The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-23
1T is A GROSS PERvERSION
OF THE POWER TO LEVY TAXES.
AND UNJUST TO THE PEG
Pile.
1T is VICIOUS IN IT'S PRINCIPLE
And Encourages Extravagnnce-Ffg-
ures to Back Up Their
Opinions.

ley presented to the house tonight the
minority report on the tariff bill. The
report was signed by all the Demo-
cratic members of the ways and means
committee and gives the grounds of
their opposition to the bill 1t says:
This bill was framed with the avowed pur-
pose of protecting the manufacturers of the
United States against foreign competition, and
1t is perfectly obvious that if it accomplishes
that purpose, it must result in compelling the
consumers OF this country to pay more for
their manufactured goods, and for this reason,
we think 1t should not pass.
We rest our opposition upon the broad prin-
ciple that congress invested with the
power of taxation as a means of collecting
from each citizen his fair proportion toward
the support of the government, and that it
is gross perversion of that sovereign power
to employ 1t as a means of enabling favored
classes to levy unjust charges upon the great
body OF the people. We believe that after
contributing his proper share toward the
maintenance of the government, every citi-
zen OF this republic is entitled to the full
possession and enjoyment of all he can hon
eStly earn; and We deny the right Of congress
to make or enforce any regulation which re-
quires one man to give any part of his honest
earnings toward encouraging the ENTERPRISE
or increasing the fortune of another
No man, however blind he may be- would
defend system OF taxation under which the
government first collected the money and
afterwards distributed it among the favorites
1t Is true that the tariff act of 1890 ventured
to this extent in dealing with the sugar grow
ers, but the disapproval of that policy was
so overwhelming and so bitter that the ad-
vocates Of protection have been forced to
abandon it and they have not dared to incor-
porate any provision for a direct bounty in
the present bill. We are unable however to
perceive any difference in principle between
a law which requires the government to col
lect the money and distribute it among the
protected industries and a law which enables
these industries to collect the money directly
from the people If the government has the
right to levy taxes upon the people for the
purpose OF inducing men to establish I'M
prontable industries or industries which can
only be made profitable by compelling the
consumers of the United States to pay exor-
bitant prices for their products then the
bounty system is a more direct and less COM
pick way of attaining that end and at least
mas the advantage Of directness and simplic-
ity.
The majority of the committee seems to
thlnk that taxation can be made blessing
and that the support of the government in
stead of being a burden upon taxpayers can
be made to enrich them. If this opinion is
wen founded, then all the struggles for free
dom which have revolved around the ques-
ton of taxation have proceeded upon a false
theory; and the American colonists when thew
determined that they would not submit to
taxation without representation INDUCED
mistaken zeal for liberty. The patriotic re-
solve OF our forefathers not to use goods upon
Whlch Great Britain had laid an import duty
was wrong II the argument for protection
IS right, because, according to that argument
the British importers were really having the
TAX over which the American coIonists went
10 war. There cannot be found in the wide
rang of &c nomie literature an authority with
the lew and rare exceptions which onIv serve
10 emphasize the general concurrence. who
goes not treat taxation, direct or indirect
as burden; and when we remember that
protective tariff not only collects more for
inc government than is needed for its eco
nohlcal administration, but that if also
enables favored classes to collect more than
the government itself the injustice becomes
50 Gear ana so enormous that it would
De reflection upon the INTELLIGENCE of tha
American people to suppose that it can escane
thelr swift and decisive condemnation.
Under the heading THE Bill Encourages
hAraVagance,' Mr.. Bailey says: Ii follows
as a matter of course that bin based mon
vicious principle must be injurious in IFS
eHects ana perhaps no effect could be more
pernlclous than the extravaganza which ~,
Dill encourages. The tabuIated statements
embraced in the report of the committees
SHOWS That the bill is expected to raise $113-
VyU,VVV more revenue than was collected in Gus
toIhs uuueS during the last fiscal year; and
YET, as Is shown by the same report the diff
ference between the government recefnts ana
S5s odd sen during that year was only
9z9,VU0,OOO. It is well known that the i'm
portauons Of last year were smaller than
usual owing to the general deDression that
e t IN all circles, but even supposing that
lluportauons hereafter can be kept at a level
with the imp0rtations Of 1896 the bin viii
colIect from the people more than 500 OOO mn
annually above the requirements of our pres
1t may be, however, that the maioritv
should not be arraigned for their own omen
announcement Of extravaganza, because il
cannot be surprising that gentlemen who
think that taxes are not a burden sbouiG
feel that money derived from taxation ought
10 De laVlshly spent. Nothing could better
Illustrate the wee OF the protective system
than the fact that there follows from It. as
direct consequence. the habit Of treating the
eAuenulture Oh PUBIC money as a benefit
raIher IMAM as burden to the people.
ru6
IL the burden were the only result Of the
extravaganza; but, in free government ey
traVagance breeds tendencies of the most
pern1cl0uS character. 1t not only teaches the
people to look to the government for tho
promotion Of all kinds of enterprises wheth
er Tor pleasure or for pront, but it makes
them impatient against public servants who
believe in economy and who believe that
pubic moneys are trust fund to be Jealous
ly guarded
President Jackson hardly overstated tho
danger of a surplus when he declared that n
was more dangerous than a standing army:
and yet, dangerous as a surplus is it is not
so dangerous as the extravaganza which is
always resorted to in order to prevent its
accumulation
1t cannot be forgotten that many of those
VINO now advocate high tariff and de-
fend the extravaganza which it engenders did
not hesitate to denounce the administration
OF President Buchanan. because in its last
year. the appropriations exceeded the sum
or $6O,0OtO,0OO Our population at that time
was nearly half what it is today and If the
government were now properly and frugaEv
administered our expenditures, including lib
eral pensions for the soldiers of the late war
Of 1856. 900 600.
The friends of the protective system know
that to keep the taxes high thew must fnd
some way of spending the money which has
been collected. 1t is, therefore the inevitable
consequence of collecting more than is prop
er. that improper ways should be devised
for spending it. The extravagiance which
necesstated the billion dollar appropriations
which have become such a scandal upon con-
gress had its origin in the unjust system
Of levying taxes to prey uron the public
through the favOritism Of the law
The bill fosters trusts, is another head
line. which is explained follows: If the
system OF unnecessary taxation is indefensible
because Of the extravaganza which it encour-
ages. II is sti1 mere on account Of the
trusts which it fosters and promotes. It is
not more certain that protection encourages
extravaganza than it is that ii breeds I'M
lawful combinations Of capital. Indeed pro-
lection is justified upon the avowed theory
that competition should be restricted. True
enough, it assumes the patriotic pretense that
foreign competition ought not to be permit
ted against our home industries; but they
little understand the selfishness of human
nature-and especially they little understand
the se!fshness Of that human nature which
relies upon the favoritism of the law to in
crease its fortunes-who suppose that these
men, having secured themselves against for
eign competition by the favor of congress,
will fail to secure themselves against do
nestle competition by voluntary combna-
tons among themselves 1t is an old adage,
and it is true 1t is old, that "Compe-
tition is the life of trade and whatever
tends to restrict competition must tend to
restrict trade.
The majority of the committee seem to
think it an easy matter for US TO build
tariff wall about our borders, and thus pre-
vent foreigners from trading with us, but
they forget that the same wall which shuts
the foreigner our, shuts us in, and that
regulations to prevent the foreigner from
trading with US must at the same time pre-
vent IL from fradiuo with he fnrnicrnar We