The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-23
committee arose and the house adiournf
until IL O'Clock tomorrow
MINORITY REPORT.
Document Presented by Representa-
tive Bailey of Texas.

!, tive Bailey of Texas.
: The views of the minority of the con
mittee on ways and means on the tart
bill were presented to the house tn
evening by Representative Bale
(Dem., Tex.), the leader of the DEMO-
cracy. 1t reads as follows:
This bill was framed with til
avowed purpose of protecting the man
uIacturers of the United States agains
foreign competition, and it is perfect
OBVIOUS that if it accomDlishes tina
purpose it must result in compelling tn
consumers of this country to pay NOR
for their manufactured goods; and 70
this reason. we think it should no
pass We rest our opposition upon I'll
broad principle that congress was in
vested with the power of taxation as
means OF collecting from each either
his fair proportion toward the supper
OF the government, and that it is
gross DerverSion of that sovereign
power to employ it as a means of en-
aDling favored classes to levy unjus
charges upon the great body of the
people. We believe that after contrib
uting his proper share toward the
maintenance of the government, every
citizen of this republic is entitled tC
| the full possession and ENJOYMENT OF
all he can honestly earn: and we deny
| the right of congress to make or en-
force any regulation which requires one
man to give any part of his honest
earnings .oWa4d e--NOuf aging ne IL /
prise or increasing the fortune of an
other
CANNOT BE DEFENDED.
No man. however blind he may be,
would defend a system of taxation I'M
der which the government first col
lected the money and afterwards dis
tributed it among its favorites. 1t is
true that the tariff act of 1890 Yentured
to this extent in dealing with the sugar
growers, but the disapproval of that
policy was so overwhelming and so
bitter that the advocates have been
forced to abandon it, and they have
not dared to incorporate any provision
for a direct bounty in the present bill.
We are unable, however. to perceive
any difference in principle between
law which requires the government to
collect the money and distribute il
among the protected industries and a
law which enables these industries to
collect the monev directly from the
PEOPLE. There may be some differences
in the method of making the collection
and in the cost of doing so, but there
is no difference whatever in the prin-
the right to levy taxes upon the people
for the purpose of inducing men to es-
tablish improbable industries or in
dustries which can only be made profit
able by compelling the consumers of
the United States to pay exorbitant
prices for their products, then the
bounty system is a more direct and less
complex way Of attaining that end, and |
1T least has the advantage of direct
ness and simplicity.
TAXES AS A BLESSING.
The majority of the committee seem
@ think that taxation can be made q |
blessing, and that the support of the
government, instead of being burden
lpon taxpayers, can be made to enrich
hem. If this opinion is well founded,
hen all the struggles for freedom which
AVE revolved around the question of
axation have proceeded upon a false
heory, and the American colonists,
vhen they determined that hey would
ot submit to taxation without -repre-
INDUCED a mistaken zeal for
berty. The patriotic resolve of our
)refathers not to use goods upon which
reat Britain had laid an import duty
as wrong, if the argument that the
british importers were really paying
ne tax over which the American col !
nists went to war. There cannot be
'und in the wide range of economic j
terature an authority with the few
nd rare exceptions, which only serve
emphasize the general concurrence,
no does not treat taxation, direct or
direct. as a burden; and when we I
,member that a protective tariff not 4
lily collects more for the government &
ian is needed for its economical ad- s
inistration, but that it also enables q
vored classes to collect more than the /
,yernment itself, the injustice be- S
mes so clear and so enormous that it T
ould be reflection upon the intelli-
nee of the American people to sup f
'se that it can escape their swift and n
cisive condemnation. 2
AS A MATTER OF COURSE. {
It follows, as a matter. of course, that il
bill based upon a vicious principle I,
lst be injurious in it's effects and per- u
ps no effect could be more perDicious 7
an the extravaganza which the bill t.
couraaes. The tabulated statement n
lbraced in the committee report II
ows that the bill is expected to raise q
ted in customs during the last fiscal n
ar; and yet, as is shown by the p
ne report, the difference between the %
vernment receipts and disbursements e.
ring that year was only $4,000. 000 fc
is we'll known that the importationS al
last year were smaller than usual, hi
ing to the general depression that
sted in all circles; but even suppos- J.
that importationS hereafter can be q
ot at a level with the importations q
1896, the bill will collect from the A
,ple more than $4,000 900 annually !
I'VE the requirements of our present J.
ravagant and Wasteful appropri- y
ons. 1t may be, however, that the
jority should not be arraigned for
ir open encouragement of eXtrava- 81
ice; because ii cannot be surprising ce
t gentlemen who think taxes are not ~, ~
burden should feel that the money tiI
ived from taxation ought to be Law co
y spent. Nothing could better illus er,
te the vice of the protective system
n the fact that there flows from it I
a direct consequence, the habit of WI
tting the expenditure of the public NJ NJ
ley as a benefit rather than a bur- Ri
to the people. 1t would be cause Sir
ugh for complaint if the burden
e the only result of the extrava- I
ce; but in free government ex- ar
ragance breeds tendencies of the loi
It pernicious character. 1t not only A
she's the people to look to the gov the
ment for promotion of all kinds of din
srprises, whether for pleasure or for hal
it. but it makes them, impatient
inst public servants who believe in n
lomy and who believe that public t ~.
eys are public fund to be jealous
uarded. N
cMPTATION TO CORRUPTION. ent
overlooking treasury is a constant
otation to enter upon expenditures
corrupt both the public mind and Il
public servants. Under a system hoo
Ugh taxes, there must be a surplus S;