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Show If Victims Ilit is he t; ol Graft I AvTX,s '! J ' TAb,? A' CLEVELAND. ') R.aa.rch. 'Tl' connnon falIncy thnt it is Uic direct tax- Bl pajcrwho pays for graft and inefficient government II' iMskll -T. MnMiy and (aught by too many If L. vHfll BG 8Ccking dcnngoguc8 urging support for. officers "-' ll9V tSMI ' r fi'r orSanizatlons which have abused public trust, " Irjfi'.. JtH PU5 funds ft"a- ln'Mdrecle tho energies, of .11 L;JAJI government . by granting privileges and monopolies 1&mM for their pmato enrichment. What is lhoro to tho Dkam poiti by-provoking class feeling and stimulating "HHHH'. Prejudice, the. argument is often successful. Through , HrH dispensing., the needy a stnhll percentage of the BWUPHIBB'. ? "bjerted funds as, gratuities and as evidence of per- I i iWKtKtttM' uiterest m their welfare tho grafter lyis suc- 1 ' cceded in, holding 'himself up as a more desirable ' ' ".. citizen than tho man of wealth. In this way the i ndvoMhe victim is adroitly -led (o tho conclusion that it is the man H ' Ti- V n0t hims' w.ffcrs from political infidelity. In fact, i ' ' f . uncommon to hear men soriously assert their .belief that 11 tvM'8"ra?'to. steal from tho government. efM fo-.v? Version of rcVenuestho taking of public goods or tho theft j snd service which -arc paid for by the municipality," is a direct W Ji i!i WCak rathCr thaQ t0 4to 6tons Pcrsons of zenith can proteel W Vlifjj!1! p have tho means to securo for themselves wholesome food I Jvime.nt. Persons -lossfortunatcly situated must depend for 1 nofP n gOYCrnmenf regulation and control. Their hopo lies in ' , t'aminlBjratlon;'ana tho rnost painstaking care in tho application .of public wealth to public uses. v '? f t,i0 tdxCH ar0 derived, from wal cstuto, and taxes on real es-U es-U tatesarevusually shiftedto thdconsumer. Willi increased taxes como IS. -erese1 wntrfj with increased, rents the retail price of goods goes up. - ' 8Pcakin&- it is. ipund..that retail prices of goods ,vary directly ; as do .rents and taxes. An 'unwarranted cost of government, therefore, ;ultimatoly falls ou tho consumer rather. than on the so-called taxpayer, for tho'fatio of consumption to income decreases as individual wealth in-.creases. in-.creases. : : Aside frbk the added cost of Hying which increased taxes entail, what, is lost -by bad government and whoso loss is it? What is thc-loss , entailed on tho individual who whilo a child suffered from tuberculosis KU qi. mo. spine rand is ' left .cnpplq for life? What ia the loss entailed mi S . on a man his fan, tho;community through the fact that when a boy iff he h4. no proper educational advantages? What is the loss to one who 1 f .to-youth has been forced to lire- among the immoral and criminal, and wfo. o has become a pervert or a social outcast? What is tho distress en-4p en-4p tailed upon a family through sickness and death from preventable dis- caws? What discomfort, loss of vitnUty and lowered earning power result ffrem living in unsanitary, tenements, in dark rooms, in crowded and badly ventilated apartments? What happiness is destroyed through fear of violence or, lack of poli'cp protection in districts where tho vicious live? Who pays for tho babies who die from infected milk? Who suffer from theTgerm-laden filth of tho streets? Who aro the victims of the gambler, thp seducer, the vender of adulterated foods? fy -From any point of' view, it is noftho one who directly pays the taxes who pays directly or indirectly for the waste of public funds or the inefficiency in-efficiency of public cervice. It, is the wage-earning man or woman who is handicapped. It is the one who to-day is flattered by tho personal attention atten-tion of tho political infidel, and wlio eats a Christmas turkey which is tho gift of the despoilor, who is himself despoiled. |