The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1908-09-03
PEOPLES MONEY IS
SPENT TOO FREELY
Bryan Criticises Republican
Extravaganza in Speech
at Minnesota Fair.

st. Paul, Mimi, Sept. 2.-William
Jennings Bryan is Minnesotass guest
today. He arrived at 8 O'Clock this
morning and was met at the station
by Governor Johnson and former Gov
ernor Lind and other notable demo-
Gratis. They Were conveyed in an auto
mobile to the Minnesota club where
breakfast was served. During the fore
noon Il drizzling rain came down and
had the effect of dampening the en-
thusiasm of those having in charge
the arrangements for Bryan's enter
tainment while in the city.
AT the state fair grounds MI. Bryan
made a speech, saying in part:
The democratic platform makes repub-
lican Extravaganza one of the issues of
the present campaign. The republican
platform is silent on the subject and nat
ura1ly so: to have promised economy would
have been a mockery and to lave defend
ed the appropriations made by the last
congress would have been impossible. The
Ftfty-flrst congress was commonly called
the billion dollar congress-. TIL appropri-
ations made by that congress covered two
years, amounting for the first time to a
billion dollars or $500, 600, 600 a year. The
extravaganza of that congress contributed
democrats in the ampaig of 1890.
The last congress, however, has made q
new record in extrayaganee In spite of
the deficit OF more than sec, 5000 300 in the
last fiscal wear the appropriations made
during the last session amount to more
than a billion dollars or twice as much as
the appropriations for a single session of
the Fifty-first ongress The increase over
the year before was 500, 900, 900. showing a
the growth of the population. While this
tendency to Extravaganza manifests in
noticeable in the army and the navy de-
partment. The army is more than twice
as large as in 1896 and the appropriations
for the army more than three times as
great as they were II years.ago. The ex-
penses Of the navy are also about three
@inCra3 Sc ~ in he Dnrnnri1tinnS for tho
army and the navy alone are s120, 100000 a
year In excess of what they were in
1897. The inperialistic policy for which
the republican party is responsible. Is the
only excuse for this enormous and in
~cr9ea cas- drain upon the the taxpayers
fact that $4,000 new offices have been Gre
ated at an expense of 10000 900 a year. as
with salaries amounting to S6,O0O.O 900 in the
Cleveland and the Mckinley adnlinistra-
lions.
Farmers Are Hit.
While every element of our population
suffers to a greater or less extent because
of the unnecessary expenditures of the
governments the farmers have special
reason for complaint, because they pay
more than their shares of the taxes and
received less than their shares of bene-
fits which flow from the expenditure of
the corporations. Nearly all of our fed
,eral revenues excepting postal receipts are
import duties and these are taxes upon
consumption and always overburden
those of moderate means and underbur-
den the rich. If the federal taxes could
be separated from the price of the article
IN which they are concealed and each per-
sons per capita tax be shown, 1t would
be found that the federal tax now col
Iected would be. in effect. a graduated in
come tax, the largest per cent being col
lected from the small incomes and the
least per cent upon the large incomes. And
Eo asgravate the case stlll more, the APP
preparation which unfairly Expresses the
farmers is spent in cities. so that the
farmers enjoys few Indirect benefits from
the appropriations and scarcely any direct
benefits.
Why7 Two Reasons.
Way is 1T that the republican party is 8,
much more e~xtraNagant than the demo-
cratic party in the expenditure OF public
money? There are two reasons:
First, because republican leaders are
more intimately associated with the tax
caters than with the tax payers. They
hear the hungry clamor of the men who
spend money more than they do the pro-
tests of the masses who contribute rev.
.enleS.
But there is a second reason:
The republican leaders have taught The
doctrine that taxation is an unalloyed
good. They have tried to cultivate a pub
tic opinion to support the idea that tariff
taxes on the theory 'thSt even when not
needed for revenue are a direct advantage
TO the protected interests and an indirect
advantage TO the whole country. 1t is not
strange that people who considerstaxation
"a blessing would be inclined to make the
blessing as large as possible.
The democratic party is in a position to
bring reform in the matter of expendi-
lures. 1t believes that a tax is ~defensible
reduced to the lowest limits consistent
with good government. Our party is
pledged to reduction in appropriations and
to economy in every department in gov
,trnInent and our position ought to appeal
with special force TO those of our popula.
tton who are engaged in agriculture.