Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-03-24
TWO VIEWS OF THE TAX BILL.
The Leading Merchants to be Ostra-
ciaed.
Cst, Prom the Richmond Dispatch J

Inc ~ ~
cised.
rIat, Prom the Richmond Dispatch.l
In Baltimore, a merchant selling $780,
900 4orth of goods pays about Sl40; sell
ling 81 900, 900, pays about $3.50; selling
ST, ,25O, 600, pays about 5000. That is,
where, on business of Sl,25O,O0O, n
Richmond merchant will pay $4,000, n
Baltimore merchant will pay $500.
One-third of the goods sold by some
wholesale merchants in Richmond does
not clear one per cent. net, and this tax OF
one per cent. upon sales will absorb entire
" the whole amount of profit on this
amount of their sales.
If it be true that the merchant can put
the tax into the price, then, as there is
nothing in the bill to prohibit persons, or
corporhtious, or manufacturers, buying tor
their own use where they please, the
effect of the tax will be to induce all cor
porations, and persons requiring large
supplies for their own consumption, to
purchase these supplies out of the State
1t will drive all the people on the borders
of the State to buy on the other side ofthe
line The Northwest and the lower Valley
of Virginia will buy in Baltimore; Lou
doun, and Fairfax, and Alexandria, will
buy in Washington; the West will buy in
Cincinnati. and the South and Southwest
will make their purchases in North Caro-
lima and Tennessee. And thus, instead of
increasing the sales of the Virginia mcr-
chants, it will drive away all purchasers
for their own use who can make it con-
venicnt to go or send to any place out of
the State for their supplies. And, as the
advocates of this bill are the peculiar
guardians of the poor, we may suggest to
them that, thus, whilst the rich will escape
a., nf
poor will be compelled to pay it, because
they have not the means to go or send
abroad to make their purchases.
As measure to build up direct trade,
or the independence of the South, it is of
no avail. The articles brought from the
North are made there and you cannot get
them, or substitute for them. from Eu-
rope. The only remedy is to manufacture
them here, and until that is done, they
must be brought from the North, what
ever may be the tax that is put upon
them. If gentlemen would have fewer of
these goods brought from the North they
must use fewer of them. If they will rem
der the demand less, the supply will be
less. But this requires no tax on sales to
carry it ont.
If this tax shall induce our wholesale
merchants, as we believe it will, to give up
tons and many kinds of other goods, which
are only to be gotten from the North, it
must break up the retail dealers in our
cities. who are only able to meet the ex-
prnscs of their business and their families,
by the means they now have of replcnish-
ing their stock, from week to week, or day
to dav, as they make their sales.
But the most mschicvous feature in this
scheme, and in all other taxing sales, is the
utter loss of all confidence and all security
for investments in commerce. No sane
man will place his property where it may
have an indefinite load to bear, varying
from wear to year. Confidence is the root
of all trade The very announcement o f
this one per cent. tax will do more to de-
stroy this confidence, to cause property to
be withdrawn from commerce, and
to break up schemes already entered into
for pushing forward new enterprises: than
all the determinations of the most inven-
tive genius can heal for years to come. If
one per cent. is legal, who shall guarantee
that two per cent. or any other rate, may
not one day come suddenly down upon the
mercantile classes? Where is the limit to
be? The end of this uncertain, changing,
revolutinarv policy, is to be in the disap-
pearance of what little active capital is
left in Virginia for the spread of her COM
merce.