The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-04-20

tendency there Is 10 get that given
amount of wealth into the hands of
the few, or into the control of one
class, the more you necessarily in
crease the multitude of the poor and
dissatisfied, the more crime you have,
the more vagrancy and immortality
everywhere with people who feel
that The government does not reeog-
nlZe their rights as men. 1t not be-
ing possible 10 put any limit on mans
earnings, the laws by which these
fortunes are accumulated should be
repealed and the fortunes themselves
ought to be taxed. As pointed out
by the Constitution there should be
an income tax levied upon these
nillionaires and the tax ought to be
heavier in proportion TO the size of
the fortune, and in this automatic
/ md reliable way there would be IA
decrease of these accumulations, the
1 tax would distribute the money
and these millionaires would be fore
ed to contribute something to the
/ government under whose favoritism
~than their share Of the produce of
the country,
TWEEDLE-DEE AND TwEEDLE DUN.
"A great deal Of twaddle has been
INDUCED in about the differences be-
tween a Republican and a Democrat
ic tariff. The Atlanta Journal SAYS
that the only difference is that the
Republicans are in favor of protec-
ton for projections sake, and the
Democrats are for it for the sake of
the money they get out of it. Now,
If a tariff taxes me on my clothing,
food, household furniture and plan
tation implements to the extent of
800 a year, how does it make me hap
Ply that the Democrat does it just to
get the money in distinction from
the Republican, who did it for the
sake of protection9 This juggle of
words does not save me accent. The
500 tax is an outrage as much in the
one case as III the other. The $50
tax necessarily carries the protec-
ton which the Republican says is
right and the Democrat say sis wrong.
that 500 on tariff which he says is
for revenue, it brings in as much for
the government and takes as much
out my pocket as the $50 that paid
under the Republican tariff that was
for protection pure and simple.
$50 far as the citizen is concerned,
If you pay the expenses of the gov
ernment with tariff you must raise
enough to pay those expenses, and
1t does not affect the citizen one par
tlcle whether you call it a system to
protect the manufacturer or sys-
TEN to gather revenue. 1t hurts us
just as bad under one name as the |
other.
''The only man who ought to be
listened to when he talks of tariff re-
duction is the man who suggests
some other, way of raising the |
revnue to pay the expenses of
this government, for he L. the only
man who is in earnest about it.
THE FINANCIAL QUESTION.
"What are your thoughts on the !
financial question:"
1.-The Democratic platform calls |
for some sort of bimetallism not
very clearly defined, but says moth
ing about the national banks. Our
view is this: That the currency is
thing that the government ought
to make and regulate in value. That
is the way our fathers thought about
it, and that is their opinion express
ed in the constitution of the United
States. But under our system at
present the government does not
make the money, does not regulate
its volume and does fix its price. On
the other hand, they farm out to
one set Of corporations the right to |
use that governmental function for
private gain, when we say that it
should be exercised by the govern
ment itself for the benefit Of all the
people. The national banks derive
princely revenue from the privil-
lege of creating money, issuing it
and prescribing the terms on which
the business men shall get it. The
government does not get this profit
at all, and we hold that it any Is to
be made by that function it ought to
be made by the government and used
for the people. We claim that the
fundamental idea is that money is
mere convenience of trade, a neces-
essary tool of exchange, and that
our sovereign, the government,
should say what it should be, how
much and how the people should get
1t; that no class should be allowed to
monopolize it; that no discrimina-
tions should be allowed in the distri-
button of it; that no, system should
be permitted to enhance the mere
tool of exchange beyond the ordinary
reach of those products which it
was designed to exchange, and that
there should always be enough of
money in circulation to allow oui
products to be exchanged the ore
for the other with some regard to
the cost of their production.
Under any system Of finance, the
criterion of which is justice, com
modities will always exchange on
the basis of their labor cost. This
price cannot always be fixed. 1t is
subject to change, but when COM
nodItles are left to themselves to ex-
change on their own basis-tneir true
eost-the labor price is the value to
which they always gravitate, and at
which most of them will exchange.
The system is just to everybody, be-
cause beginning with justice to the
man who produces the cotton, wheat
or corn. it necessarily carries justice
with it in all other processes of man
ufacture, barter, exchange or con-
sumption. But when, by legislation,
you have destroyed that natural ba-
sis of exchange. officially enhanced
the price of gold and every debt that
gold holds against the producing part
of the country, then you have made
commodities exchange not on the ba-
sis of their labor cost or usefulness
in consumption, but you have made