The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-05
GOVERNMENT AS A DISTRIBUTOR.

hand in the discussion of the pension
| scandal in a communication to the
Times deprecating the exaggerated as
sertions of fraud in the pension rolls.
From this he proceeds to defend the ap-
preparations, land, apparently, urges their
increase on the premise that cit is not
| distribution but destruction or waste
that fmpoverishes a nation" from
which he concludes that whether two
hundred millions lie in the vaults in
| Washington or in the pockets of two
| hundred thousand of our citizens mat
| ters little, so far as national wealth is
| concerned, except that when outside
| the vaults it has an earning capacity
The pensioners keep the money at home
[ want to emphasize the fact
that when paid to meritorious soldiers
| there should be no hue and cry over
our pension roll, even though it be
swollen to millions" Passing the prev
alent, but, with him, the surprising con-
fusion of wealth and money as identi-
| cal, there is matter for serious discus
| sion in what we regard as the mis-
chieVous proposition that it is a legiti-
| mate function Of government to create
an artificial distribution Of money, rep
| resentinS wealth, an idea plainly form
ing the base of the former senator's
justification Of the swollen pension ap-
| preparations.
We will not offer Mr. Pierce the in
suit of assuming that he is ignorant of
the source Of these hundreds and more
millions Of dollars thus distributed an
nually, but from all that appears in his
argument it might be inferred that the
money flows into the treasury from
some mysterious source coming with
out effort or cost and flowing out of
the treasury as sunlight and rain come
to earth, to fructify and bless. Should
this be Mr.. Pierce's conception he has
the satisfaction of sharing the delusion
with no less eminent a financier than
is the present president of this blessed
country, who, however, locates the
source in that unfortunate foreigner
who pays the tax. But, that eminent
statesman and his echoes to the con-
trary Notwithstanding the plain, hard,
unacceptable fact is that no govern nent
has yet found any other source of
steady revenue than by the use of it's
power to reach into the pockets Of it's
citizens and take therefrom more or
less, usually less, just quota, either by
levy upon their wealth or upon their
of the hundred odd million dollars an
nually distributed in pensions comes
out Of the purses Of men on whom
the government levies taxes
What. then, is the naked proposition?
That it is a legitimate and laudable
use Of the taxing power of government
to take money by taxation from it's
people and distribute it again among
some of them. And the justification?
Because in the pockets of these people
it has IAN earning capacity" that is,
1t can be put by them to productive
use. If this money came from the
moon there might be reason for the
proposition because, as the moon is
dead, 1t is improbable that it would be
Of any beneficial use there. But in the
absence Of any such gratuitous source
and in the presence of the actual it
follows that all this money is taken out
of the channels Of productiveness bv
the government merely in order that it
may be returned to the same channels
again through different media. It is
tr-1In t,nf M
pie to the case Of pensions, but pen
sions are charities, not legal obliga-
tions or debts, and therefore the prin-
ciple applies without limitation. If to
one charity then equally to all objects
that may make themselves the recip-
tents Of governmental bounty
We doubt if the ex-senator will fol-
low his proposition to It's logical end.
That terminates in ultra state social
ism. If the distribution of the repre
province of government. then is the dis
tribution Of wealth itself, the real and
personal property of the people, also
a proper act Of government Then
government will be fulfilling its trust
when it takes from those who have to
give to those who do not have. It
follows that there are limits to the indi-
yidual acquisition of wealth beyond
which men must not be permitted TO
go, and when transcribed the surplus
must be appropriated by government
to be distributed among those whose
| wealth is below the limit of tolerance.
Mr.. Pierce thus finds himself in touch
with a small class of social vagarists
in this and other countries who hold
with Proudhon that property is rob-
berry
Possibly it is the indirection of
| the taxation that provides the fed
eral treasury with money that causes
this confusion in the mind Of Mr..
Pierce and so many others. Let us
make the case concrete. Were the pen
sion tax levied directly, apportioned
among the states on the ratio of popu-
lation, Minnesota's share would be an
proximately 100000 annually. This
would be levied upon the real and per-
sonal property Of her citizens and be
paid by them out Of their purses.
Would he then justify the tax because
it distributes that sum Of money thus
derived?