The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1894-01-10
GREAT PROBLEMS SOLVED
By Getting at the Bottom Principles on
Which They Are Based.


Of things, / am not arguing the tariff
question, pro or con, with view Of con
vincing the reader Of its propriety or i'm
propriety, justice or injustice, 80 much
ss using it to illustrate how readily o
question can be solved il you 60 to the
boston, Of it and get at the philosophy
upon which it turns. And now, after
having discovered the principles upon
which q protective tariff is founded, let
us next witness it's normal operation and
inevitable effects, unbiased by the twRd-
die and clap trap in which politicians
and the party press have involved it.
The application and inevitable opera
tion Of the protective principle is so plain
and 80 obvious that the wsy-faring man,
though very dull, can't fail to comprs-
hend and understand it, as | have once
OF twice before explained in the ADvO
CATE in a different connection, how the
citizen with only $1,000 OF capital paid
an equal amount under the tariff with
one possessed Of 100000, and often
times more, by and through their con
sumption Of tariff taxed and tariff fs-
vored goods. For suppose the general
government to levy such percentage OF
tariff on foreign goods entering our
ports that the two families each pay $45,
as q consequence Of such levy, on theiI
consumption. That is equal to 81 80 on
the 500 to the $1,000 man, but Al cents
to the $1OO on the 100000 msn-thst is,
~ per cent. on the first, but only one
twentieth of / per cent. on the latter
And this, under government that pro
fesses and boasts of its fundamental
principle Of equal rights for, and equal
burdens upon each and every member Of
society alike. And such inequality and
iriustlce in taxation is distinctly recog-
nizsd by our statesmen and Legislators,
as also by the great newspaper organs Of
public opinion. AS, for example, the very
first papers take up, and one OF the
great metropolitan dailies, says with per
feet unconcern, as if it was universally
accepted as regular and right: "People
Of small means pay pretty nearly all the
federal taxes" And how much are
thessH Why, over $5OOOOO,OOO q year.
And is this to continue indefinitely It
it was q question whether that was q
fact or not, or if the fact was not gener
ally known and acknowledged, it
wouldn't be strange. But since it is uni
versRlly accepted, what are we to say?
And another paper argues shat the
people of the west will not grumble over
bearing their fair and full shsre Of taxa
tion, but they rightly contest the con
tinued existence Of system which taxes
their homes, but let's wealth 60 scot
free" Yet this has gone on unrebuked
and ineradicsted by either OF the old
parties for near century, and is likely
to continue, since it has become in
grained in our system, and age and an
tiqu1ty sanctify many abuses and out
RACES on poor human nature. And we
wonder that all the property Of the ma
tion is rapidly rushing into the Golfers of
the few, and that the gulf between the
millionaire and the million is being con-
at ntly widsned and deepened.
Second-Let US apply the protective
principle to q western farmer and see
how it works. Before the enactment Of