Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-11-01
GRAND OLD PARTY.
THE CAR OF THE UNITED
STATES TREASURY.
Secretary Carlisle Is Law Unto Him
self-The News From Georgia why
Complaint Professor Wilson'S Deserts
democratic Farmers.
A I.awless Department.

The treasury department at Wash
lngton as at present conducted is
bigger than congress or the country
itself. We know of no other portion
of the public service in which the will
of the individual in charge is the SUI
preme law; and where statutes, pro-
hibitive or mandatory, are set
aside as carelessly as if they were
CoXey army proclamations. Yet such
is the case in the domain presided over
by Mr.. Carlisle. In all other depart
ments the rule is to find out first what
the law requires, and then to provide
the means of doing it, In this the
rule appears to be to find out what the
treasury authorities prefer to do, and
then to construe the law accordingly.
The latest instance of this is the de-
cision with regard to alcohol used in
the arts. 1t was discovered, after the
tariff bill had got too far along to be
| further amended, that its provisions
would admit this article free of duty.
| to the great loss of public revenue. 1t
| was proposed to pass supplementary
bill to remedy the blunder; but the
effort failed, and it was agreed unani-
,, mously that the treasury would have
| to stand the loss until congress could
act at the coming session. Not so,
however, decided Secretary Carlisle.
| He has procured from one official in
| the department an ''opinion" or "rul-
| ing" addressed to another official in
| the department, to the effect that no
means are provided for carrying into
effect the provisions of tbs section.
Therefore it is proposed to ignore it,
| collect the duty as usual, contrary to
| express provisions of law, and thus
save some desired revenue at the cost
of an illegal act,
One case of this kind, though most
| Objectionable. would not be considered
alarming, says the st, Paul Pioneer
Press. But the rapid emancipation of
the treasury department as a whole
from the control of law, simply by
having point decided" the way it
wants it by an officer who has had or
ders what to say, ought not to pass
without protest. If this is to be a
| government of law, surely the highest
officials of the law ought to set an ex-
ample of careful observance. .Secre-
tary Carlisle breaks the laws with a
contempt which he no longer cares to
conceal. He made hw for himself
when he refused to pay sugar bounties
that had been fairly earned, under a
contract made by existing law, before
the repeal of the bounty provision
went into effect. He made law for
himself, and is still making it, in con-
tinuing the coinage of silver dollars
for the sake of getting the seignior-
age, although the lawmaking power
had passed upon that very question
and decided adversely in constitu-
tional way. He has now made law
for himself with reference to the tax
on alcohol, again because the law as it
actually is would bring in less money.
We cannot afford to have lawlessness
anywhere; but least of all should it be
tolerated in connection with the ma
tons finances. If those who are
charged, under the constitution, with
the duty of making the laws for this
country, do not wish to abaicate in
favor of administrative officers, it is
time that they put a sudden and eff
fective check to these usurpations of
power which would not be permitted
or pardoned in any other country
where popular liberty had not become
myth.