The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-08-21
HISTORY REPEATED.
DRED SCOTT AND INCOME TAX
CASES ARE ANALOGOUS.
The Decision In the Former Case
Delighted the Holders of the
Black Slaves.
THE WHITE SLAVES NOW THE
VICTIMS.

The decision of the United States
Supreme Court, in the Dred Scott
case in 1857, elated the ave-holders
Of the South no less than the recent
decision Of the Supreme Court on the
income tax, elates the plutocratic
bondholders of the East and the
North.
The decision in the Dred Scott case
followed great national political
victory by the Democratic party-a
party which had been the friend and
advocate of the doctrine of slavery.
The income ia X decision follows the
political victory of the Republican
party-a party which has been the
friend and advocate Of plutocracy and
class legislation.
. The advocates Of slavery regarded
the decision of this high court as a
final settlement of a question which
had two sides to it.
But the decision did not settle the
question. 1t aroused indignation and
cemented opposition. The people dis
trusted the patriotism and honesty Of
the members Of the court-a four
years. war destroyed slavery and
amend ed the constitution.
The 1nillionaires and bondholders of
the N orth and East may regard the
income tax decision as final settle
ment of the question of the protected
masses. But it has not settled it and
will not settle it.
The doctrine that those who have
money derived from the renting of
real estate, or from the leasing or
using of the tangible personal prop
erty, have tax privileges that cannot
be accorded t0 those who have money
derived from the labor of tn cir hands,
the sweat Of their brow or the exer-
else Of their skill, is a doctrine that
cannot stand in America.
Justice Harlan in his dissenting
opinion put the case mildly when he
said "are those in whose behalf argu-
ments are made that rest upon IA
vOritism by the law making power
aware that they are provoking a con-
test which. in some countries, has
swept away in tempest of frenzy and
passion, existing social organizations,
and put in peril all that was dear to
the friends Of law and order?"
Thomas Jefferson underst TODD and
feared the power Of corrupt judi
ciary when he wrote Mr.. COray as fol-
lows:
"At the establishment of our con-
stitution the judicial bodies were sup
posed to be the most helpless and
harmless members of the govern
ment. Experience. however, soon
showed in what way they we're to be.
come the most dangerous-that the
insutficiency Of the means provided
for their removal gave them free
hold and irres possibility in Office; that
their decisions, seeming to concern in
dividual SuitOrS only, pass silent and
unheeded by the public at large; that
these decisions. nevertheless. become
Jaw by precedent, sapping little by lit
tie the foundations Of the constitu-
tion and working it's change by con-
struction before any one has perceived
that that invisible worm has been
busily employed in consuming it's sub
stance"
Has not subsequent history confer
red upon the utterance Of Jefferson
the dignity of prophecy?
The Dred Scott decision seemed "to
concern individual suitors only" but
being contrary to the public Senti-
ment existing at the time OF its rem
dering it took on national and sec
tional importance and resulted in in
stalling the ''third," or minority, DO
litical party in power and control of
the government.
The income tax decision sets at
naught all precedents of law; de-
nOunces the legislative branch of the
government as a set of demagogueS
and nincompoops; violates public senti-
ment and attempts to esta blish a
monied aristocracy.
The further fact of the equal di-
vision of the bench upon this question
when it was first argued, and The SUBJ
sequent change of opinion Of Justice
Shlras, by which the majority Of one
was obtained against the law, will not
impede the possibility of history re-
peating itself.
AS long as we have a metal money
system, free coinage of both silver and
gold is absolutely essential to the integ-
rity of the system. You can no more
arm, or one leg, than you can have a
metal money system based on one metal.
Free coinage of both metals at certain
ratio is absolutely vital to the use- of
the precious metals as standard money.
The choice lies between free coinage of
both metals at a certain ratio, or scien-
tiflc system of paper money. One or
the Other-Wlllmar Tribune