Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-04-16
THE SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
WOOL DUTIES IN THE SENATE.


Wool and Cotton Reporter points out an
interesting fact in connection with the
wool section of the tariff, as 1t rests in
the finance committee of the United
States senate It Is that the sub. COM
mittee to which the tariff has been there
referred consists of Senators Aldrich,
Allison and Platt. All three of these
senators are against high wool duties
Senators Aldrich and Plat because They
represent New England feeling on that
subject: Senator Allison because he was
an original free trader, and has always
been disposed toward as low duties as it
was possible to exact from his party.
Three republicans of the senate could
not have been found more likely to OPP
pose high wool duties; and yet the fact
that two of them are among the strong
est of protectionists, and the third never
fights against party DEGREES, will cause
this committee to yield in the end, if
there Il sufficient insistence on the part
of the wool people. We are not san
gune of anything more than republican
remonstrance on the part of this sub
committee, but that is something. 1t
will tend to open the eyes of republicans
still further to the injustice of the Ding
ley measure. 1t will prove that, if this
inquitous wool section is forced into
law. it must be done by free silver
senators from the West, and that they
are the real fathers of tax that is so
extreme as to be repudiated by leading
men among protectionist republicans.
Such state of things is not going to
make the Dingley tariff bill more pop
ular when it comes to be discussed before
the people: neither will it eXpedate its
passage in the senate Boston Herald.
GROWING GOVERNMENT EXPENSES.
Newspapers belonging to the party
out of power harp upon the expenses of
the federal government until the reading
public is fairly tired of the sight of
figures with dollar marks ahead of them,
but it is nevertheless a duty to give the
figures attention and to act in a way to
check and correct abuses. The chief
business of the government of this great
country. when you come down to it, is
very prosaic. 1t consists of taking
certain amount of money from the people
and with it providing the people with
certain things. 1t is, in very large part,
acting as financial agent of the people
and nothing more. And the relative eX-
celence of the government at almost any
particular time depends primarily upon
the wisdom of its use of the peoples
money.
But let us have some figures The
total net ordinary expenses of the gov
eminent in $40, including interest on
the public debt, was, S24 .3l4.5lS. The
population of the country in the census
year 1850 at the beginning of the war
was nearly double that of 1910, and the
expenditures of the government had in
creased to 500, 200,S75 The population
of the country since 1910 has quadrupled,
but the expenditure of the federal gov
ernment has increased to almost IS times
the amount expended in 1910. The total
expenditure for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1896, was S434, 67S ,G54. The
excuse usually urged for this enormously
Increased cost of government is that 1t is
Il result of the war. But this Is only IN
part true. The war has been over for -
years. The expenditures for pensions
and tor interest on the public debt = the
last fiscal year were S174, SHOPS, leaving
$259,S59,G 2G for other purposes. The
cost of the civil establishment in 1910
was S5,995,399; in 1850 it was S27.977,-
97S; in 1896 it was SS7, ,234. This
item shows the way the cat iumps-from
about 81 cents per head in 1910 and about
80 cents in 1860 to about 81 % in 1896.
The whole cost of the federal establish
ment in 1910 was 81 10 per head; ir 1850
81: in 1896 SO 30.
These figures furnish abundant food
for thought Rutland Herald
SUCCESSION TAXES.
llt cuNNtNNlOli AuA NlllNll llNullrNS
before long to become law in the state
of New York is likely soon to have
given to it the compliment of copy
in a number of the states of the union.
The underlying idea of the New York
tax is that large estates in passing
through probate should make large con-
trlbutions to the state treasury. In or
der to clearly understand the ground
upon which this theory is based, it may
be said that by the death of a man. the
ownership of his estate passes into the
control of the community. So long as
he is living and is in an assumed sound
mind, he can do what he pleases with
his property, if he does not thereby in
jure other people; but with his death
this ownership ceases, and it is only by
suflerance of the state that the property