Political Topics

The present government was foundcd on a batred of unjust Uxtlon. When the tea vas tippel luto Hostoii harbor It vas a cotice to u tjrant ihat be had gone too f ar. He was du ola-fasbioned Oerman, who believed bis ■nbjecla wers bis chlldren. Hls ministers iDliibt tax thein irrlcvously, but thelr love for li in na u fnttaer ciuirht to 'endure tbrough It IL '1 bus win n George Washington, Jobn Adama mi il Thomas Jifferson bad arranged i huir iihii pi ui ol siatc, and one of tbe great trio had set out for l.ondon to pay tbe rei pecU oi tbc United States to tbe cóurt of St JttUl6Bi we Mud !!h: kinir deepty distressed that Lu must f vc au uudience to one of the bail chil'lren wboiu a chgsteiilng provldeuce b'l not iviTiiiitti-d him to bang In tbe good unclent way. Vianv yeai'8 later we read Sydney Smitb's (ilsrourae on the Arcadian slmpllcity of thls ram.: gLiveiimnnl. Sucb cbeapuess of tbe mint: c ass be could scarcely eoncelve. "ThcT president,11 be saya, "recelves ooly it5,u(0 Engllsh. There Is no court at all." l'ii-csi'h. Tbe Amerlcau government, at tbat date, was run at tbe least posslble expense. The eott In ibe Inhabitant íor comforts In which be dld nol d.rectly particípate was binall bt-youd comparison wltb the cost In the irieat kliiï'iuun ui the world. It is true tbat no hm.-Uh rut nf the old countrles could tolérate tbe neveiïlk'8 of a republican existcmr, but aristócrata were ot wauted. Thomas delTui&ou rode to the white house horseback, and scraped tbe mud off bis own boots- an act Ihat would have sbocked the Arthur cabluet of ihSl lnto an immediate crisis. Tbe nailon spread out into that vast free world h bieb Thomas Jefferson gare to posterIty. Tbe tax levy graduaily rose to the awful sum of (50,0j0 UOU, ten times what tbc good fathers would have bad It. But wlth unexampled prospcrlty we bad not failed to attract the attentlon of other peoples. The Krench, i struggllng for freedom, had committed all tyrannies in her name. Tbe acribes of Great Brltaiu had eudured a journer In the aalt seas to inake sport of us. llis Koyal Higbness, the Prince of Wales, had deigned to vlait wbat we then already called the Great Republic. The war carne on. The uatlon gave a convulslve elïort. To escape the annrehy which feil on medieval France we Biened all nn-n's mortgaees. The levy tbat bad been ten times as large as the fathers bad prescribed was now made one hundred times as large. In one year we raised (519,000,000 bv taxation and spent tl,299,0UO,0O0, the war belng over. Thls was on Federal not local account. Twenty years have passed slnce the postmartlal years of 18Ö3 and 1866. But In those twenty years the wbole populatlon secms to hve aaopted tbe mos; vlcious politlcal economy eTer taught on carth. The natlon that once taxed the least now taxes tbe most To obtaln $200,000,000 or dut es, it allows email classes of men to collcct uot less than $1,000,' 000,000 of subsidies. Wltb these subsidies and tbe monopolies rendered possible uuder the protectlou system, private ecbemes of taxation have been set up until a banker's ledger would not bold tbe varinus taxes, public and private, whlch every wage-earner must meet. The furv wlth which taxes were paid wbeu tbe Union was at stake bas been 'brei In tbc blood of tbe present gencration. The wagc earuer bas encouraged the Spartan tpiriL He Is taxed f6.33. ol Federal levy for each of hls {amily, wheres Thomas Jeffersan taxed him (2 per capita . XUe state, county, city, acbool, and paiks each levy a tax. Licenses and inspectlons add to tbc burden. And, such is tbc general temper, any band of private fpeculators can oDtain public or quasigovernmeutal franchises, and levf what ther pleaac, whica will be eagcraly paid. In addition to these grleyous wrongs, associatlous of dealers have cavte blunchc in custom to meet and devisu ineaus of private robbcry. Thus tbe eoal dealers are able, at last, to charge $8 for coal ihat once sold for (4, and tbere does not rise up oue man lu a mullan to tip tbe tea into tbc barbor, as a braver generation once risked their lives to do. The wage-earner wlll pay nll levics made upon him by public or private corporations. When hls wagea will uot meet iheselevles, he has but one remedy. He will strike. We may tbus behold Americana forced to this Ignoble end: dealers may bire a hundred men as railroaders. The men strike and are out a inonth, winning a raise of a dollar a mouth for s!x inonths. Each man buros slx tonsof coal. Tbe employer raise the price a dollar a ton. The men pay tbe lncreascd pnce cheeríully. What have the men to show savo their "victory" for the time tbey lost? What is thelr victory? The right to paf the coat men the gains of tbe strike. 