Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / April 12, 1898, edition 1 / Page 4
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Used 3ti Free OctccI Fund to Edu cate All Poor sad Rich Children Alike. CHA.PTE2 10. ., Last week I referred to the inequi , table burden of the tariff tex on the people aa now in operation. The op ponents to the protective tariff for an age have made themselves busy in efforts to abolish it without lis tening heeding its benefltqand - without any signal efforts to ad just its operations bo as to remove its evils and, if possible, increase its benefits. The voice from a great host has been, 'Down with protection P or, 'Give us free trade, for that will stop the evil." I reply, "True it will stop the inequality of that tax, but it will cubj ct our industrial people to a great cr one, by bringing them into direct competition with the jerfdom classes of imperial governments." We are not under obligations to reach out the benefits of liberty that we enjoy under fiee institutions, to those of old governments who have not yet freed themselves. O i the principle that "charity com mences at home," let us continue to protect our industrial people, but quit robbing them in the meantime. The solution that will stop this is simple and easily understood, to-wit: Cease to-pay that $300,000,000 de rived from tariff duties into the National treasury and pay it iato the public school fund of every district in the United 8tates Oee Chap. 2, Art. 3, under taxation) according to the num ber of school population in each dis trict. The industrial people, as I have stated, pay moat of this tax and it would be a boon to them and a safety to the Strte for their children to have the benefit of it in education. Suppose this be done, the query aris ee, "From whence would we derive tuo fuw,ww,uuw luv uiauo iui iuo sup port of government!" I answer, "From a system of direct graduated taxation Oeo Chap. 2, Art. a, under taxation) that will rest the burden mostly on the aggregated wealth which I have pointed out is now in the hands of one tenth of the people. Oc course this will be opposed by thoee of the rich who are selfish and unpatriotic, and by those who are narrow minded party follow era, bus it has nevei been opposed by rich or poor who love their neighbor as they do themselves and who want to practice what they preach. Among other indirect taxes is that in the shape of licenses for manufac turing. on drink, tobacco, etc., and for selling such things and practice in the professions of law, medicine, etc , etc., which when we include all in direct tax, is not below $300,000,000. This great amount, added to the tariff tax m kes an indirect tax of over $9 per capita or over $45 indirect tax for every family in the nation. The worker fee;s toe oppression, but he may not see the stealthy hand that robs him. Oc course this great sum is paid first by tne manufacturers, iicansed per sons, etc:, who, in turn collect it from the consumers and customers. It is paid by the nine tenths of the people who only own one-tenth of the wealth of the Nation. Dirc taxation, which aggregates over $300,000,000 is that revenue raised in Stales, counties, and towns by an assessed valuation and a per cent, levy of tax collected. With the ex ceptioo of the poll tax this part of our taxation is eminently the most equi table, because it re3ts the tax burden on the surplus products of industry called property, or wealth. Its only weak point, according to the demand of liberty in modern civilization is that it does not rest heavier on large ag gregations than on smaller possessions of the comparatively poor. Tne Poll Tax which is one that causes every citizen from 21 to 45 years of age to pay a fixed tax of from one to three dollars apiece regardless of any property, is an old time imperial plan of taxation and it is a disgrace to our mad era civilization. I eee it is not reported 'separately in the compen r dium of the Ninth Census. I suppose they are ashamed of it. Since commencing these chapters in January, they have had some flatter ing notices and have brought an in created personal correspondence from far and near, approving the principles and writings with but little exception. I thank all for kind words and friendly criticism, "but I cannot answer all pri vati iy, so next week I will notice the Graduated Tax Bill (3. R 3903) now before Congress and also in its con nection, a very able letter received from G r?n. Percy Daniels, who is an ex Governor and Congressman, now of Kanses. Graduated taxation has been discussed by the industrial orders fiDorovinjzly within the last ten years I remember having made a short ohnni: Bflvfin vears ago in New trculd Icrcly ccttb discontent end trouble. At tho clcco two getlemen came forward and warmly approved the, saying that they are aware that the safety of wealth either in large or small possession greatly