The Washington herald., 1914-07-05

This is a mighty expensive govern
ment," said the man from Kansas. after
he heard Oscar Underwood tell the House
that the new tariff law had raised Nss.-
OooO00 in the fiscal year. Why, do you
know that is SIS a head for every man.
woman. and child in the country, or
cents a day for each OF us to keep the
government going? 1 have six children
and that makes Is cents a day for my
family or 1854 a year for my share OF
the government expenses. That takes
good steer from my farm every year TO
nav my taxes to Uncle Sam. In addition
to the taxes have to pay in Kansas. !
tell you the burdens these poliucians
are puttinG on the farmer are getting
mighty heavy, and the first thing you
people in Washington know there VIII
Be another uprising in Kansas IKE we
had twenty years ago, when the Populists
made every day like funeral. with Mary
Ellen Lease preaching the sermon and
Senator PETER acting the part OF Father
Time. warning the politicians that their
-time was up and they were ready for
thesharvest.
1T won't do to put all these burdens
on the plain people and especially the
farmers who are the only real proouc-
ers tilling the land and raising bread
and meat to feed the people who hve
in the cities and consume their time IN
trying to cheat each other, when they
are not sitting around the clubs ana par
rooms drinking and smoking and con-
tTtbntinr nothing to the support Of the
rpyernment. How long do you think the
farmers of the West are going TO put up
With that sort of thing? We are sober
industrious people in Kansas we pro-
hibit the sale of whisky and beer ana
we teach the children IN the puOiie
schools that tobacco is poison Just the
same as strychnine. So II wont oe IONS
before the sale Of tobacco will be pro-
hfl1fted the same as alcohol, In haEsas.
We are the reforners of the country. ana
we are not going TO allow the old vices
Of the East TO take root there TO MAKE
the peopIe idlers, destroy their minus
and bodies and make them nt only lot
the iails and asylums. But we can
support the whole country, we iar
IN Kansas. Just-th think Of my having 10
give M a fat steer every year to the
1overnment here in Washington! It's
worse than the old days when Heroa
robbed the people"
Where the Money Comes From.
.sHaye YOU contributed your fat steer
this year?" asked the man from Ne"
York
.sweII. didn't send a fat steer to
President Wilson, but 1 guess l paid my
S5Se to. the tax gatherers. There are
less than 100 600 900 people in this country
and IL we paid S73S,OOOO0O in taxes that
would be $7.S3 a head or $3.50 Tor my
wife, six children and myself. Ihat Is
the price of fat steer, and the govern
ment got the steer, didn't II!
THAT depends" replied the man from
New York Il see Mr.. Underwood says
that $3.50 900. 600 Of these taxes come from
customs, duties on foreign goods ana
most of that was collected IN New 1orh'
from the importers. The government
collected about SlZ.VoOOo on Liip %I.s.-
chemicals go. ,OO0 on fancy glass
ware from Germany and fancy china
from France, SJoO0OOO on sugar from
Cuba and other countries, SS,OOO,OOO from
inported tobacco. 81, 200 from import
ed wines, whisky and beer, SSSoOoOo
from imported provisions from canaan
and other countries, 81, 100000 from i'm
norted woods. $l4OO0.eoO from imported
siIjxs. and so on. Did you pay any o.
these taxes
sSWeII don't know which ones. My
wife don't wear silk gowns, nor ou'
foreign glassware nor French china w"
can't afford these luxuries. l dont wear
foreign made woolen cloth. Home spun
Is GOOD enough for me. / never used to-
bacco. for it's a poison. and We nave
prohibition in Kansas, so OF course l
didn't buy any of that French cham
,sgne German beer OF Scotch whisky.
6ouzht about SO worth of sugar ana
a little binding twine, to beat the trust
but not much
well. then. you didn't contribute much
of the sss2 100000 collected in customs
duties, did your
.sWeI. perhaps not. But that's only
sssa a head or 1886 that I'll deduct
from the $5S64, leaving my taxes $So-zS or
coupIe of fat hogs. 1t amt as big as
figured, but it's too much. why
should a Kansas farmer send couple
of fat hogs to Washington every year:
iust ike the Jews sent them TO Herod:
Gets n Pension Too.
'.Just wait a minute said the New
York man, as he took out his pencilz-'Mr.
Underwood says the government collected
S3oe. 100000 internal revenue. You know,
that comes from the taxes on whisky
beer and tobacco. The government taxes
whisky SI.10 a gallon, and last year got
Sl6s. .OOo, coo from that. or more than enough
TO pay the pensions to the old soldiers
It got SCI, 600 from beer, 100000 from
imported wine and beer, SI5.0O0.0CO from
internal revenue on tobacco, and S25,OO'-
900 from the tax on imported cigars
cigarettes, and Havana tobacco. The
whisky drinkers paid the pensions. the
smokers supported the-army, and the
drinkers of beer paid s66, 100000. to which
well add the 900 for imported wine
and beer. making $S3, ,0oO0 900, or enough to
build eight battleshlps for the navy. So
there is $34s. 10000 paid by the men who
drink, smoke, and chew. You wear q