The Washington herald., 1915-10-18
A False Note Of Alarm.

Mr.. Bryan has been travelling through the South
and West and says that he found the people COM
planning of taxes and fearful that the adminstra-
ton would surrender to the jingoes, create a
big army and navy and increase the tax burden.
Mr.. Bryan must have apsed into the dreamy
past in this interview, to time when his favor
lite Shrek of alarm that the Republicans
were taxing the people to death for tbs benefit
of the tariff barons. He evidently forgot for
the moment that his party, largely through his
influence had removed a large part of the tariff
taxes, placing sugar, coal, humber, WOOL iron and
steel, agricultural implements, print paper and
many other ncccssarics the free list. 1t is
true that removing the tax did not make coal
lumber, sugar, iron and steel, wooden clothing
any cheaper to the ultimate consumer. but it
did remove the old cause of Mr.. Bryans COM
plant against the Republican tariff as great
and unjust burden the plain people for the
benefit of the protected industries.
Mr. Bryan may have heard the people in
the South and West complaining of the tax burdep
put upon them by their own States, counties and
towns, but if, in their ignorance, they complained
Of Federal taxation he should have shown them
the of their complaint and taken to himself
the credit for wiping out many tariff taxes even
though he also had 10 assume some responsibility
= time. not long ago. when the larger part OF Fed
cral revenues came from the tariff on imports and
Mr. Bryan able to make many people believe
that they paid these tariff taxes to the protected
manufacturers in the East But that time has gone
by. Last year Uncle Sam received S2oo,ooo 900
from the custom-houses, or only about ne7thrrd
of his revenues from the iniquitous tariff. The
other two-thirds, amounting to S4I5ooo,ooo came
from internal revenue taxes and the Commission
or OF Internal Revenue has, in his report definitely
located the places where these taxes were paid.
If Mr.. Bryan had looked over that report he could
have shown his old ncighbors in Nebraska and his
old friends in other Western and Southern States
that they needlessly alarmed for they did
not contribute very heavily to the support of the
Federal government last year. The 100000
people in Nebraska paid less than 100000 in
tcrnal revenue; the nearly 100000 people in
Kansas paid only 100000. and the 100000
people in South Carolina paid less than $780, oo
or less than one-third the amount paid by the
100000 people in the District OF Columbia. Leav
ing out Kentucky in the South, and Missouri and
California in the West, all the States below the
old Mason and Dixon line and all beyond the Mis-
sissippi River did not together contribute
than $6o,ooo,ooo of this Federal revenue. while
twelve big industrial States paid S335ooo,ooo OF
these taxes.
Mr.. Bryan should not allow his old Granger
friends to continue their worries about an increase
in Federal taxes to put the country in state of
defense Even the restoration OF the duties on
sugar and wool, the continuance OF the emergency
war taxes banks, beer and wine, an increase
in the income tax, would not seriously affect them.
Since Mr.. Bryan's free trade policies have been
put into effect, thrcc-fourths of all the internal
revenue taxes have been paid in the States where
the Changers hereditary enemies, the protected
live, and from the complexion OF
the new Congress this inequality in taxation is
not likely to be remcdied. The farmers still have
their friends in Congress and Mr.. Bryan ought to
help them to understand that they have been
most etfcctually protected against the Federal
tax gathcrcr, even though the word protection"
may have ah'Hnplcasant sound 10 the great apostle
Of free raw material