St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-09-01
A DEFENSE OF CONGRESS

Tenn. has inserted in the Con-
gressional Record a speech intended
as summary Of what the present
Congress has accomplished. Mr..
McMillin's associates have deferred
to Inn in preparing this statement,
and it is semi-ofiicial showing.
from political standpoint, of what
the majority has done. After
what laws it has hereto
fore framed, Mr.. McMillin says:
II come to a few things it has
done during this administration.
1t has repealed all force laws and
left elections free. 1t found sys-
TEN of oppressive laws on the stat
ute books authorizing the use OF
troops at the polls and has repealed
them. In the dark days Of the
Republic, the Republican party
also enacted q law authorizing tue
United States supervisors OF
elections and deputy marshals to be
appointed by the Federal courts,
wholly Independent of the States
where the elections were to be held.
They were expected to dominate
and did dominate the elections.
thousands of men were arrest
ed without cause and imprisoned
within the States Of New York.
Ohio and Indiana in a. single cleo
ton, and imprisoned to prevent
them from voting. They were
turned out after it was too late to
vote without the formality of indict-
ment or trial. The Democratic
party determined this should not
continue. To repeal it. it forced
an extra session of Congress in
1879 and passed the repeating bill.
Mr.. HAYES vetoed it. But it has
kept up the fight for nearly a sixth
OF a century, and at last has trl-
umphed during this administration.
at has repealed the law author
lzing the President to levy and
remit taxes. l cannot conceive OF
a surrender Of great prerosative
more dangerous and objectionable
than this. We denounced it at
the tine in this hall. We Went
forth to the people and denounced
it. We pledged them in our plat
form that if intrus.ed with power.
we would take this ancient rite
from the President and give it back
to the peoples representatives.
We have now kept the promise.
s'The Congress has also author
lied the States to tax greenbacks
and other United States currency.
For years the exemption of this has
been y crying ill. The law author
izing the issue of greenbacks and
the treasury warrants under the
Sherman act exempted them from
State, county and municipal taxa
ton. Hundreds Of millions thereby
escaped all taxation. individuals
escaped it by having their funds i'll
bank nominally invested in green
backs or United States treasury
warrants OH tile day of the assess
ment. Banks accomplished the same
object in the same way. No doubt
can exist that in some banks the
United States treasury warrants
we're placed to the credit Of more
than one individual on the day Of
assessment to escape municipal
and State taxes.
1T is also charged that certain
banks would aid each other in diff
ferent States by changing their
treasury warrant deposits from one
to the other to suit the different
DAYS Of assessment existing in diff
ferent States. All this is stopped
now. Under the bill introduced
and passed by the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Cooper all United
States currency heretofore escaping
taxation is reached by the taS
gatherer. United States treasury
warrants known as green5acks and
the bills issued under the Sherman
bullion purchase law amount to
half a billion dollars, and the
country owes him debt of graft
tude for his patriotic eXertlOn:
Mr.. McMiilin next reviews the
reductions of appropriations hereto
fore set forth by Representative
Savers, Of the Appropriation Com
mittee. He then continued:
sit has passed the most: strln'
gent law against trusts ever enact
ed in this country. At the same
time the attorney general has insti'
tuted proceedings in the courts to
try to dissolve illegal trusts.
THE amendment offered by the
Senator from Alabama Mr.. Nor
gan) carries into law the mOs'
effected mears ever provided FOL
controlling the power OF trusts
A law against them was passed by
the last Congress. but it dealt will
the question in a way SO mild ano
gingerly that it has not been found
sufficient to crush these combina'
tons that have been fOstered under
protection. The Democratic party
was pledged to the enactment Of
more stringent legislation against
trusts. 1t has kept this pledge and
Offers this as its fullillment. l,
has iuaugurated an income tax
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