The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1846-07-25
sFrom the Frying Pan into the
Fire"-Whig Lies----Whig
Banks and Whig Taxes.

Hc WHY paP0iS alV oth ioooIt"S
to make the people believe that the Tax
Law operates equally, and, that Banks
pay as much, if no t more, tax upon their
capital, than capital employed out Of
these institutions pays. In the face OF
law, none but whig editor would have
the impudsnce or recklessness to at
tempt such result. If they believed
for a moment what they attempt to
establish, why was it that the banks
were obsequiously written 20, to know
whether they would deign to be taxed
as other persons or not, and to which
they author ritatively responded, NO!
But they do not believe il themselves,
nor can they get any one else to be-
lieves so. AS specimen of their bare
faced and shameless attempts to prove
the Justice of the Bank and Tax Laws.
we find an article extensively copied in
the whig papers, which appeared ori-
ginally in the State Journal, in which
It is asserted, that the average capital
employed in banking for the last six
months was $a,7so,elo,upon the profits
of which a tax was paid amounting to
'$l2,79o 5o,coupled with the prophesy
that the sum the banks will pay the
next six months will swell the amount
to $4,000 in the year. In the same
article il is stated that the unincorpora-
ted property Of the state paid tax un-
der the last assessment of Is mills on
the dollar. Now had the bank capital
been assessed under the same rule. ac-
cording to this data, it would have paid
tax Of $4s,853 90, which is $2s,857
more than it can possibly pay, in the
most favorably case the bank advo-
Gates can make out for them.
But let us examine the otter horn
of this whig dilemma. TO pay $780,
900 tax into the Treasury, their $3,-
79O,2lo capital must make profit Of
S5OO.OoO, which is over thirteen per
cent. per annum on every dollar invest
ed, after deducting expenses and losses,
to say nothing Of the State Stock which
is used as capital by the banks, and up.
on which paper is issued So for ], and
upon which the people pay them inter-
est to the tune Of some l2 or $4,000
per annum, which is also exempted
from taxation, principal and interest.
And vet this enormous profit more
than twice as much as the average OF
individual profits only enables them
to pay a little over half as much tax as
ordinary citizens do. Should they pay
as "much, if moi more" tax than others
do, as the wings so falsely contend,
they would have to make clear profit
Of TWENTY-FIVE PER CENT
thus shaving the people out 81 more than
the amount of their. capital every four
gears. The wings in this attempt to
shield their laws from the censure they
merit, have ssjumped from the frying
pan into the fire." The truth is that
the Bank and Tax Laws are so intri-
cately interw oven together that they
cannot advocate the one without prcju-
dice to the other. Should they advo.
cate each on their separate merits, they
could not fail to condemn both--pre.
cisely what the democrats do.
AS we stated before, the opposition
of the democrats to these laws is not
founded on the amount out Of which
they wrong the people, large as it is.
They cannot consent to pay cent ol
tribute TO support a moneyed aristoc-
racy. In the language Of Jackson, we
1ask for nothing but what is clearly
fright and will submit to nothing that il
wrong" Now we know tits right the,
bankers and money brokers, who are
SO highly favored, should pay at leas1
as much tax according TO their mean.
as other citizens, and we know, too
that i is wrong that the poorer classe,
Iof the community should pay q tax fol
! their support, and we will not submI
| fn ~ Ho<Js~ 0.,gs.J At'. ~ rtttf- sfia