8ucb Is tbe Bituaiion. Tbe people of America, foundlng tbelr government on resistancc to taxation, have become the worst taxed natlon on carth. Hcre all people give noticc tbat tbcy intend to rob all otbers, and ■11 robbers are welcome to rob. Tbe result is the dogma that a tax is a blessing. No ordlnary wage-earner bas enough lald by to bury hls dead. If he had, the coal ring, the ugar ring, the pension ring, tbe oll ring, and 4,000 otber rlugs would "revise their schedulea."- Chicago Iferald. Tlio Issue, Both candidates for the presldency had 'Somethlng to say on the Fourth of July. Benjamin Harrison was formally notified ol hls nominatlon at Chicago. The chalrmanol the coDTentlon, Mr. Estee, was chairman of the commlttee, cbarged wlth the formal duty of conveylng to Mr. Uarrlsou Information o! bis sucecss. He said among otber thlngs tbat the platform adoptcd by tbe national republltan conven tlon marked with clearness and precisión tbe creed of the party. What thal platform is the public knon's. It cronounces lu favor of preserving high-tarlft taxation upon the necessarles and comforts of exlsteuce, even if It become necessary to abolisb tbe tax on Intoxlcants. It wotild bave tbe tax on tobáceo removed and commlts itself to tne obviously impracticable suggestion of rellevlng from tax alcohol usen In the arts. Liberal expeuditure is relied upon to dlsslpate the surplus. Tbe consumer of whisky and tobáceo may bave relief, but the purChaser of clothlng, blankets, lumber, salt, and a tbousund and one useful artlcles must ■tlll pay tribute- In small part to the Uniled Btatei, in lavge part to a ísvored class. A policy of tax reductlon however slight Is stlg■natized as free tradc. Mr. Harrisou replied that he bad altead ir examlned tho platform wlth some care anil lts dcclarations are In barmony wlth hls views. The chairman bad alluded to the restrlctlon of Chinese imtnlgratiou. That, too, was In harmony wlth tbe views of the senator wbo ■lx years ago argued agaiust the restrictlou of Cblnese immlgratlon. Mr. Cleveland spokc not In person, but by letter addrrssed to the sacbem of Tammany, a socletr tbat for nearly a ceutury has made It a polnt to celébrate lndependeuce day. Mr. Cleveland sald that tbe people are not fuïly enjoylng the beneñts of a democratie form of government when they are uunecessarlly burdened and tbeir earulngs and incomes are uselessly dlmlnlshed under the pretext of governmental support. It Is their rlght to demand ihat the cost of covernment sball be llmlted by frugallty. "And yet," says the president, wbo but repeats the idea of the message addressed to congress last December, "a useless and daneerous surplus In the national treasury tells no otber tale but extortlon on the part of the government and perversión of tbe people's intention." ! "In the mldst of our Impetuous enterprlse and blind confldence In our destlny It Is time to pause and study our condltlon. It is no soouer appreclated than the convlctiou must follow that tbe tribute exacted from the people should be dlmlnisbed. The theorles wbleb cloud tbe sub.iect, ml6-leadlng honest men, and appeal to lelflsh iuterests, whtch decelve the undcrstanüinu', makc tbe reform whlch should bo easy a diflicult task. Although those who propose a remedy for present evils have always been the friends of American labor, and though tbey declare Ihelr purposes to furlhcr.its interests In all thelr cfforts, yet tbosc wbo oppose reform attempt to dlsturb our worklngmen by the cry tbat thelr wants and tbeir emplovment are threatened. They advocate a system whfcb beneftu cerlaln classes of our citizens at tbe expense of cverv boiischolder In the land - a aystem whlcb breeds discontent because it iiermits the duplicntlon of wealth without ciirrespondlng additionul recompeuse to labor, whlcb prevints the opportunlty to work bf silfllnsr production and limlting the area of tbc markets, and bich enhances the cost of living beyond the laborer's hardeariii-d wapres." These dlfferlnir utterances of tbe candidates, llke tbe declaratlons of the party platforms, ludiente the real Issue of the cam palen. The question is one of llticher or lo er taxation on the line or the tarift. Further, to emphasize tbe isrue, actlon must bo had In coneresg upon tbe long-pending Mills blll, whlch is a measurc not of free linde as falsely represcutc.l but of moderate tarift reductlon. The democratie party in congress lias been absurdly dllnlory In pushine tbis bilí to a linal vote. Hnving a raiiiority It should have forced the flghllng. Offering a blll is a promlsc; passing it is a performance. Politlclaus are judged not bv tbelt ords but by lhéir acis. The promlse of tlio democratie party that It will reform tbc tariff, thougb repcatedly made, lias never vet been redetin - ed. Il sincerity will be judged by the outcome of the pending blll In tbe house eontiiiniriL' a democratie majorlty If in earnest It will basten the conclusión. If it bas been trilling witb the country the manifo'd ylrtues of lts leader, the president, will not save It 'rom popular contempt.