Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-12-11
Government Taxation.

Every uOllaf expended Dy TIE govern
ment is paid by the people in taxes
except a small and gradually decreas
ing amount from the sale of the public
lands and a few small sums from other
sources. The total receipts for the year
ending June 80, 1905-the last official
report published $697, 101 ,2T0, OF
which $261, 79S,S57 was tariff taxes and
1924, 095, TAI was internal revenue taxes,
and those amounts have been largely
increased during the past fiscal year.
Extravagant appropriations by Con
gress mean more taxes and therefore
everyone is interested in an economical
and honest government, both in the leg
islative department that makes the
laws which authorize the expenditures,
and in the executive department, which
expend the money. When Congress au-
are needed to produce enough money to
cover expenditures and there is large
surplus in the United States Treasury
1t very naturally leads to larger APP
pIOpkAdLlOllSs OCNohHC lACA0 10 a. ~SAA
slant demand by the individual Con-
gresham for an appropriation for his
district, besides the general demand for
appropriations for all kinds of pur-
poses
There is now a surplus in the treas
ury of over $2C0,OOO,OOO, of which over
S154,000,00C has been loaned to the
national banks upon which they pay
no interest That large sum would al
low the tariff taxes to be reduced one
half and still produce a surplus for the
coming fiscal year, and If the tariff
rates were so revised that diamonds
and other articles that are luXuries
paid as much per cent tax as some ar
ticles of necessity are now made to pay,
there would be about as much money
collected as there is at pres
ent, and the price of arti-
Giles of necessity would be cheaper, but
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 re-
duced tariff rates and compete with the
trusts products. Under such 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
If revision would reduce trust profits
is the reason that trust magnates are
all Republicans and are willing to pay
a percentage of their large profits to
Republican 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
PRODUCED by the Democrats al the last
and former sessions of Congress. I'm
doubtedly this stand-pat attitude of the
Republican leaders led to the defeat of
a number of Republican candidates for
Congress and the greatly reduced ma
Jority Of others. Still the Republican
leaders declare they will stand pat, al
though they promised tariff revision
when necessary. But the promise is
never fulfilled and now the declara-
ton is made that after the next ma
tional election, If intrusted with an
other lease of power, they will again
promise in their national platform to
reform the tariff-AFTER ELECTION.