Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-09
HILL ON THE TARIFF
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Continued from First Page)
thereof had agreed upon any income tax or
upon other internal taxation.
But neither the President nor the Secre-
tary of the Treasury had advocated a gen.
eral income tax, but only tax on incomes
derived from corporations. But q federal
income tax, whether limited, as suggested
by the President and the Secretary of the
Treasury, or general, as provided In this
bill, Is equally Objectionable.
Ii Would Duplicate State Taxation.
New Yorks opposition to the tax was
based on the fact that in that state. and in
several other states, franchise" tax Is
imposed upon the earnings Of certain cor
porations, and an income tax, such as is
proposed in this measure. would duplicate
the taxation already imposed and compel
the states to abandon their state taxation.
This is a most important and serious Cb
lection to this feature of the bill. An in
come tax was Objectionable because from
it's very nature ii must be inQuisitorial in
its imposition and collection. The senior
Senator from Indiana (Mr. Voorhees) calls
this allegation noisy and resembling
charge" Let me tell him that 1t Is not half
SO noisy as the constant VituperationS
which we hear on every hand from the blat-
ant demagogues who are abroad in the
land loudly inveighing against the wealth
of the country and impudently demanding
its confscation through every means which
their devilisn ingenuity can invent
The fact that in few states of the Union
tax laws have been adopted which unneces-
sarily pry into the taxpayers private af-
fairs and are unusually harsh and offensive
furnishes no argument why they should be
selected as models for the whole United
states They are exceptional in their char
acter and should not be followed.
Neither does the circumstance that the
government in the collection of our Gus
toms duties insists upon the inspection of
the baggage of passengers entering the
country in order to prevent frauds upon the
revenue-and sometimes searches their per-
sons-afford any Justification for the enact
ment OF an income tax, the collection of
which must largely depend upon inquisitor-
ial proceedings. One procedure is neces-
sary and unavoidable; the other is not
Every One is Interested.
The public should not be misled into the
belief that only those whose incomes ex-
coed $4,000 are affected by this bill. That is
a mistaken idea.
In the first place all those having in
comes less than $4,000 but more than So, 500,
are put to the annoyance of making sworn
returns, and they neglect il at their peril
In the second place, ii may be reasonably
apprehended that some portion of the tax
will reimburse itself by an increase Of rents
where the income was derived from that
some degree as we'll the rich landlords
The bill seriously affects the rights and in
terests of building and loan associations
throughout the country incorporated under
state laws The Senate amendments do not
cure the defects complained Of
lnquiring as to the source of the demand,
ne said that nothing was heard in its be-
half on the part of either of the two great
political parties in the campaign of 1892.
Neither the republican nor democratic plat
form proposed any such method of raising
revenues. No prominent democrat or re-
publican suggested any such measure Its
approval was limited to the pla tform of the
newly formed populist party, and its advo-
cacy was restricted to populist orators
He protested against the democratic party
being made tail to the popuist kite, and
denied the right of a democratic Congress
to make new principles for the party not
sanctioned by its representatives in ma
tional convention duly assembled. For one
he repudiated any such doctrine
1t was his belief that the complete SUBJ
stitution of internal. direct or income taxes
for tariff taxes would prove utterly ruinous
to the business interests OF this country
under existing conditions abroad. par
tial substitution at this time would be pro-
portionately disastrous
A Suicidal Policy.
This bill proposes suicidal policy when It
seeks by its extreme provisions to discard
numerous reasonable tariff duties and there
by imperil many industries and create de-
f1ciency in necessary revenues simply for
the purpose of affording an opportunity or
excuse for the substitution OF an income
tax. There Is an ample field for genuine
tariff reform without a resort to such an
unwise and dangerous experiment.
The substitution of internal or direct taxes
for custom house taxation meant the reduc-
ton of the wages of American working men
TO the European standards 1t meant the
degradation Of American labor: 1t meant the
deprivation to our workmen of the comforts
on hrvrr I'd Nf 70 III ~ Al
accustomed.
In outlining his position he said that not
one dollar of tariff taxation should be I'M
posed. except what is necessary for the
needs OF the government, economically ad-
ministered; but whatever those needs are
the necessary revenues therefor should be
supplied from tariff taxation and that alone
save and except the taxation upon liquors.
oleomargarine and tobacco to which the
country has long been accustomed, and
which. for obvious reasons, need not be dis
turbed.
Sectional Determination.
To show the sectional discrimination Of
the tax, he referred to the income tax of
1888, which extorted from the people an
aggregate sum Of S347, 90 s97S6. OF this
sum the eastern states paid IS per cent the
middle states SO per cent and together they
paid II per cent; New York alone paid 80
per cent. 1t has not been claimed that these
percentages will be materially changed if
louder than words. They were significant of
the selfish purposes Of the bill, the real
motives behind it and the source or section
from which the votes necessary for its pass
age are expected to be secured.
Further comment was unnecessary 81
will only add" he went on. that / am not
ashamed Of the faction the contrary, 1 am
proud of the fact-that New York is the
wealthiest state in our Union; but / protest
that this circumstance should not make her
citizens the target Of every vicious scheme
which discriminates against her interests
and especially that the blow should not be
struck by those political friends who never
appealed to her in vain when they needed
evidences Of her friendship. No American
statesman of rank. except Mr.. Cleveland
mas deemed 1t eligible, since our war expert
ence or an income tax made manifest that
mere too. in the northern states 1t was gen.
orally odious. 1t is a novelty in American
politics to make its conclusions and pro-
cedures deliberately offensive. 1t is like
making religion immoral and urbanty noisy
IN order to commend and propagate them
NO such federal aggrandizement was ever
projected; no such insidious and deadly as
sauIt upon state rights, state powers and
state independence as federal income tax.
To double the deficit Of $4,000 OOO by way
or ending it; to disc ard $76, 600 900 of an
nual revenue, in order to collect twice as
mCch In other ways; to "ernbody tariff re-