The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-01-23
BRYAN SPOKE
TO THOUSANDS.
Democratic Leader Takes Up
the Issue Of Imperialism.
WHO PAYS THE WAR TAX2
Wants to Know why the Sender OF a
Telegram Has to Pay For the stamp
Something About the Declaration
OF Independence.


spoke to thousands of people here Sat
urday night. The audience was most
enthusiastic one.
Mr.. Bryan said in part: II want to
assure you in the beginning that my
happiness does not depend upon any
honor which the people of this nation
can confer, neither do L believe that
this nations happiness or welfare de-
pends upon any one person. AS i'm poll
tics as in the army, the generals get
the glory and the privates do the work.
And, therefore, l feel that / owe 1t to
those who for nearly four years have
been bearing the burden in the heat of
the day, 1 owe it to them to say that
what have done is but an atom COM
pared with what they have done.
"In 1896 the voters proved that they
could control the policy of the party,
and during the last three years they
have proven that they could hold what
they gained in 1896. In spite of news
papers, in spite of railroads, in spite of
banks, and in spite of every influence
supposed to obtain, the plain people
of the Democratic party have stood
and now stand, for the Chicago plat
form, in all that it says. 1 want to be-
gin with an accepted proposition, that
proposition.
WHICH CONSIDER
most fundamental in government /
find it in the Declaration of Independ-
ence-if you will pardon me for quoting
anything from that old and outworn
document, as our Republican friends
seem to think it is. The Declaration of
Independence was once a highly re-
spected document; it is under a cloud
just now, but 1 have confidence that in
a few months the clouds will be rolled
by and that old document will shine
with all it's former brightness. That
fundamental principle is that all men
are created equal.
'I do not mean to say that all men
are created equal in physical strength;
1 do not mean to say that all men are
created equal in mental ability, or in
moral worth, or that under any just
form of government man will be equal
in character and enjoyment, or in the
enjoyment that we have.
What I mean to say is this: That
whenever government comes into con-
tact with the citizens: whenever the
citizen touches the government, then
all must stand equal before the law and
there must be no high, no low, no rich,
no poor. That government must be
administered according to the maxim
of Jefferson, Equal rights to all and
special privileges to none
81 am going to ask the Republicans
4 hero 10 think for a little while when
they go home of the income tax and
to see If it is not in line with that doc
trine of equal rights to all and special
privileges to none. How do we collect
OUR FEDERAL TAXES
today? Well, before the Spanish war
broke out we collected almost the en-
tire tax from two sources, from internal
revenue duties on liquor and tobacco
and import duties on what we eat and
wear and use. In what proportion do
the people pay these taxes? In propor-
tion to the benefits received from gov
ernment? Not at all: In proportion to
property? Not at all. In proportion to
income? Not at ALL In what propor-
tion do people pay internal revenue
taxes? Why, largely in proportion to
the liquor and tobacco they use. They
do not use those things in proportion
to their Income, and so far as you col
lect taxes from liquor and tobacco you
make the poor man pay on an average
a larger percentage of his income to
support the government and the rich
man smaller percentage on his in
como.
when the Spanish war broke out we
had to have more taxes, and the
Republican party looked around for
any old thing to put stamp on, and
you run across the stamp taxes all the
time. Every time 1 send a telegram
Il 60 l,A
addition thereto one cent is added for
the beneficial assimilation of the Fill
pinU; n1,, :. :. .,.+ .,o ~, ,,.,,, ..,,,.
that telegram has to pay the tax? Be
cause the telegraph company says so,
and why was the law so made that the
telegraph company could shift the bur-
den on to the man who sends the tele-
gram? Because the telegraph COM
panies have more influence with the
Republican party than all the poor
Republicans who use the wires.
I'm AN HOUR OF PERIL
this government can take the son from
his mother, the husband from his wife,
the father from his children, and stand
them up in front of an enemys guns,
but in an hour of danger this govern
ment cannot lay it's hands upon accu-
mulated wealth and make that wealth
bear its share of the expenses.
why is it? 1t is because the Repub-
lican party has made money more pre-
cious than blood. My friends, you heard
men denounce our income tax in 1896
1 want to say it is stronger today than
1t was then. And If those who have
been shirking their taxes think that
, they have settled this question fore ,er,
4 want to tell them that the income tax
will be in the next campaign, and 1t
will be In the campaign until the consti-
tuition Of the United States is so
amended as to specifically authorize an
income tax, so that neither one Judge
nor nine judges can build a bulwark
around the fortunes of the great and
throw the burdens of government on
1.-THE Door.