The record-union., 1898-10-05
MAGUIRES CAMPAIGN.
Outrageous Abuse of the United
States Mails.

!
From the Stockton independent
| This office received by the mail yes
terday, under the frank Of James G..
Mcguire, a pamphlet purporting to be
an extract from the Congressional
Record" but which is really an essay
by the late Henry George on 'Protec-
ton or Free Trade!" The title Of the
essay is, however, as misleading as the
methods of its publication at Govern
ment expense for it is an argument
for free trade in land-it advocates the
single tax, a conf1scation Of the rem
| tai value of land for the purposes of
government.
The pamphlet contains Ill pages, 1Ui
of which, in solid type, are devoted to
the arguments of Henry George in ia
vor of single tax. The matter there
| in contained would fill nearly hum
dredl columns in the independent" and
would make about sixteen pages of
reading matter, without headlines or
any accompanying advertisements. The
pamphlet was inclosed in a sealed en-
velope, which bore no postage stamp,
| because the name Of u. G. Mcguire,
! NJ. Co. was stamped on the outside. 1t
was mailed in San Francisco Septem-
| ber 30th, but did not reach here until
October Sd, showing that so many of
| these documents were deposited at the
same time that the United States mails
were blocked with them and that it
took the army of clerks three days to
get them out of the way.
| Who is James G. Mcguire that he can
scatter the political theories Of Henry
| George over this State at public ex-
pense? He is simply the Congressman
from the Fourth District, who, like
some other demagogues in that body,
has abused the privilege of his posi-
| tion to incorporate the works of Henry
| George in speeches made on subjects
| wholly irrelevant from that treated by
| George, in order that they may be put
| in shape for free distribution. The
Government printed it for the benefit.
| not of the Government but of those
who choose to agitate along the single
tax line. The Government is now pay
ing the expense of having these docu-
| ments distributed through the mails
in the State Of California, where Mr.
| Mcguire is running for Governor. He
| makes the claim that the single tax
is not an issue of the campaign and
yet he is distributing carloads of these
| documents among the voters-in fact
took them from Washington to San
Francisco, presumably by mail, to be
there again addressed and remailed.
The reader should keep in mind the
fact that James G. Mcguire, If elected
Governor of California, will enter upon
the duties Of the office in January and
| must cease to be a member of Con-
gress. In fact his career as a Con-
gressman has virtually ended now and
were he possessed Of those instincts Of
honor and right about which he so Of
ten prates, would resign his seat and
| permit his district to elect a man who
can surely serve.
1t is a shame that James G. Mcguire
by any law or by any laxness Of con-
| science should be allowed or should
allow himself to use the revenues Of
this nation to print and distribute doc
uments which teach doctrines conflict
ing with the laws of every State of this
| Union. 1t is a shame that one who
has talked so much about the steal
/ ings Of Corporations" the robberies
Of the protected manufacturers and of
| the gold bugs, should himself dip his
| hand into the public treasury and
take out the tax the workingman pays
on his dinner pail' with which to
propagate the single tax in This State
It is no vindication of Mcguire to
say that others do the same thing
men on both sides Of political issues.
1t is no excuse for him that others
do wrong. He is at this very time en-
gagged in denouncing the Southern Pa
cific Company, alleging that it neglects
| and declines to pay its Indebtedness to
the Government and denounces the Re-
publican party for aiding a steal"
| We would ask every voter to consider
James G. Maguire's use of public mon
ey, Of the Government Printing Office.
and Of the United States mails to send
| out single tax arguments to convince
voters in his campaign for Governor
and decide whether any worse steal has
been perpetrated by a public servant.
Mr. Mcguire and his followers are tell
ing the people that the Republican rev.
enue bill taxes the poor and exempts
| the rch-and vet Mcguire abuses the
privileges Of his position to make his
| single tax campaign on Government
funds. which he him self declares is
gathered from the wages Of the toll
err Mcguire has received $4,000 from
the United States Government, besides
liberal mileage, during the last six
years, and now as a finish to his Con-
gressional career. thrusts his hand in
the public treasury for the hundreds
of dollars that it would cost him to
send this document around under post
age. 1t is an outrage-just such an
outrage as we would expect from
demagogue and agitator
hoc r.