor Poor Riehards Almanac
nlpnr. tod
man than Ben Franklin. This remarkably
sad case constantly presents itself-'Men
What about them@ L can only reply This
is only one Of the rainy days to be pro-
vided for when work is plenty Every
worker is bound by the great law of self
preservation TO anticipate ret only sick
ness and accidents, but loss of work And
yet L can't ignore the fact that thousands
against adversely, and that there are hun
dredS OF such to-day in this city, and,
what is worse, with a long and expensive
winter before them. 1t is the business of
well-to-do men to live literally and give
work 10 those unemployed. / keep man
during the winter months. not because /
do, but because of his family. Every good
citizen and every Christian man knows
that what poor people need is not charity,
but work That is a very low form Of
Christianity that hires a man for less than
he and his family can live upon. or. in
hard times retrcnches in the matter of
and county-owe it to the public to be lib
ersl as possible in such times as these in
making public improvements. The Cleye-
land administration owes it to the unenl-
ployed of the country TO revise the Nc
kinley tariff without more delay; If there
Is 10 be a cut made land | believe there
should be all along the lfne). let 1t be done
at once, that our manufactures may adj
just themselves TO the new order of things.
Every day that this foregone conclusion of
tariff reform is delayed is so much sub
tracted from the wages of the unemployed.
IL II be true that expected tariff revision
is the of the present hard times
then let the revision be-made at once and
that cause speedily removed"
The five-minute discussion which fol-
lowed the address of the day was very
spirited. and showed beyond all question
that the majority OF those present did
not agree with the ideas held by Judge
Baldwin. The speaker occupied an hour
and half, instead of one hour, and the
time for the short speeches was necessar-
lily shortened There was a great variance
OF views as to the causes which have led
10 the present stringency; some thought Ii
was legislation, others thought il was the
social system, while yet others believed il
was simply a shaken confidence without
giving any cause for the shaking of the
confidence. Dr. Van Vorhis thought the
latter was the cause of the 'hard times"
lack of confidence had been the cause of
every panic the world had known. He crit
icised the illustrations of Judge Baldwin
and took exceptions to economic PROPOSE
tionS.
"power rrrestrainad he safd ss;s S,,ra