depended upon the prosperity, contentment and hap piness of the industrial people," and that they would warmly "endorse the plan of graduated taxation as a means to that end." They farther remarked that it was 'the most sensible eolu tion of the problem they had ever heard advocated from the labor ranks." As they turned away, a friend who had introduced them said they were both millionaires. There was a large number of rich people in the meeting. This incident with other investiga tions I made in Gotham convinced me that sound principles striking at the roots of industrial oppression, honestly and persistently advocated, would get the political support of the people, both rich and poor far sooner and more substantially than would the "catch 'em a comin' an' catch 'em a goin'" policy of the "get there" trick ery of politicians. Samuel Archer. Mica, N. C. (TO BE CONTINUED ) GOVERNMENT CONTROL. OF RAILWAYS. We find an interesting article on. "A Decade ol Federal B ail way Regu lation," by Prof. Henry C. Adams, in the April Atlantic. He reviews the history of the Interstate Commerce Commission and sums up the results achieved and the present situation. Under the head "the power or- railway magnates' he says : It lies in the theory of modern so ciety that men should succeed or fail according to their abilities. As a mat ter of fact, a railway manager has it within his power, through the ma nipulation of rates, to make or de stroy; to determine which person in the community and which communi ties in the State shall attain commer cia success, and which shall struggle in vain for its attainment Suppose, for example, that one cattle dealer in Chicago is selected by a pool of railways to control the shipment of meats from Chicago to the seaboard, and that, in order to secure him this control, he receives a rate of ten per cent, less than than the rates charged other dealers; it is evident that the favored shipper will quickly destroy the business of other shippers by bid ding more for cattle than they can afford to bid. Admitting that the dis discrimination is not approved by com mon law, what remedy has the small shipper which is sufficiently speedy in its cction to rescue the business which he observes to be slipping from himf He has no remedy ; and for this rea son is it essential that discriminations of the sort referred to should be made a statutory misdemeanor, and that some special method of procedure, more rapid in its operations than an ordinary court, should be established to cause the railways to desist from their wrong doings. the future of interstate commerce, is another euject treated by Prof. Adams. It may ultimately prove to be the case, he says; that there is no compromise between public ownership and management on the one hand ana private ownership and management on the other, but one has no right to quote the ten years' experiece of the Iaterstate Commerce Commission in support of fitich a declaration. This is true because the law itself scarcely proceeded beyond the limit of suggest ing certain priLciples and indicating certain processes, and Congress has not, by the amendments passed since 1887, shown much solicitude respect ing the efficiency of the act. It is tru6, also, because the courts have thought it necsesary to deny certain authorities claimed by the commission, and Congress has not shown itself jealous for the dignity of the adminis trative body, which it created. And finally it is true because the duty of administericgbe act to regulate com merce was imposed upon tho commis sion without adequate provision in the way of administrative machinery, and ten years is too short a time to create that machinery when every step is to be contested by all the procosses known to corporation lawyers. For the pub lic the cae stands where it stood ten years ago. Nosv, as then, is it neces sary to decide on the basis of theory, and in the light of political, social, and industrial consideration, rather than on the basis of a satisfactory test, whether the railways shall be con trolled by the government without be ing owned, or controlled through gov ernmental ownership. The danger is that the country will drift into an answer of this question without an ap preciation of its tremendous significance. Ask - u'vnnrr V J! . S t ; C stren y riL5AgS?- is best try V t m jjs-'H (f- fW V ': t ! . i I 1 1 i !j I ' j M mmm d What is if brain or brawn? you clean by main gth or do you use labor Do you use the best labor i vfin nr nn1prif1ffl which. 