The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-06-18

democratic administration, bottomec
principally upon demand OF the mass
es of consumers for a revision of tariff
duties so that the various articles which
we buy every day may become cheaper
Since the democrats are now in contro
of the whole legislative machinery. lei
US hope that they will not allow the re-
vision pendulum to swing too far back
the other way. We have got TO have
tariff duties on g. great many thing:
that We consume, but the idea is tc
place these duties mostly on luxuries
and not on the necessities OF life. Free
trade is only a theory, and not prac'
tical policy of government 10 our coun'
try. Leaving upsaid ANYTHING about the
free doctrines which used to spring ur
way back in the early days OF the past
century and of which we read in his
torV. l remember that in more recent
years, probably twenty years ago, there
was free trade wave which gained
considerable headway in the country,
championed by Roger Q. Mills, con-
gresham from Texas.
1t can easily be seen that when the
democrats cut down the tariff on all ar.
ticles imported into this country, it will
reduce the revenue of the national
treasury by millions of dollars. This
deficiency must be met in the same
way, and the plan is to pass an income
tax, or Il tax on all incomes above a
certain amount. This is proper the
ory of government. the idea being to
make the burden Of supporting the
government bear to some extent upon
all, but let the burden bear more heav-
lily upon those best able to bear it. We
had national income tax about fifteen
years ago, by which all persons whose
incomes exceed four thousand dollars
per year paid tax 70 the national gov
ernment, graduated by scale upward.
but the act was set aside by the supreme
court of the United States because there
was no provision or foundation for such
legislation iu the United States Consti-
tuition. Within the past two years, and
during the Taft administration, the
constitution has been amended. allow
ing the enactment of an income tax
law. and while this amendment is the
product of the republican administra
ton, the democrats will be the first 10
put it in real force, and an income tax
provision is part Of the Underwood
tariff revision measure which has al
ready passed the lower house of con-
gress and is now in the senate. | want
to discuss this income tax question lat
er, as I have some views on it which l
have never discussed in print, and |
want to make some predictions which l
think will come TO pass in the next
twenty or thirty years.
When Mr.. Underwood and his coul-
mittee came to draft the bill which he
has since introduced and had passed
through the house, then there were
many important questions TO m t.
Take the question OF the tariff duty on
sugar. Many of Us can remember only
about thirty years ago, when sugar was
actually more of luxury right here in
Clarendon county than it was q neces-
sitv. There are some few scattering
people who use very little sugar now.
but thirty to forty years ago scarcely
half the masses of the people in our
county here in the south used sugar.
And when they did it was usually low
grade of sugar. cheap brown grade.
But not so now. Practically everybody
uses sugar now, and they ell want gran
ulated or refined sugar, whether 1t
really is or not, vet sugar has come TO
be considered one of the necessities Of
every day living. The tariff duty which
the government has been receiving
from the refined. but mostly unretiued,
sugar products from Cuba, the Hawaiian
Islands. and other tropical places, has
amounted to a great deal The sugar
cane growers in Louisiana have been in
strumental in keeping this duty up. to
shut out competition against them and
consequently there has been great
fight on the sugar question. But Mr..
Underwood and his co-tari'f laborcrs
have come To the conclusion that since
sugar is such an important article in
our diet. that sugar must eventually
get on the free list for the benefit OF
the great masses who have to buy 1t,
and have therefore reached a plan OF
placing sugar on the free list after three
years. But l want to call the attention
OF your readers to this:
II the government has been keeping
a tariff duty of three fourths OF cent
or one cent per pound, on all import
sugar, which is approximately the sug-
ar tariff, and we pay seven cents per
pound for sugar, and use mostly Amer
lean sugar. which We do, then we are
not paying the bulk OF that extra one
lent per pound into the government
after all. Then you ask, where does it