Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1903-11-26
THE TARIFF INJUSTICE.
How the Poor Are Robbed For
the Benefit of the Rich.
A REFORM THAT Is NECESSARY.
Every Man Should BE Taxed Accord
ing to His Means and No More Than
the Government, Honestly Admin
istered, Requires Vast Surplus
Used to Aid Banks and Trusts.

Used to Aid Banks and Trusts.
If the federal customs duties collect
ed at the ports of entry were the only
taxes on the goods the people consume
and the government needed the 1884,
444,70S collected in 1902, the largest
sum ever before received, they would
still be great burden. But the re-
ceipts from all sources in that year ex-
ceeded the expenditures by $91,2S7,-
1861 and will probably be $5O,OOO,0OO
for the present year. The cash bal
ance now in the treasury is 1925, 49,
705, so there is no present reason to
continue this excessive taxation
through high tariff, for it is criminal
to tax the public more than the needs
of the government demand, especially
when this surplus is loaned to favored
banks without any return in interest
or otherwise. The Wall street bank
ers to whom a great portion of this
surplus is loaned and the other banks
that are similarly favored throughout
the country loan this money to their
customers at the going rate Of interest.
so that the taxpayers Of the country
are furnishing the capital to the banks
and paying the interest that the banks
demand on it. or if they are not bor-
rowing. but have money of their own
to loan, they furnish the money free to
the banks to compete with their own
capital. This tax collected through the
custom houses is only small part Of
the tax that the Dingley tariff imposes.
Indirectly there is much greater Inn
post demanded by the monopolists,
combines and trusts that were called
into council by the Republican lead
ers when the Dingley bill was being
secretly incubated at the Arlington ho-
tel i'll the city Of Washington in 1897.
No Democratic member of the ways
and means committee was permitted to
join in the creation of the Dingley bill.
and Senator Dolliver in speech in the
senate, which is reported in the Con-
gressional Record, acknowledged that
the tariff rate was purposely placed
much higher than was necessary to al
low a margin for reduction under the
treaties for reciprocity with other coun-
tries that the bill also provided for. but
which have never been ratified. As
Senator Dolliver was member Of the
ways and means committee at the time
the Dingley bill was created this inside
history Of the enormity Of that bill is
therefore at first hand by Republican
who was present at its preparation.
BY virtue of the extremely high tar.
if the protected trusts and combines
are more extortionate than the Ding
ley bill. Where that law provides for
the collection Of over so per cent on
the average value of most of the ne
cessities of life the trust tax gatherer
demands in many cases over 100 per
cent, of which the government receives
nothing.
The statisticians of the bureau of La
Dor of Massachusetts have figured that
in the boot and shoe industry the aver
age wages are $491.4 for workers per
year, and, allowing that two of each
family are employed. the amount that
each family earns would be 1888. The
tariff tax on the expenditures Of such
q household is $13.75, and the tax that
the trusts and combines extort is
$95.25. Think of it, nearly seven times
more to the trusts under the Repub-
lican protective system than the Unit
ed States government receives.
Congressman Littlefield. Republic
an, gave list of 500 trusts, with
capitalization Of nearly 81. 900. 000. 900.
which was printed in the Congressional
Record of Feb. 20, to which aggrega.
ton each family in the United States
contributed nearly 800. % that the
trusts can get richer and the poor
poorer.
Il matters not how poor or wretchsd