The herald., 1895-12-24
REPUBLICAN, INCONGRUIIIES

A Republican paper, in commenting
on the injustice of an income tax re-
Gently, made the following terse stats
ment:
The genius of our people protests against
tax upon energy, upon enterprise. upon
brains, and upon the faculty of creating
wealth.
With the word producing substituted
for creating, this declaration is abso-
lutely true. Not only is it true, but it
is the embodiment of vital principle
that concerns every citizen. Coming
from such source, however, the dec
laration is strangely incongruous. The
same objection to an income tax can
be applied with equal force against
nearly every form of taxation upheld
by the Republican party. That greedy
organization is in favor of taxation
upon energy, enterprise, brains and
honest production in its varied forms.
About the only thing which the party
is disposed to exempt from taxation is
monopoly. And the greater the mo-
nopoly, and the more far-reaching its
influence, the more tender the treat
ment it receives from the grand old
party of special privilege. The tariff
tax, which is the sheet anchor of Re-
publican bosses, is distinctively tax
on energy and enterprise. for those
qualities are Indispensable to the main.
tenance of trade and commerce with
foreign countries. The same is true
with reference TO brains.
But this is not all. The party which
feeds and fattens on class legislation
is never satisfied to confine its tariff
measures to raising revenue for public
purposes. 1t goes farther than that,
and insists on tariff for the protec-
ton of a few beneiciaries against for
eign competition, and by such means
it has perpetuated and strengthened
the iniquitous protective system go
fittingly described by Ambassador
Bayard in his recent Edinburgh
speech.
Really the only proper thing for a
government to tax is monopoly. Not
a portable monopoly, which may be in
one place today and another tomorrow
Nor transient monopoly, which may
come and go, according to varying
conditions. But monopoly that ex.
lists in every community, never disap-
pears for single day, and can always
be depended upon as source from
which to draw public revenue. Such a
tax falls not upon production nor
enterprise nor individual brains, but
upon the monopoly or enjoyment of
that which Of right belongs equally to
all men.
There are natural laws for the guild
ance of governments in their fiscal
policies. just as there are natural laws
in chemistry, in physiology or in any
other absolute science. If those laws
are strictly observed there will be nc
occasion for burdening industry and
hampering production in order to meet
public expenses. Nature is a safe
guide, and the closer a govern ment, as
we'll as an individual, adheres to hei
teachings, the better will be the results
To THE barbarians of the Orient and
and the savages of the antipodes, tc
whom both England and the United
States send missionaries by the hun.
dred to preach the doctrine of "Peace
on earth and goodwill to men," the
present attitude of the two countries
will be somewhat mystifying, to say
the least
WE would suggest to the Express
that the man who made the blunt and
epigrammatic statement that "war is
help was not of the ornamental kind
He is known in history as the hero of