The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-08-25
THE WAR TAXES NOT NEEDED.

Prior to the adjournment of congress
efforts We're made by the Democratic
members to have the Republican back
ers of the administration repeal the
war taxes i'll whole or in part on the
ground that they were no longer neces.
sary. Some Republican organs, nota.
bly, the Chicago Tribune, came out
strongly for a reduction of the taxes,
but the Mckinley imperialists left
them stand, Notwithstanding the fact
| that at that time there was a surplus
of $140,OOO0OO in the national treas
ury, exclusive of the $15O,OOO,O0O set
aside as a redemption fund. To keep
the surplus in the treasury down, Sec
retary Gage found it necessary, in Or
der to keep the money in circulation,
to loan it to the national banks with
out interest, and the banks are loaning
| it at interest to the people who have
been taxed for the Spanish-Amcrican
war. though that war has long since
been over.
1t is certainly an anomalous contll-
| ton of affairs to create surplus in
the treasury of such magnitude that
the government finds it necessary to
loan millions of it to the Standard Oil
bank of New York without receiving
a cent of interest for it, The money
needlessly raised in taxation is handed
over to bankers to speculate with it
in Wall street, New York, and in LON
bard street, London. Was there ever
such financiering by any administra.
ton since the foundation of the gov.
ernment? And yet the very men who
are responsible for it claim they are
entitled to reelection by the votes of
the very people they are robbng in.
this shameless manner.
Perhaps the principal reason why
the war taxes have not been repealed
is to enable the administration by
! means of great surplus to be liberal
in granting subsidies to corporations
which subscribe to the Republican
campaign fund. When it is known thar
there is a big surplus on hand every
rich beggar will be demanding
some of lit for one purpose or
other. They will demand canal subsi-
dies, shipping subsidies, Pacific cable
and pneumatic tube subsidies, and I'M
doubleday they will get them if the
present party remains in power for an
other term. The Hanna-Payne ship
subsidy bill was near being passed dur
ing the last session of congress, and
the only thing that prevented the steal
from going through was the fear of the
popular wrath in November.
n big surplus in the treasury engcn-
ders governmental extravaganza in
every direction. All the officials of the
Mckinley administration are in favor
of running the government on an i'm
perial scale. No account has been rem
dered as to the disposition of the war
fund, and none is considered necessary
The motto of the administration is,
"the people be id"
"A few days ago Congressman Rich
ardson received communication from
Secretary Gage in reply to an inquiry
touching the cost of the war and this
is what the Chicago banker told him:
"The estimated cost of the war with
Spain, including the Philippines, to
June 80, 1900, is as follows: Army,
1884. 75O, 900; navy, $79,5OO.OOO: miscel-
laneous, including interest on war loan
and payment Of $2o.OOO.0OO to Spain,
$50, 75O, 900; total, 1895, 100000. The de-
partment is unable to separate the ex-
penditures made for war purposes in
Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines"
The amount collected from the PEG.
pie up to June 30 under the war tax
is $210,0OO,O0O, and the war loan in
round numbers is $20O,OOO,OOO. The
! amount of gold in the treasury, includ-