“Every person who buys at his store pays part of it. The price on his goods must be such that after paying all expenses--fuel, oil, damage of goods, insurance, interest, taxes, etc.--he must have some left for his labor, or else he cannot continue business and live. Now, we can all see, even the dullest, that if there were no taxes to be paid this merchant could reduce the price of his goods and still have as much left for his labor as when he paid taxes; and if he, under these conditions, would not reduce the price, _others_, by means of competition, would. Thus, you see that every person, even the poorest, who purchases at his store pays part of the taxes on the merchant’s goods and on his lot and store building--that is, if the purchasers produce what they consume; if not, the actual producer pays it, for an infant, a disabled person, a pauper and a social parasite have only that which they have received from the actual producer. The hand of productive labor pays for all, and that hand, as a rule, belongs to the poor man. “Thus you see, upon examination, that your present belief that the rich man pays most of the taxes is as much an illusion as the belief in the ‘divine right of kings,’ the right to hold slaves, the remission of sins by fasting, etc., formerly was, and still is to a large degree. The fact is, that no one but a _producer_ can pay, and, as a rule, your producers are not rich. Therefore, nearly all the taxes, as well as all other costs, are ultimately paid by the comparatively poor persons. So on this point, too, the poor man is ‘left,’ as you term it.” “I know,” said Rev. Dudley, “there is a great deal said and preached about poverty, toil and poor people nowadays. I am also fully conscious of the fact that there are many industrious persons pinched by poverty, but, after all, I think there is a great deal of imaginary grievance. I personally know of a large number of foreigners who had scarcely a dollar when they came to this country, but who are now millionaires several times over; and I think that most any steady, frugal, industrious person can become quite wealthy in the United States, if he wants to be, and manages it properly.”