The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-10-05

SO IL Is with these government meas
ures which from time to time arise
for the consideration of the free and
independent voters of these United
States.
Now what is this great revenue
measure, covering almost the whole
field of government income, which
Congress has enacted will cndeav-
or to describe it and be as brief as
possible, and with the doing of this
my main object this evening will be
ACCOMPLISHED.
In the first place, this new law, call.
cd the Wilson bill--namcd from the
Chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee of the House who origin.
ally reported 1t, relieves from taxation
altogether, or reduces greatly, the
several articles in the tariff schedules
which constitute the food and cloth
ing, shelter and fuel of our people ::
in brief, the necessaries of life. A
powerful hand has been reached out
to the aid of our people, and burdens
are to be lifted from their shoulders,
and the good and necessary things of
this world, which must be had by all
our people to continue life, health and
comfort, are to be cheapened and
placed within the reach of all. To
those things the hand of the govern.
ment has been reached out benevo.
lently and wisely, and in my judgment
we are this night better off than we
were a year ago in the matter of taxa
tion upon the necessaries of life to
which have referred. The McKin
ley act of 1890 taxed many things
which were free before, articles of
food and clothing never thought of by
the taxing power until that measure
was passed. Besides, some that were
taxed before had the burden increas-
ed. They taxed potatoes IS cents
bushel. Now, let me illustrate how
that worked. The next season after
the passage of that bill the potato
blight swept over northern New York.
The farmers there could not raise po-
tatoes for their own consumption,
and they were obliged to go over the
Canadian border 10 get sound pota-
toes, where the potato blight had not
prevailed. They had also to go over
there to get sound tubers for planting
their own land for the ensuing year.
They were met with this IS cents Nc
klnley tax on potatoes. To this may
be added, say, 10 cents bushel for
transportation and charges, making a
tax OF S. cents. So potatoes that
might otherwise be bought for 4s
cents bushel would cost 80. That
did not mean additional cost to the
farmer alone it meant that much ad-
added to each bushel of pota-
toes that any citizen used as food in
his home.
Now, off in Atlantic Ocean. 500
miles south Of New York, are located
the Bermuda Islands. They are
washed along all their shores by the
warm waters of the Gulf Stream, so
they have an early summer, and IN
February or March the potatoes
grown in the Bermudas may be found |
in. the great hotels of Boston, New
York, Philadelphia and Baltimore,
and SO on until June when our own
new crop comes into use. The i'm
portatlon of Bermuda potatoes, there.
lore, would be good thing to all our
people who chose to have new pota-
loes before our severe climate permits
their production, but in order to OBJ
.aln them we must pay about IS cents
bushel, a tax of IS cents imposed |
BY the government and the 10 cents
Is merchants charges thereon. The
-ich hotels, that have business men
or customers, who can afford to pay
hree or four dollars day, serve them
o their guests as luxury, while the
,reat mass of the people cannot afford
o buy those potatoes at so or 90
,ents a bushel, and perhaps more.
What good does this law do to any
'odyP l have shown you two cases
n which its evil effects are perfectly
apparent and its unwisdom manifest,
,ut the Mckinley tariff act smote
hat innocent and useful article of
ood with heavy hand.
Again, IN our great cities, in our
manufacturing districts, and in our
mining regions, a bountiful supply of
ggs is a good thing, and they ought
o be had cheaply. When the McKin-
ey act was being enacted it was found
hat eggs by the million were being
brought into the United States and
distributed in those places of dense
They were not supplied
n our own country because things
more profitable could be produced
lere. That act taxed them cents
dozen. You can easily see what
hat means to man with family of
our or five persons who uses eggs
RELY during the year. He is com