Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-05-02
Senator Mills, of Texas, on the Tariff
and Income Tax

senator Mills, 0I IeXaS, on the Idflu
and Income Tax.
On Tuesday of last week, Senator
Mills, of Texas, delivered an able
speech in the Senate on the tariff ques-
ton, in the course of which he favored
tax on incomes, the conclusion of
which is thus reported by the Wash
ington correspondent of the Baltimore
Sun =
81 am no communist nor anarchist"
he said. more, know no difference
between the man who owns million
dollars and the man who does not own
a cent, and l would protect the man
with ii million dollars in the enjoyment
of his property as l would call out the
military in order that the hair of the
head of an innocent little babe should
not DE harmed"
Il would like to know he went on,
ION what principle the owners of these
million, insist that they should not be
taxed" He dwelt upon the many in
stances in which the might of the gov
eminent had been called out to protect
the wealth of corporations and individ
ualS. He recalled the fact that few
| years ago there was another panic
not "A panic by anticipation the
whole power of the great State of
Penns, lvania was not sufficient to pro-
| tect property in the city of Pitts burg
| from the crowds in the streets, who
were firing the buildings, and the sol
| diers of the United States had been
summoned to protect the city and
were set to guard the railroads. And
the railroads have never paid a cent
| for their protection" said Mr.. Mills.
! Il ask is that just; is that honest is
that fair to the taxpayers? Look at
all the stocks and bonds and banks
and trust companies which do not pay
a cent for their protection"
| He said that the opponents of the in
come tax said it was inqusitorial,
anarchistic, socialistic, to lay tax of
two per cent on incomes, but when a
poor fellow wants shirt and is taxed
| 100 per cent for it nothing is said about
its being socialistic and anarchistic. 1t
| was said that people would evade the
tax; that they would not want to pay
it. He (Mr. Millsl bad never known
any tax which the people wanted to
pay; he had never known a man rum
ming over logs and stones and jumping
| over fences and bitches at the risk of
breaking his neck in mad desire to
greet the tax-gatherers and pay them
| double the amount of the tax.
| TAX IN PROPORTION TO ABILITY.
He enunciated the principle that a
tax should be collected in proportion
to fbe taxpayers ability to pay it, and
that depended on the amount of pro-
lection he received. People said that
the income tax was inquisitorial-th
| it disclosed all the secrets of mans
| ht1C 10 10, Of ~
sessions of the Senate and of the eau
cuses of the House disclosed. Only
when a thing had no right to be re-
garded as secret was the secret pried
| into, and in the case of the administra
| ton OF the income tax law a mans
| books would be called for only when
his returns did not give evidence of his
honest compliance with the law. 1t
was said that the income tax was un
just and Ubiquitous, and the Senator
from New York (Mr. HID in his speech
a few days ago had called it by all
kinds of vile names, yet when he was
| Governor of the State of New York for
six years he had never told the Legis-
| lature that the income tax which was
on the statute books of the State was
| uni ust and Ubiquitous. But If the law
was good for New York, why was it
not good for the whole nation? 1t was
useless to denounce the income tax as
iniquitous, unjust, &C.; it was useless
to make any sOphistical remarks about
the difficulty of collecting the tax.
The law was going to be passed, he de-
clared emphaticalIy; if not by this Con-
gress, then by the next.
APPLAUSE FROM THE GALLERIES.
The forcible way in which the Sena-
tor made this statement elected ap
| plause from the galleries, which was
checked by the gavel of the presiding
officer.
"Mr. President" continued the Sen
ator, earnestly, there is duty devolv
| ing on this body which cannot be evad
ed. We must pass this bill-make it
as good as we can first, but pass it we
must. We must not only pass it, but
we must stop talking about it. The
American people demand it, They
sent US here for that purpose; they did
not send us here to hear arguments for
a new trial; they sent US here to drive
the criminal out of the country, to re
store the country to it's natural rights.
| do not care whether the traditions of
this BODY are observed or not lam in
| favor of limiting debate. In the early
| days OF the country there was no such
thing as filibustering, but it is here
now in full force. l say that if the
forty four Senators on this side of the
chamber and the forty fifth in the pre-
siding officers chair were of the same
opinion as 1, we would pass this bill in
As hours. The people want this bill
| passed now; they do not want to wait
until they are starving to death; they
do not want to wait until the whole
country is paralyzed, but they want to
do it now. Then the business prosper
| ity of the country will revive; then the
condition of things will be changed;
night will disappear, darkness and dis
tress will leave the land, prosperity
will come to our borders, light and sun
shine will tighten up ali our faces and
the country will once more resume its
career in prosperity and peace.
The close of Mr.. Mills's speech was
greeted by hearty round of applause
from the galleries, and his democratic
colleagues crowded around him to ex
| tend their cOOOratu latjOnS