Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-09-27
Clerk of the courts.
ervisor for the First District,
Protection. Robbery.

The laying of tariff taxes is perfect
ly legal and proper as long as they are
laid for the purpose of raising revenue
for the government. When the pur-
pose of raising revenue for the gov
eminent is lost sight of and import
taxes are fixed for the implied or ex-
pressed purpose of giving private en-
terprises special advantages by pro-
hibiting competition that, mo-
ment the government lends its taxing
power to private concerns.
With its army and navy and its
custom house Offices stands guard over
these special interests, commanding
consumers to buy here, no natter
what the price or the quality of the
goods, therefore every dollar exacted
from the consumer for home COM
modities, enhanced in price on &C.
count of such special protection, is
tax levied for private interest, because
In case of a tax Dfor protection the
money does not go to the government
but into the pockets of the preferred
class.
An instance illustrating this occur
red recently in Illinois when some
parJieS owning a mine OF coal desired
railroad spur to it connecting with
the main line. With this purpose jim
view they went to Philadelphia for
the purpose of purchasing the iron for
the track, ten miles, 100 tons to the
mile. They found the price S2S a ton.
Among Lhuse engaged in the enter
prise OF a track To the coal mine were
some parties who h Id in Store a large
lot of barreled pork to dispose of for
the needed funds.
They however Learned OF British
ship at the wharf loaded with d cargo
Of 1000 tons of railroad iron. Meeting
the Master OF the vessel an arrange
ment was soon made TO exchange the
pork for the cargo Of railroad iron at
goa ton, thus giving the Master of
the vessel an imm ediate return cargo
But when about TO unload the cargo
OF iron custom house official appear
ed and notitied tine purchaser that
tariff of SO per cent on the purchase
price must be paid before the iron
could be removed, which would make
its cost $50 per ton.
OF course, under these circumstanc-
es the deal was off aud the purchase
was made of the bone made iron at
o28 per ton, thus putting little drop
Of 10000 into the pockets of the tar.
liz protected trusts, but not one cent
of revenue to the government.
In nearly every instance protection
where 1t shuts off competition is
species Of robbery upon the consumer
OF more or less magnitude, and has
no Legitimate defense. The supreme
court Of the United States decided in
a case before 1T that ''To lay with one
hand the power of the government up
on the property of the citizen and with
the other bestow 1T upon favored in
dividuals to aid private Enterprises, is
none the less robbry because it is done
under form Of law and is called taxa
tion. \ \ Beyond cavil, there
can be no lawful taxation which is not
laid for public purpose"
Even the republican supreme court
Of Iowa, in Hanson VS.. Vernon, held:
ssNo authority or even dictum can be
found which asserts that there can be
any legitimate taxation where the
money raised does not go into the
public treasury. II there is any prop
osition about which there is an entire
and uniform weight of judicial au-
thority, it is that taxes are to be i'm
posed for the use of the people and
not for the special benefit of individ-
uals. While the state is bound to pro-
tsct all, it ceases to give Just protec-