St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-27
DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS.


Our up-riyer contemporary, the Trib-
une, is deriving amusement enough for
a summers vacation out of the diversity
of opinions entertained by the various
leading Democratic papers of the coun-
try relative to the expedients to be
adopted TO supply the deficit in the ma
tional revenues, legacy bequeathed to
us by our late and unlanented prede-
cessors in charge OF the federal govern
ment. They are sufficiently varied to
afford wide range of selections, to De
sure. They range from the income tax
advocated by the World, the retention
of protection by the Richmond Dispatch,
the reiinposition of tax on sugar Tor
protection by the New Orleans Times
Democrat, the laying of a revenue tax
on sugar, tea and coffee by the Louis
Vile Courier Journal, to the direct tax
advocated by the GLOBE. To this might
be added the dIsInterested advice OF
Gov. MCKINLEY to let his little act
alone and not disturb the harmony of
his adjustments of commerce.
-Four contemporary should bear charit-
ably in mind, however, that It's Demo-
cratic brethren are in situation in
which it and its fellows never found
themselves. Since the close OF the war
their party has never found itself COLI
fronted with a deficit in the federal
revenues. Its chief annoyance has been
a troublesome surplus, easier, however,
to handle than deficit, as that emf
nent financier, Col. FRED GRANT. once
sagely observed. In the various reduc-
tions of taxation which it has had to
make to avoid too large surplus, from
its repeal of the income tax and the tax
OH bank checks and proprietary medi-
cines to the decrease of the tax on
sugar, it has had no more serious prob
lem than the selection of those objects
which afforded no protection to any
home industry, thus safeguarding its
pet policy.
Naturally. then, when the Democratic
party came into charge with an empty
treasury, the surplus dissipated by in
creased expenditures and the deficit
which will arise from redemption of
its pledge to eliminate protection from
the fiscaI'policy of the country, Demo-
cratic papers are canvaSsing all the
various tax expedients, some one OF
which will be adopted. Considering
that the brethren on our side have had
so little opportunity for work OF this
kind in the past, their position having
been more critical than constructive, we
are bound to say that they are display
ing marked ingenuity aud ability. In
fact, we doubt very much whether our
Republican editors, if put to the stump
of having to suggest tax methods hay
ing no element of protection in them,
would do nearly as we'll.
The only regret the GLOBE has in this
exemplification of Democratic editorial
ability to solve the problem Is that so
many of our fellow workers seem to
have dwelt so long Ill the shadow of
paIernalistic methods of taxation that
they are now unable to strike out boldly
on Democratic lines, and run about
picking up the frayed ends of methods
which are but survivals here of mon
archical schemes for getting money from
the people without their knowing it,.
We believe that the true American way
is the direct way. and we shall continue
to urge it until some method is adopted
by congress, glad, meantime,if we shall
have contributed any to the divertise-
mant of oiir friends the nnemV