Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-21
Mr.. HILLS SPEECH
Continued from First Page.)


the rumors Of foreign war and these tax
ridden patriots relapse into state of loyal
submission.
TT is" he said, "a gratifying fact that no
| such income tax as prevails in England or
in any other monarchcal government or
as is now proposed in the United States in
the pending bill is permitted to disgrace
the statute books of the republic Of France
France has no income tax, because she has
learned to love liberty, to hate inquisltIons
| to detest class Legislation and to respect the
rights of property"
| Federal and Local Taxes.
The advocates of an income tax said Mr.
Hill, fail to appreciate the important and
controlling fact that tariff or federal tax
alton is not the only taxation in this coun-
| try In addition to federal taxation there
exists. state, county and municipal taxa
| ton, to which every man of property is
more or less subjected. and that such state
county and municipal taxation combined
exceeds In amount the whole tariff taxa
| ton Of the general government by over two
hundred and sixty million dollars. We have
! no right to shut our eyes to these facts
In framing system of federal taxation.
which shall justly and equitably reach the
cltizens and property in the respective
states OF the Union, 1t becomes our first
duty 10 inquire as to what general sys-
tenn or local taxation exists in the states
Is there tax upon consumption there or
a tax upon property? These are most per
tinent questions to which we should care
! Iuily ADDRESS ourselves. In the first place
We should seek to avoid duplication of tax
alton.
The general system Of taxation among
the states is direct ad valorem tax on
real and personal property In addition 10
! these, some states have taxes on corDora
| ticns, incomes, etc. Some other system
should be used by the federal government
what other Is left? The Constitution an
swers the question. Congress Is expressly
| given the power to impose an indirect tax
IN the form Of revenue tariff duties and
this power Is expressly. prohibited to the
| states.
| This is essentially a war tax Heretofore
we. as democrats, have camored against
1t and others like it, Look at the spectacle
| which we now present.
| If this is true democracy" he said ct
| want none Of 1t. Ii this is the best leader
ship which we can present in this great
| crisis, /. for one must decline to follow it.
l prefer to stand with Jefferson and Jack
| son and Tilden in opposition to all income
| taxes and direct federal taxation, but In
favor of a revenue for federal purposes and
| direct taxation for state purposes.
A False Democracy.
II repudiate the spurious democracy Of
these modern apostles and prophets. who
are part mugwump part populist and the
least part democratic. who seek to lead us
astray after false gods. false theories and
| false methods / object to our restoring a
| war tax, which the republicans themselves
| rejected years ago, with our approbation.
g! protest against that lack of foresight
| and judgment upon the part Of some pro-
| fessed democrats who always seem anX
| ious to adopt whatever the republicans
and people have repudiated. There were
| those who vigorously opposed the Issue Of
| greenbacks during the war But when re-
pubicans after the war sought to curtail
| and restrict their further issue these men
| became the earnest champions OF a green
back currency and sought to merge the
democratic party with a greenback party.
They opposed the policy of a return to
specie payments. and then when the specie
they clamored for paper money. Then sub
| seQuently they espoused the cause Of Z
metallic currency. and became the earnest
| advocates Of free silver-the free and I'M
limited coinage Of silver-but soon there
| after, with characteristic fickleness I'M
worthy so great a cause they accepted the
Bland compromise measure. which provided
simply for limited coinage. Then the re-
publicans in 1890 passed the Sherman law
which provided-not for the free and I'M
limited coinage of silver the same gold
but for a limited coinage, and the purchase
and storage of silver bullion, treating II as
| a commodity interest instead Of a money
metal a measure which violated every cor
rect principle Of finance. Although the DEM
ocratic party opposed that measure and de-
| nounced II for three years. and demanded
its repeal in their national platform. the
present advocates OF an income tax when
the opportunity for action came last year
| strenuously opposed its repeal in Congress
| for three long months. They are the same
short-sighted men who four years ago
made the air of the Capitol resound with
their denunciations of eX-Speaker Reed 9
rules. and recently turned around and
adopted the substantial principle involved
in those very rules. amid the laughter and
ridicule of the whole country. ..-..--
MIR. President, l cannot follow such
leadership. which shifts and turns and tenn
porizes upon every public question; which
compromises every well-established demo-
a., y,rtv, n}rata for fsh npfv
tended when out of power: which stands
ready to adopt every passing ism of the
hour; which surrenders principle to expedi-
ency. and pursues no consistent course
from one year to another II political sue
cess Of my party is only to be purchased
by such methods and such sacrifices. pre-
fer defeat and the preservation of my self
respect.
MIR. President, the national victory OF
1892 meant a reduction Of the tariff; it did
not mean an income tax. 1t lid not mean
an invasion Of state rights, a usurpation of
state privileges. nor the abrogation of state
sources of taxation.
1T did not mean direct taxation on the
part Of the general government 1t meant
q tariff for revenue-a reasonable reduction
in tariff duties, and substitution Of revenue
duties for prohibitory duties wherever the
latter existed, the placing Of raw materials
on the free list and the restriction Of the
revenues to be raised to the actual necessi-
ties of the government. This was the pol
icy TO which the party was solerin!y COM
mitted.
Causes of Existing Evils.
'The evils of the hour from which the
people are suffering arise largely from an
Inadequate and disordered currency, and a
bad financial system. dating back from that
evil day in 1873 when free bimetallic coin
age ceased in the United States.
1T is state and local taxation from which
the people are also suffering. which is
double that of the federal tariff taxation.
Look al the financial condition Of the states
whose representatives here are especially
jealous or anxious in urging the substitu-
ton of income taxes for tariff taxes.
Tennessee, whose able representative in
the House (Mr. McMillin) is the real au-
thor of this income tax provision, but whose
sense of fairness and propriety for which
he is noted should have led him not to in
sist upon inserting 1t in this bill, but IL at
all. in a separate measure, is staggering
under the load of state debt of Sl9GJj.
9t4; Missouri. whose senior Senator (Mr.
NesU Is largely responsible. voluntarily or
compulsorily, for much Of the present bill,
has state debt of Sl1, 1I5Y, 49,: Alabama,
|. whose influential Senators have obtained
for her tariff duty upon iron ore, and not
satisfied with that violation of democratic
pledges, now demand an income tax in
order to fulfill populist promises, has a state
debt of 81. Alb 1Y6: Texas. the versa tile and
elastic free trade sentiments of whose ju-
NOR Senator (Mr. Mills) permit him, with
mo-. tSfx.p