The Washington herald., 1914-07-05

u
than Mr.. Underwood says the present law
has prodnced- There would. however;
have to be deducted %, 10000 revenue on
imported iicnor and tobacco, II Congress
wrote your Kansas morals into the rev.
enue laws and that would reduce the
amount TO s657 900. or about $50, 0oo
short Of enough TO run the government.
Then Congress might give the income tar
another boost to meet the deficit"
what the Theory La.
..see here, young man" said the man
from Kansas. syou are mighty clever
with figures. but you have revolutionary
doctrines about taxation. Don't you know
that the theory of this government II TO
raise its revenues by taxes on the for
elgner who wants TO come here and sell
mis- goods, and by taxing the men who
make whisky and beer and grow tobaccoG
Those things are not necessities. They
are luxuries and the people who use
them should be made to pay all the traf-
nc will bear This Is peoples govern
ment. Of the people. for the people and
by the people, and tell you, sir. the
people win never submit to being taxed
on what they produce from the farm. the
factory. and the mine. There would be
a revolution In Kansas II the govern
ment undertook to tax what we raise and
sell, in the way of farm products. And
the other men in the shops and mines
would rebel II you taxed their wages.
It is the most revolutionary doctrine I
ever heard. Let the men who drink
champagne and whisky and beer. and
smoke cigars, and wear fine clothes and
diamonds from abroad pay the taxes.
Those things are all luxuries and should
be taxed to support the government Of
the people Them's my sentiments! That
doctrine OF yours won't go In Kansas"
1T is not my doctrine" replied the
New Yorker 'T thought you were pro-
hibitionist. and that Kansas had prohibi-
ton laws to prevent the sale Of whisky
and beer. and that your school-teachers
taught that tobacco Is a poison. that the
tariff should he reduced, and that the
people should be taxed on their incomes
have been trying to see how We are go
ing TO run the government on your plan.
This is a Kansas plan. only supplied
the figures, made the calculations"
Hang your Kansas pian." shouted
the man from the Sunower State. ut Is
only an idea, anyway. We are entirely
satisfied with the present revenue system.
I'll go back home and tell the boys to
quit talking about national prohibition
and income taxes. Why, bleeding Kansas
would be bloody from the Kaw 10 the
Colorado line. IL the government here in
Washington tried to collect an income
tax from the farmers You fellows down
here must not take Kansas too seriously.
Kansas Has Some IDEAS.
You see We talk politics eighteen hours
out of the twenty-four, winter and sum-
mer We have started n lot OF political
ideas, for we've had Mary Ellen Lease.
John P. St John. and Senator PETER in
he Nd aff hatsa ITfIIfarn Allan
White. Joe Bristow, and Victor Murdock.
and other great geniuses out there. Pro-
hibItion is just one of our Kansas ideas.
1t helps to make Kansas talked about.
and we'd like to see some Kansas idea
adopted by the Federal government just
so we could point TO II and say. 1T is
Kansas idea But II it's going to change
our revenue system and make us pay
what these liquor fellows pay-S250, 900 OGo.
did you say?-why. We'll let the matter
rest right where II is. BY heck, won't
the Kansas boys DPen their eyes and
their mouths, too. with a howl, when !
tell them Congress thought we were IN
earnest about paying this money BY a
general income tax. We are a mighty
smart people in Kansas and we get n
earnest about some things, but you just
tell Wall Street We don't care the snap
of your finger about national prohibition
mot at the price OF s-JJ,uO,VO- Lei the
fellows who like 10 drink and smoke
continue TO pay the bills.
did you say these whisky soaks' were
paying our pensions? Well, I guess that
takes the stain out OF the flag, for there
would have been no nag but for the Old
soldiers, and thousands of them would
have been in the poorhouse but for the
pensions. We boast that We have no use
for poorhouses in Kansas. but / expect
that S1O.OOO.0OO you say Uncle Sam nays
to the pensioners in Kansas, has some
thing to do with the condition. I'm going
home to talk about something else than
making the whole country as dry as
Kansas. and it isn't arid out there now
when you get down to Wichita and
Leayenworth and even the Capital at
Topeka The boys will get something TO
drink even in prohibition Kansas and
guess most of IT does not pay any taxes,
either
So the man from Kansas learned more
about the government in one short visit
with a New York man than he had
learned from all the political speeches
he had ever heard in Kansas.