The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1904-09-16

But how is 1t under Republican ruI,
u Washington? There the postofice
me land ONCE and other great depart
ments are permeated with confessed
corruption and fraud. which the Re
publican party dares not even ALLOW
a friendly congress to investigate toi
fear of the damaging revelation.
which would certainly follow.
The last report of the treasurer Of
The State shows that more than rs pei
cent Of the States entire income goes
70 pay three general items. fowit
Charitable and educational institu
lions, interest on the State debt and
The sinking fund. and less than 20 PEI
cent. is expended in maintaining the
whole judicial, legislative and execu.
tive departments Of the government,
while only 2 IL per cent Of its income
is spent for salaries outside Of the ju-
dietary Excluding the sinking fund,
Il costs less than 81 per capita to run
the State government, while under the
present profigate and wasteful adj
ministration Of the Republican party
It costs $9.40 per capita to run the
national government. This illustrates
the difference between oldfashioned
Democratic honesty and economy and
Republican extravaganza and dishon-
osty.
Mr.. Roosevelt's administration is
the most extravagant, wastefnl and
corrupt that ever afflicted the Ameri-
can people In their more than a cen.
fury and q quarter OF existence as a
nation. IT costs more than double the
money to carry on the government
now than it did during the last Demo
cratic administration. It cost to run
the government in 1896, the last year
Of Clevelands administration, $685.
100000, or S4.65 per capita. II cost
last year under Roosevelt $753, 058,-
sos, or $40 for every man, woman
and child in the United States How
much Of this vast sum wrung from
the people by taxation, for every dol
lar that finds its way into the national
treasury is paid by the labor and toll
and sweat ofNsome American citizen,
is annually sqiandered and stolen we
can only guess from what we know
OF the rottenness Of the postoffice and
other departments. The taxpayers Of
America are entitled to an honest and
an economical government. They are
not getting either under Republican
rule The time has come, my fellow
citizens, when the rascals should be
turned out and the books overhauled.
But my competitor complains that
there was on July ! last surplus of
$l,290,000 in the state treasury
wrung, as he says, from the people by
taxation and deposited in favored
banks over the state The gentleman
does not appear to know the differ
ence between surplus and balance
A balance is what is on hand at a
given time, subject to be paid out on
the current obligations of the state.
A surplus is the amount on hand over
and above all outstanding obligations
Only few years ago Candidate
Fowler and Candidate Mccall of the
party were criticising the
Democratic party for not having a sur
plus. This year Candidate Littleton is
it because It has sur
plus If the treasury is empty they
want 1t full; IL 1t is full they want it
empty. There is really only one way
to- satisfy Republican politician, and
that is to give him free and unlimited
access to the pie counter
AS everybody knows, under our sys-
tenn in Tennessee. most Of the taxes
are collected in the first part Of the
year and the balance then on hand
must be enough to run through to
the end of the year or there viii be a
deficit. Against the balance in the
treasury ON the LIST of July comes the
expenses, which from then on
greatly exceed the collections; the
semi-annual interest on the public {
iebt and the semi-annual interest on
he school fund, the sinking fund. ard
ut the end of the year the surplus to
be turned into the school fund. To
DO as my competitor advocates, and
leave this 81 ,290,0 900 uncollected and /
IN the pockets of the taxpayers would ;
force the state to repudiate its debts
Iefault on its interest, lose its credit I
and become borrower 10 pay its cur
rent obligations. | leave you to say
whether a man who advocates such a y
policy would be a safe and /
prudent man to place at the head OF \
Four state government.
Let me tell you where this balance I
which he talks so much about comes
rom. 1t does not come out OF the I
rockets Of the masses of the taxpay- |
RS, the farmers and producers Of Ten 4
lessee, but from the great corpora /
ions and the earnings Of the peniten- b
larry. During the last Republican ad- S
in Tennessee, In 1881 o
nd 1882, there was collected from the a
ailroads, telegraphs and other cor ?
'orations and the penitentiary $780, IL
1888. During the last two years,
nder Democratic administration, a
here was collected from these same a
Operations and the penitentiary ST. d
O0,11707, or just about the healthy e
alance that was in the treasury on s
he first day Of July last, This bal Il
nee was placed there by the care and fo
he economy and the sound business Fl
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