St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-07-31

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upon the trust corporations and mil
li~onaires that make large contribu-
tions to the campaign fund Of the
party in power. We wonder that the
people of this country, and especially
of our Southland, who are supplied
by nature with a fruitful soil and
climate raising the great staple crops
Of sugar, cotton, rice and corn, do
net grow rich. A people, especially
an agricultural people, that produce
a surplus like ours, ought to grow
rich. But that surplus is taken from
them by the high cost of living inn
posed upon all necessary articles Of
home and farm consumption by Fed
eral tariff taxation. You produce
the surplus, but it is taken away from
you by federal taxation. You are
the wealth producers Of this country
and it is for you to see to it that
your congressman, by their influence
and votes, help to remove from your
shoulders this unjust burden of tax
alton. Put them under promise and
pledge, when they come before you
for reelection, to vote in congress to
restrict all import duties to the ne
cessities Of the government economi-
callY administered.
In connection with this subject, is
the important matter Of State taxa
ton. The State Of Louisiana is
afflicted with a multitude of officials,
and with high schedule of official
fees and costs, more SO, it is claimed,
than any State in the Union. The
simple reduction by legislative act,
by no means cures the evil, if at
the end Of the fiscal year there is a
deficiency, which must be supplied by
borrowing, and thus drawing On fu-
ture revenues and increasing the
debts Of the State. At che last ses-
sion Of the legislature, when that
body was engaged in creating new
Offices, or drawing upon the ordi-
nary revenues of the State for un-
usual purposes, it was urgently
warned that there would be a short
age of revenues. The warning was
unheeded, and now we have the public
announcement from Treasurer Steele
that there will be a deficiency of at
least $250,000; and the State will
lack that amount, or even more than
that amount to meet its ordinary ex-
p~enditures. Now let us see how lit
tie heed the majority Of that body,
representing you and me, gave to the
protest made by some of its right
thinking members. During its SEES
sion of two months, it added to the
burdens Of the people in every con-
ceivable way. It created over One
Hundred and Ninety new Offices, each
new Office adding to the burdens Of
the taxpayer. Nor does that num-
Der include the numerous officials
and employees which the new Boards
created at that session were author
lied to employ, and to fix there sala-
ries. Some Of these new acts con.
tanned the provision that the pay Of
the Offices thereby created, shall moi
be taken from the funds of the
State-but in every instance the aci
carefully provides for a new license
tax or fee to be paid by the people
salaries and fees which though moi
paid by direct draft on the State
treasury are none the less extortion.
ate and burdensome to the people
The subject, like that Of the Fedora
tariff, is too large a one to be deal
with in detail here, but | cannot
forbear commenting upon one 0r tWt
examples of the reckless manner
with which your Legislature disposed
Of the peoples money. The reckless
and altogether unjustifable mannei
in which with the consent Of tina.
body, $4,000 was paid to two at
torneys, employed by the Commission
to investigate the port conditions O
New Orleans, is q striking case il
! point, and which should receiv,
} everywhere and at all times the IN
measured condemnation Of the PEG
pie. There was appropriated for th
use Of the commission $4,000 ..
! which 500, 900 was paid as attorneys
! fees. The door was opened in th,
! original act for mourning attorney
{ fees hY the recital that it was 70