People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-02-02
1T is ON IN THE HOUSE IN
FULL BLAST.
NMILLIN FIRES THE FIRST GUN.
He Makes Strong Plea for the Income
Tax and Other Provisions of the
Bill Calculated to Supply Uncle
Sam With Ready Cash-Other
Washington News of
General Interest.

to the Wilson tariff bill, including the |
provision for the income tax, began in |
the house to-day, after Mr.. McCreary, |
chairman of the foreign affairs COM
mittee, had reported his resolution
expressing the sense of the house on
the Hawaiian situation. Mr.. McMil-
lin, Democrat of Tennessee, chairman
of the subcommittee on the ways and
means on internal revenue, was i'm
mediately recognized, and according
to the caucus program, offered as an
amendment to the provision imposing
tax Of 81 per 1000 upon cigarettes,
tie entire internal revenue bill.
When reading was completed Mr..
M:hillin was recognized to open the
debate in favor of the amendment. As
he was about to begin Mr.. Tracey,
Democrat, of New York, asked to re-
serve all points of order on the amend
ment. Messrs. McMillin and Nc
Creary contended that it was too late
to make point of order. debate upon
the amendment having been entered
upon before the point was made.
The chair overruled the point and
Mr.. McMillin began his argument as
follows:
Mr.. Chairman, we will not discharge
our duty to the people. who suffer, we
will not keep the pledges that we
have made to them, we will not de-
serve the continued support that the
American people have given the Dem
ocratic party from time to time, if we
do not, like men, come resolutely to
the discharge of these duties and de-
termine, whatever else occurs, rob
berry shall no longer be carried on by
operation of law. Sir, let come what
will, we will reduce this tariff to
revenue basis; we will impose taxes
for public purposes and not for private
gains or TO enable some individuals
to accumulate private fortunes at the
expense of others.
The government of the United
States requires vast amount of reve-
nue. to carry on its various operations.
A less favored people could not meet
the excessive drain that is made for
the purpose of maintaining it. 1t re-
quires nearly IS federal taxes imposed
upon every man, woman and child in
the United States for this purpose.
This is raised almost exclusively from
consumption. There is very small
part of it that is a tax upon
the wealth of the country. 1t
is imposed by way of taxes upon
all spirits that enter into the drugs
that are given to the people when sick;
on all of the spirits that are consumed
by them; all tobacco that is used in
various forms. But this is only q
small portion of it, for the greater
part is obtained from import duties
upon the clothes the people wear and
the things they must have for their
comfort and existence. If man owns
100000 to 100000, 10000 worth of
property in the United States, as some
do, he pays only on what he eats, what
he drinks, what he wears and the
other things he uses.
The time has come when this should
be changed. ask of any reasonable
person whether it is unjust to expect
that small per cent of this enormous
revenue shall Replaced upon tbs ac
cumulated wealth of the country in
stead of placing all upon the con
sumption of the country. Is it mob
time that great estates, which are
protected by our army, which are de-
Tended by our navy, which are bene-
fitted by the various operations of
government, should contribute in
some greater degree to carry
on that government, through
which alone they could have been ac-
cumulated or by which they are to be
protected? The people of the United
States do not ask that all of it shall
be placed on accumulated wealth.
But they do insist that it is not I'M
reasonable or unjust to require that a
very small proportion shall be. And
yet when it is proposed to shift this
burden from those who cannot beor it
to those who can, to divide it between
consumption and wealth, to shift it
from the laborer who has nothing but
his power to toll and sweat to the men
who have fortune made or inherited,
we hear hue and cry raised by some
individuals that it is unjust and in
quisitorial in its nature and should
not be adopted.
Then we insist, Mr.. Chairman, that
it is not unreasonable nor unjust that
a small part some S25,OOO,OOO of this
money should be collected from this
accumulation. | know of no argument
that it is at all conclusive or rational
that can be urged against this form
of taxation. | believe that once it is
inaugurated it will not only be a
source from which to draw some of
the vast revenue that we need. If we
are not to impose any additional tax
on cigarettes, as we do, If
we are not to impose a
tax on playing cards, as is proposed
by us; if we are not to impose tax on
inheritances, and if we are not to
place tax upon the incomes of this
country, as this bill proposes, or in
crease the whisky tax, wish to know
from what source we are to get that
deficiency which has been character
istic of the revenues for months past
and bids fair to be up to the end of the
present, if not the succeeding fiscal
year.
Mr.. Chairman, it has been the effort
OF the ways and means committee to
SO construct the bill as to leave it as
far as possible from this criticism.
Unlike the old law, it does not require
n Srhadule from avarr o;t;,ar NIL,