1, Tins if. k. KAinnASit compjjjt, Chicago. &" Louis Kew York. Borton. Philadelphia. IPIl GOVERNMENT MUST CONTUOIj RAILWAYS. The merchant, the manufacturers, and the farmer, working under condi tions of industrial liberty, do not seem to require any peculiar supervision on the part of the State, for competition is adequate to insure relative justice as between custom, as well as the sale of goods at a fair price. But in the rail way industry, competition does not work so beneficient a result. On the contrary euch is its nature that it im poses upon railway managers the ne cessity of disregarding equity between customers, and of fixing rates without considering their fairness, whether judged from the point of view of cost or social results. Were this not true thero would be no railway problem. But what, it will be askedj is there peculiar about the business of trans portation which renders it superior to the satisfactory control of competition? . . . The railway industry ia an ex tensive, and not an intensive indus try. It conforms to the law of 'in creasing" returns rather than to the law of "constant1' or of diminishing" returns. This being the case, ability to perform a unit of service cheaply depends more upon the quantity of business transacted than upon atten tion to minute details. Another way of saying the same thing is that the expenses incident to the operations of a railway do not increase in propor tion to the increase in the volume of traffic. As an industrial fact, this does not pertain to the business of the manufacturer, the merchant, or the farmer, but is peculiar to the business of transportation; and it is adequate, when properly understood, to explain why all advanced people, without re gard to the form of government they may have adopted or the social theo ries they may entertain, have sur rounded the administration of rail ways with peculiar legal restrictions. The necessity of some sort of govern ment control lies in the nature of the business itself. (OFFICIAL) NATIONAL. ALLIANCE DEMANDS. Adopted at Washington, D. C, February 6, 1896, Whereas. The Declaration of Inde pendence, as a basis for a Republican form 01 (iovernment. that might be progressive and per petuaC states: "That all men are created equ.l; that they are endowed with certain in alienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happi nees; that to secure these rights, gov ernments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the governed." We hold, therefore, that to restore and preserve these rights under a Republican form of government, pri vate monopolies of public necessities for speculative purposes, wnether of the means of production, distribution or exchange, should be prohibited, and whenever any such public necessity or utility becomes a monopoly in private hands, the people of the municipality, state or union, as the case may be, shall appropriate the same by right of eminent domain, paying a just value therefor, and operate them for, and in the interest of, the whole people. FINANCE. We demand a national currency, safe, sound and flexible ; issued by the general government only ; a full legal tender for all debts and receivable for all dues, and an equitable and efficient means of distribution of this currency, directly to the people, at the minimum of expense and without the interven tion of banking corporations and in sufficient volume to transact the busi ness of the country on a cash basis (a) We demand the free and unlim ited coinage of Biiver and gold at the legal ratio of 16 to 1. (6) We demand a graduated income tax. (a) The government shall purchase or construct and operate a sufficient mileage of railroad to effectually con trol all rates of transportation on a just and equitable basis. (6) The telegraph and telephone, like the postoffiee system, being a ne cessity for tho transmission of intelli gence, should be owned and operated by the government ' in the interest of the people. LAND. We demand that no land shall be held by corporations for speculative purposes or by railroads in excess of their needs as carriers, and all lands claimed by the government and held for actual settlers only. EXEOnON OF UNITED STATES SENATORS. We demand the election of United States Senators by a direct vote of the people. That each State shall be di vided into two districts of nearly equal (c) That our national legislation shall be so framed in the future as not to build up one industry at the expensf of another. (d) We believe that the money of the country should be kept as much as possible in the hands of the people, and hence we demand that all National and State revenues shall be limited to the necessary expenses of tne govern ment economically and honestly ad ministered. (e) We demand that postal savings banks be established by the govern ment for the safe deposit of savings of the people, and to facilitate ex change. () We are unalterably opposed to the issue, by the United States, of in terest bearing bonds, and demand the payment of all coin obligations of the United States, as provided by existing laws, in either gold or silver coin, at the option of the government and not at the option of the creditor. TRANSPORTATION. now owned by aliens should be re voting population, and that Senatore from each shall be elected by