The Grenada sentinel., 1906-12-29
NOT TO BE TRUSTED
REPUBLICAN, PROMISES HAVE
BEEN PROVED OF NO VALUE.
No Form of Even Reasonable Tariff
Revision Is in Sight, Though the
People Groan Under the
Burdens imposed.

Every dollar expended by the gov
ernment Is paid by the people In
taxes, except small and gradually
decreasing amount from the sale OF
the public lands and few small sums
from other sources. The total receipts
for the year ending June 80, 1905-the
last official report published-were
$697, ,101 ,270, of which $261, ,789,S57 was
tariff taxes and $234,095,741 was in
ternal revenue taxes, and those
amounts have been largely increased
during the past fiscal year. Extrava-
| CANT appropriations by congress mean
| more taxes and therefore every one
Is interested in an economical and
honest government, both in the legis-
lative department that makes the
laws which authorize the expenditures
and in the executive departments
which expend the money. When con.
gress authorizes more taxes to be
collected than are needed to produce
enough money to cover expenditures
and there is a large surplus in the
y,
urally leads to larger appropriations,
because there is a constant demand
by the individual congressman for an
appropriation for his district, besides
the general demand for appropriations
for all kinds of purposes.
There is now a surplus in the treas
ury of over $200,000,000 Of which over
S154,000,000 has been loaned to the
national banks and upon which they
pay no interest. That large sum would
allow the tariff taxes to be reduced
one-half and still produce surplus
for the coming fiscal year and if the
tariff rates were SO revised that dia-
monds and other articles that are lux
uries paid as much per cent. tax as
some articles of necessity are now
made to pay, there would be about
as much money collected as there is
at present, and the price of articles
of necessity would be cheaper, but the
price Of diamonds, etc, would be
higher. The trusts and combines that
are now charging eXOrbitant prices for
their products would be compelled to
lower their prices, or similar products
manufactured in England, Germany or
elsewhere would be imported at the
reduced tariff rates and compete with
the trusts products. Under such a
plan of reducing the tariff rates on
necessities one-half and increasing the
tariff tax on luXuries the trusts would
either have to reduce their profits or
lose part of their trade
The knowledge that reasonable tar |
iff revision would reduce trust profits |
is the reason the trust magnates are |
all Republicans and are willing to pay |
a percentage of their large profits to |
campaign funds to help |
keep that party in power. That is the |
reason a Republican congress stands |
pat and refuses to consider the bills |
for reforming the tariff that were in
troduced by the Democrats at the last |
and former sessions of congress. Un- |
this standpat attitude of |
the Republican leaders led to the de-
feat of a number of Republican can
didates for congress and the greatly
reduced majority of others. Still the
Republican leaders declare they will
stand pat although they promised tar
if revision when necessary. But the
promise is never fulfilled and now the
declaration is made that after the
next national election, if intrusted
with another lease of power, they will
again promise in their national plat
orm to reform the tariff-after elec-
ion.
Will their new promise be any more
kept than former promises
md will the protected trusts and cor
,orations be any more willing to see
heir profits cut down after 1908 than
low?