- Chicago 'J'ima. The TnrlfT the Only Issue. There is but onc Issue In tlic present Presidential contest, aud luit is whether the war tariff shal) continue or wbether It shall be modlfled so as to just meet the requiremenU of govermnental revcnuc. Tliat It Is un(jiial and unjust was admltted by the re.-uhlican party in couveution In 1HS4, and .bat party tbeu promlsed to correct lts inequallties. Une would UiluK that tbls admission, solemuly made ut a great conventlou of the party, would cstop rcpubllcans lrom liTiivinir tbat the tnrlil needs revisión, but what do we see? Not only npposltion to the moderate meunurc of reform kuown as the Milla bilí, but a declaratioD made In convention that the tarltl needs no revisión, and that It must be maiutalued at cvery coat, no matter what may be Ihe burdens placed on the people. That tuero Is au immense and constantly rowing surplus in the treasury caused by onerous laniT aml international taxallon,and tbat tuis is a great evil, is admltted by everybody not a republiean platform-maker. That taxatlon must bc rcdueed is also wldely admitted. Probably nobody would say that It Is a good thlng to pile up mouey In the United States treasury, taken from the people, and kept out of tlie cuanncls of trade. Apart from the mischlef thla doses to business generally, it also offers a vast temptation to unEcrupulous legislators tosquander the money on every kind of extravagant scbeme. It is a constant allureineiit to rubbers and a menace to every rigbt principie of government. Congress bas enttre power over It, and can speud it in every kind of foolisbness. Congressmen can (live It away, as dally they are trylog to do. They can if they choose glve every offleer, civil or military, a pension. They can spend the money througb coinmlssions In trylng uil Liuds of experimenta. They can eppropnate miilions of dollars in a arallway to tbe inoou. Tbis is the ever-preseut temptation. Tbe money Is in tbe treasury; the people bave paid it in; why not speud it, not for tbe benefit of tbe people, for tbat Is lmpossible, bul In all soris of wild-cat experimenta and cbemMi Now, nobody would dream of any oí these wild projects if after they were voted tbe money bad to be ralsed to meet them. For tbls Is tbe true condltiou of a popular government, to raise money from tbe people only for the actual needs of the goverument. W'hen more Is ralsed then the people are taxed excessivel.y and uujustly. In a good government a surplus sliould ever exist for more tban a year, because a surplus Is due to tbe same kind of mlscalculatlon as a deficit would be. Tbe ratc of taxation has been mii-judired, but it sliould be corrected at the earl.est possible moment A surplus Is a greater evil tban a deficit, for tbe reason that tbe money is already exacted from the people, aud Is in danger of being squandered. Wheuever there is a surplus then honesty in statesmanshlp requlres tbat taxatlon be reduced until the surplus dlsappears, and the income oí tbe goverument is made exactly commensuratc witli its wants. Money is raised for the government by two different systems. One by custouis dutles, a certaln rate of taxatlon beiug placed on lmportntions. Tbis Is the tarilï The other Is by internal or direct taxatlon, a certain rate of taxes bcing levied, mainly on whisky and tobocco. The democrats say tbat in reducing tbe surplus the custom house dutles shoald be lowercd a sinall percentage, and some of tbe taxes taken off dome&tic tobáceo. The republicans say tbat all tbe taxes shculd be removed from tobáceo, and, ratber tban lowering tbe tarilï dutics at all, the taxes sbould be entirely taken from whisky. In otber word, they are in favor of free whisky and free tobáceo ratber than of lower prlced clothlng, fuel and necessarlcs. Tbis Is the plain and unmistakable Issue of the present campalgn. Cbeap whisky meaos an lncrease of drunkennoss. "Cheap clothlng; means greater comfort for tbe poor. fiow lonz can honest men halt between these oplnionsl - Chicago Berald. The Irou-AVorKers' Los. Folitlcal platforms have evldently not as much lnfluence as they ought to bave on tbe cmployers of Iron-workers. The fact that the eapitalists conclude that