the people of the district. DISTRICT LEGISLATION. Relying upon the good, common sense of the American people, and be lieving that a majority of them, when uninfluenced by party prejudice, will vote right on all questions submitted to them on their merit; and, further, to effectually annihilate the pernicious lobby in legislation, we demand direct legislation by means of the initiative and roforonrliim Eastside Poultry Yard, WALTER L. WOMBLE, Propr, RALEIGH, N. C. -lik --1 .BREEDER OF- 9 B. Plymouth Rocks, - EGGS $1.50 per t. Silver Wyanclottes, EGGS $1.50 per 13. Brown Leghorns, - EGGS $1 per IS. Black Minorcas. EGGE 50 Cents per 13. W. S. BARNES, Vh:!i:i;2 ; Frohis ; Commissios ; HercM RALEIGH, N C. Specialties: EGGS and BUTTER. Returns Promptly Made. Consignments Solicited, In writing advertisers, mention this1 paper. LJ AM WANTED. "Nicely Cured North Carolina Hams . Write us, giving sza and your lowest price. - POWELL & 00.,. FANCY GROCERS, 59 New Market Space, . Norfolk, Va. "1 Send for an A. B. C. of I Fence Making, describing VheFF Tools, which weave ithe best fenc- on earth at line very lowest cost. Also . ... 1 1 I I II III Ml Ml I J- . vyi J IIIUM). S . J. . riooatww a .juxoo, ultG 7t, I UUUA8. Mention tbis paper when you write. PEACH TREES heitu y and tai if ty no scale. Official ce- tiflcate accompanies etch shipment. Samples by ex press if wanted. On rip any t.1m. Trees kept dormant till May 10. R. S. JOHNSTON, Box S3, Stockley, Del. Mention this paper when you write. ; - EICIIIJOITD, VA. SIANUFACTUB EES AND DEALERS IN VVv IMPLEMENTS, ' ' MACHINERY. 1 i I VEHICLES, and Larsm Stock of Rapairs for GEI3EB THRESHERS, ENGINES a f u w jstKj ana ocner macninery. Write for Catalogue. In writing advertisers, mention this paper. 4 DEALER IN AGRIOTJLTTJBlLi EPLEMBITTs Seeds. Feed and Fertilizers. 1 RALEIGH, N. d. S;peoa,l-bes PEERLESS BICYCLES. NI8SEN WAGON8. HARDWARE, STOVES, DAIRY FIXTURES, FEED CU ITER 3 AND SHREDDERS HARVESTING M4.OH1NES. GRAIN D KILLS AND PLANTERS HAY PRESSES, WIND MILLS, TRED MILLS. COTTON Qltta Special Feeds Ready mixed foe Milk Cows Plans and Specifications for Barns and other Farm Buildings. Correspoj. dence solicited. Respectfully, BENJ. IEBY, 2180. PROPRIETOR In writing advertisers, mention this paper. USEFUL BOOKS. THE SECRETARY-TREASURER HAS SEVERAL USEFUL BOOKS THil SHOULD BE IN EVERY SUB-LODGE. THE NAMES AND PRICES ARE AS FOLLOWS : Secretary's Roll Book nicely arranged, new kind. . , ..S! ejzsj Record of Membership . . - .... . . . , 1 Secretary's Receipt Book, for dues, with sub. . . Secretary's Warrant Book, with stub .... . .. . .... ..lc ' Treasurer's Receipt Book, with stub . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ' Secretary's Account Book i! Treasurer's Account Book.. . Minute Book, new kind.-. . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . u Working Bulletins, (per dosen) . . . . . . . . ' State Constitutions, ' . Rituals, - " " . . . r . . . gfi . National Constitutions, 11 " . . . . . go Application Blanks, (in pads) . . . . . . . . .... . . ... . . r.. . Kxs Dunit Blanks. T Withdrawal Cards, Delegate Credentials. Fraternally, CI II J. T. B. HOOVER, RftoV-Treaa N. O. JT. EL A.. Hilihoro, K C. $1.00 for one Year. ALLIANOEMIH OHLY Are BepsM to Read This ! If you are a Simon pure, dyed in-che-wool Allianceman, and have the good of the grand farmers' or ganization at heart, you will exert every effort within your power to build it up. 1 The orn) lis Progressive Fanner progressive Farmer (your organ) IS the" Alliance Organ of N. C. stands in the breach battling the ene mies of the Alliance, and it expects every Alliancpman to rally around the standard. Conscripts, Cowabds and Traitors are not wanted. They have already crippled our cause by desert ing our ranks for office and social standing. We bear your banner, Al liancemen, and we claim your support. WE DON'T ASK MUCH. Let every Allianceman in North Carolina send a club of subscribers and by August, 1898, we will have 20,000 names on our subscription list. Picnics, Alliance rallies, Sub. and County Alliance meetings are the places to raise clubs. Try it. One Year for $1.00. The Alliance Organ of N. C. is The Progressive Farmer. WAR IS DECLARED. ( H Of course you want ALL the news and you want it quick war or no war. .f You can't do without the i Thrice-a-Week New York World. I (every other day). It contains all the war nwa and is as good as a city daily. lnmk of it. We send you thia great paper, 24 pages a week, and the People's Party Paper, every week, both from date for 40 weeks for one dollar 40 weeks is almost a ?arL, 1 fou Prefpr yu cm substitute for the World the World the Ssmi Weekly Detroit Free Press, or Weekly Cincinnati Enquirer. Send Mjney Order at once. - NATIONAL PAPER CLUB, ATLANTA, Ga.
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 12, 1898, edition 1
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