The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-09-10

I the government to the income of the citl-
zen. Here our federal taxes are LARGELY
collected upon consumption, ana Wnile
they are income taxes IN me sense thds
they must be paid out of the incomes or
the people, yet the eXactions are propor-
tionate to the income. The taxes upon
consumption bear heaviest upon the poor,
and lightest upon the rich, ana are III
fact graded income taxes. The per cent
collected decreases as the income M
creases.
eff this nation adheres to the doctrine
that governments derive their just pow
ers from the consent of the govern a.
and the people have an easy ana READY
means of correcting all abuse, the govern
ment will not need to be supported by a
large. permanent army. Tor every clllHcn
will be ready to defend such governm mt
from attack. The only domestic use tor
large. standing army Is to suppress. by
force that discomfort which should De
cured by legislation. ,oo am
"'ro support q permanent army of 100, 9Co
men. requires approximately one-half as
much money as is annually expended tor
education I'm the United states HOW
much cheaper it is to uplift people Dy the
gentle and peaceful process of intellect
uaI development than to blow them up
with powder and dynamite!
imperialism involves n departure from
principles which were universally accept
ed. i'm this country until within two years
ago To know that all men are created
equal one needs not the WISDOM Oh y
sage or the learning of the Schools ~
-
il was evident 20 those who pledged thelr
lives to the maintenance of the Declarl-
ton of Independence. and II IS evident
still to those who are not blinded by the
glamor of wealth and the glitterng prom
ises of n colonial system. II all men are
created equal and endowed with inallena-
Bile rights. IL follows as logical ana
necessary sequence that governments
were instituted for the welfare OF an
and derive their just powers from the
consent of the governed. on the preScr-
pf np homes
If il is abandoned there Is no foundation
upon which a government like ours can
to be deceived by those who question the
capacity Of this people or that people for
self government. Macaulay, in his essay
on John Milton. points out the folly OF
attempting To prepare people for sell gov
eminent by denying them the right 10
participate in their own government lie
said:
MANY politicians of our time are in
the habit of laying IL down as self
evident proposition that no people ought
To bc free until they are lit TO use their
freedom. The maxim Is worthy OF inc
fool in the old story who resolved not
To 40 into the water until he had learn
ed TO swim. II men are to wait for lib
ertv until they become wise and good III
slavery. they may. indeed. wait forever.
when / say that those who dlStruSt
the capacity of the people for self gov
eminent tend directly toward monarchy,
| am only repeating what Lincoln dciib-
cratclY declared in his first annual mes
sage. lie said:
Monarchy itself is sometimes limited
AT as a possible refuge from the power
of the people. In my present position
could scarcely be justified were | to omit
raising a warning voice against the APP
urOdch Of returning dcspotism. II is not
needed nor fitting here that general
argument should be made i'm favor of pop
ui1r institutions. but there is one point,
with its connections not 50 hackneycd as
most others. 10 which l ask brief attCn-
ton. 1t is the effort TO place capital on
an equal footing with. II not above, labor
in the structure of government. No mcE
living are more worthy to be trusted than
those who toll no from poverty: none less
inclined TO take or touch aught which
they have not honestly earned Let them
beware of Surrendering n political power
which they already possess and which,
IL surrendered. will surely be used To close
he door of advancement against such as
they and To- fiN new disabilities and bur
dcns upon them till all of liberty shall be
lost
The warning is even more needed now
than u was forty years ago. The Army
and Navy Journal is already iustifying
the colonial idea and declaring that fate
has dccrcou for us a destiny in which an
immortal executive free from the restraints
OF written constitutions VIII govern sub
lcctS according TO his own pleasure. The
lnitcd states Investors Review, publish
ed az l'OSion. in its issue OF July y, says:
only "a blind person can fail to see
thtt transformations of one kind or an
other are in store for our race; hence the
Jolly OF asserting that the policy of this
country. which is destined 10 play such a
leading part in human affairs of the fL-
lure shall be governed for the most part
pN political maXims uttered more than
q hundred wears ago. The greatest evil
which now Confr0nts this republic is the
"Etmor raised by a certain faction for a
settlement of cur problems of state by
lust SUch method as we have been
d'pttc'ilnS- Considerably more than
century ago a certain notable declaration
was mad i'm this country TO the effect
pendent. This is merely "A generalization
OF tho French school of Noltaire ana the
tncNclupae dists. II is a diCtum absolutely
lackinS foundation in history and iucapa-
pie OF svllociStic Justification. II was,
however. handy phrase for us to employ
when asserting our right to break away
from the mother country: II suited the
bly,. though in Itself but bit of sub
MINATED denaEogiSm The declaration
was Serviceable means TO the end that
was at thar time desired. To bring for
ward this declaration in this year. 1900.
~ connection with our treatment of the
fllipuos and the Cuhans is as gross an
abSurdity as ever was practiced. To do
or the people who first subscribed to the
declaration i'm question:
But why quote from newspapers as to
what may be done hereafter I'm the pres
ence Of a law already enacted which
makes subjects of the Porto Ricans, with
draws from them the guarantees of the
constitution and asserts the power of the
without their consent and tax them with
ont Representations power as unlimited
and tyrannical as was ever asserted or