The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-02-10


8. The assessor should be required
to add to the assessed valuation Of
the property Of any bank or person
engaged in the business Of leaning
money such per cent thereof as will
equal the per cent OF excess Of inter-
est reserved by such bank or person
within the year last past in any trans
action, over the legal rate.
0. Bank notes should be assess ed at
their full, fair cash value.
10. Legal tender money, CONNER
cial paper, Except bank notes.. and
all property exempt from execution
or attachment. should be exempt from
taxation, a> we'll as public property,
libraries. necessary church property,
burying grounds, etc.
IL. Assessors should be held civly
and criminally liable for failure to as
cept upon showing that such failure
was not due to any fault Of their.
Some OF these propositions will be
found to be already embodied in
statutes, but the others are necessary
to their proper execution; TO the due
restraint or transportation companies
and money loancrS, and to the sup
preston OF stock gambling.
A third item ia the causation Of
present conditions is the licensed sa-
loon business. The churches. temper
ance societies andthe prohibition par
ty are dealing with this ques tion from
the moral side, and this is their ex
elusive place in history. But the Pop
ulist party can properly deal with no
question from It's moral aspects. 1t
was called into existence to deal with
ecOmic questions from their ccOnOmi C
aspects. and this it's exclusive place in
history. Hence, if we undertake to
deal with tic licensed saloon business,
we should only deal with it as an econ
Omic question. AS such, we observe
that the licensed saloon largely has
the effect of diminishing the wen TIL
of the weak and the poor, thus W.
venting the proper diffusion Of the rea-
sonable blessings OF wealth to these
classes, which 1t ought to be the pride
of every community to secure to them
and which would otherwise result TO
the m from the ordinary processes OF
labor. Absolute prohibition OF the
manufacture and sale of intoxicants
is difficult to defend and almost i'm
possible OF execution, and is not de-
mandcd by any economic cOnsidera-
tion: Eereforc, the Populist party
can not properly be required to lend
its sanction to that policy. The reme-
dy must be found in treating the Ques-
ton from its economic, not from its
moral side; whence it follows that the
responsibility of dealing with the
question peculiarly belongs to the
generation precludeS that party from
attempting to evade the responsible
ty. Possibly, the best obtainahle re-
suit would bc derived from the enact
ment Of the following propositions
into law:
!. Prohibit the licensing Of saloons.
2. Prohibit the sale of lntoxicants
except at hotels, tayernS, restaurants,
cafes, to their guests, club houses TO
their members, in dining cars and on
passenger vessels to passengers, and
at drug stores to their customers; and
prohibit the licensing Of these places
by local or other authority.
3. Make the owner, his executors.
administrators heirs and assigns, of
property in which intoXicantS are sold
or disposed OF, civilly liable to the eX-
tent Of the value OF the property for
any damages directly or indirectly re-
sulting from such sale or disposition,
and criminally liable for the sale or
disposition OF intoXicantS in their
property contrary to law.
4. Empower incorporated cities and
towns TO prohibit the sale or DISPOSE
tion of intOXicantS except at drug
stores, and to prescribe the purposes
for which intoXicantS may be sold or
disposed Of by drug stores: make all
persons liable for the sale or DISPOSE
tion Of intoXicants by them contrary
to law; and to regulate the sale or dis
position Of intoxicants at clue rooms.
IL the consideration OF city and
town revenue be taken away, under
the other restrictions above suggest ed
local sentiment will reduce the liquor
evil to its min mum dimension
A fourth item in the causa. zion OF
present evil conditions is vicious legis-
lation. 1t is also the most important
item. If we add to the positively vic
ious, the grossly inefficient legislation
of the country. we shall have explicat-
ed controlling symptom OF the dis
ease of the bvdy polite. Without no.
ticlng the mass or unnecessary and
inefficient legislation. as a rule all leg
islalion is positively vicious which
confers benefits upon individuals or
classes at corresponding loss to other
individuals or classes OF our citizens.
Instances Of such legislation are the
high protective tariff, the banking
systems, tile granting or franchises,
etc. Protective tariffs, as at present
constructed, fund virtually all the
benefits Of protection in the hands of
the mill-owner instead of in the hands
of the operatives, as witness the ag-
gregation Of wealth in the hands of
American mill owners in the last de-
cade or two.
Our present banking system is moth
ing if not licensed spolation Of the
peoples wealth. Every dollars worth
Of business transacted in the United
States or between the United States
and foreign nations, is under interest
tribute to the banks. and in conse-
quencc Of this condition d .bts are in
creasing and prices and wages falling.
An impoverished people is the best
sign OF prosperous banking system
The franchises granted by our vari-
Gus national, state and municipal leg
islative bodies, now comprises one
fourth Of all wealth Of the United
States, but while they are wealth Civ
en- by the peoples representatives to
individuals and private corporations,
and are used to tax the people "all the
traffic will BEAR they return to the
public, as such, no benefits. They
drain wealth. not distribute it. and