St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-21
BEGINNING To SEE THE CAT.


Recently the GLOBE invited the at
tention of the business men to a conS;ds
Grafton of the two systems of taXatlon.'
the federal with its tax on imports, and
the states with their direct taxation. I
property. We showed how 40 congress
ever met with the purpose OF changing
the tariff, whether to raise or lower it,
that the trades directly affected, and all
the other occupations related 10 them IN
any way, did not wait in suspense until
the change was made, either suspend.
ing operations or reducing the output to
the Immediate daily demands OF con-
sumption.
We showed that the tariff tax which
thus agitated and deranged trade pro-
duced a revenue of but about s. per
capita; that if levied directly on the
states and distributed among them on
the basis of their population, as pre-
scribed III the constitution. the quota OF
this state would be under Si,0O0.0OO. we
showed that there is raised for all pur-
poses in this state over Sl2,000,OOJ an
nually: that the per capita is about IS;
that the per capita tax OF this city Is
about SIS; that the aggregate direct tax
alton of ali the states for all purposes Is
over $40, 000,000, or over 81 per capita;
and that all this taxation was laid and
collected without the slightest disturb.
anco-to any industry or trade.
We asked the business men to con-
slider whether system that deranged
business and checked production When
ever it was changed was not an inhe-
rently vicious one. and whether the SyS-
TEN that raised from three to six times
the amount with all business pursuing
the even tenor OF its way Indifferent to
the process, or at least not disturbed by 1t.
was not preferable. And we asked them
to consider this, not from partisan
point of view, but simply and purely
from the point of their own business
interests. We note that others are be-
ginning to ''sce the cap;-the inherent
and ineradIcable evil and mischief of
tariff taxation, hidden in the maze of
partisan politics.
The Chicago Record, paper claiming
Independence i'll politics, sees portion
Of the cat, its claws and teeth, and says,
under the caption "a Change of Method
Wanted" that
sit does not seem as if the people of
the country needed any better argument
In favor o. taking the tariff question
out Of politics than has been furnished
to the country during the last six
months. Permitting principle of gov
ernment that involves every manufact-
uring and financial interest of the coun-
try TO be football between two poIiti-
cal parties, and making it subject to
the seifshness or venality of the indi-
vidual members of the party who in
some way have broken into congress, is
simply suicidal. =
without reference to the right or
wrong uf a protective tariff, any system
| Of politics that can make such violent
| changes in any great industry as has
| been done with sugar is in itself wrong
! and indefensible. We might as we'll
| OF exchange by the varying aud uncer-
tain methods of politics as to soreguIate
| the vital interests of our manufacturing
| industries
Tine industries of country that can
| survive and prosper under this uncer-
| tain method OF dealing with them would
| find nothing in the whole gamut. from
free trade TO Chinese wall of protec.
ton, that would injure them, provided
| either policy were permanent. 1t is the
uncertainty that destroys business and
| hampers enterprise, and that We have
| to perfection under our system of pol
| itical and partisan legislation on the
tariff question"
I If the Record continues its study Of
the maze, 1t will not be long in decipher
ing the entire figure OF the cat. 1t is {
marvel that the business men of the
country have not all long since seen Il
and demanded its slaughter.