It is better to shut down tbelr milis than continue production at present prices is anything but au ald to the bigb-tarlff principies set forth In tbe republlcan pronunciamento begolten at Chicago. Without entering into the tarIS agitation at all, manufacturera of experience will, If they are honest, acknowledge that they bave passed througb depresslons sucli as now eiist wltb whlch rcducltons In tbe tariff havenothlng to do. These depressions have in two marked lnstances slnce tbe close of the war thrown hundreds of thousands of men out of employment, Tbey bave also caused loases to capitalista througb glutting tbe market wlth a product which must be consumed at a great loss. But the worlclngmen In the seasons of shuttiug down are the greater sufferers. Tbe proprietors may sustain some loss, bnt wben wages ccase tbe wage-earners lose all tbat tbey are aecuatomed to depend upon. The oost, time considered, of finding new employment, or perhapa of learnlng a new trade, more than eountei balances, all thlngs eousldercd, any excess over common wuges toer may bave received. We do not bear tbat sueb men as Mr. Carnegie are overeóme by tbe cbange in the tide. They can shut don, unless they have been very lmprudent, without anything worse tban tbe mere loss of interest on plant. Let wage earners tblnk who are the main beneficiarles by the high dutles on Iron, remembering all tbe time tbat competltion for labor, imported or otberwisc. depends upon the supply aud not upon tbe tariff. - New York World. Echoën of the ( ninpaln. "I believe," Mr. Cleveland wrote in tbe message accompanylng the veto of a private pension blll sent in Frlday last, "tbat if the veterans of tbe war knew all that was golng on In the way of granting pensions by private bilis, they would be more dlsgusted than auy other class of our cltizcns." In an Interview the other nigbt Tburman sald: "Had Blalne been nomina ted the chances for democratie victory on the Pacific slope might have been lessened, for be hal many frlends out tüere. You sec, we two lougbt the Chinese Immigratlon act in tbe senate, and, in fact, ere the only two to make pronounced speeches on it The? will always remember us.'' The Omaha World tbus bolls down Ingalls' now celebrated letter of advice in regard to tbe república notnlnec: "Avoid those of jour party who have records; records are awkward; select an unknown man, and for second place put on a man who can usure tbe largest amount of money out of tbe gamblers of Wall street and the great tariff protected manufacturen of tbe east." The New York Commercial Aduerliser, which bas alwavs been a republiean paper, ays that II:irrison's nomluation was made for "availabllity." It also says that Morton was Dominated "in obedieuce to the motive whlch prompted Seiiator Ingalls to suggest the selection of souie fellow like Pbelps, of New Jersey, who could reach the conservativa power of the East, and get contrlbutlon from the manufacturéis and Wall treet" Of tbe Indiana situation on tbe Washington Oritic says: There may bo some votef for lilm as tbe grandson of President Harrlson, but that Is doubtful iu this practical age. He will poll tbe regular party vote, but I not 1 ki'lv to gal the support of any of the element whiehso stiwi'ssf ully opposed the party noralnec In 1HS1. Indiana, however, 1 ulvvavs a close and doubtful state, and if the republicana nomínate ex-Oovernor Porter for goveruor, the result there c innot bo foretold by tbe most expeiienced politcian. Mr. Low Is only one of many thousands of Intelligent, patriotic men, says the New York Commercial AdvertUn; wbohave grown up a republicana and bave been earneet supporter of tbat partv upon convietion, but who begiu to see clearly that their party bas suumltted ltself to a false and datigerous leadership and turned to the wortblp of the strange goils of monopoly and class privilege, while tbe npposlng part?, prollting by tbe discipline of defcal, has at last been led by the patriotic band of the president Into better wavs. Tbo Indlauapolla Sentind bas been interviewing tbe Chinese of tbat cltr with lefi'ience to Ibelr feelings toward (ieiieral liarrlson. Pan Yin, an educated Celestial, savs: "I do not like to talk about sucb questions, as I eannot vote. But If I could vote I would vote for Ueneral liarrlson. He has always treated ;lie Chinese klndly and we like liin V'-rv miieli. 1 knew (ieueral liarrlson very Vtv'.l I liave been to bis home severa! times and lie ahvHvs treated me kindty. He paid to me one dxv iltat lie alvvays liked ttitt Chinese; Ihal Ili'-ynre ■ Rood deal better ii'opii' iIihii Hu In b, lintivto u il 1 ut aït ,bg time 1 dcin't Uw Jj-lah,"