, 1862-02-01

ready VIC perceive the country Journals cry
out with one voice against the taxes on the
spread Of knowledge, which have bcca broach-
cd at Washington, while the publishers Of the
principal weekly papers in this city and its
nei@hhorhood join in the following protest:
mo TAXES uPoS KNOWLEDGE!
NEW YORK, January Is. 1862.
!" To tie Editors and 7'fo7u.5etoys Of Newspapers
Throughout Tie Country:
Gentlemen: We desire particularly to can |
yenr attention. On behalf Of the newspaper pub
mootcd in Congress. Of imposing duty or special |
tax On newspapers, AID to urge YOU to spare not |
tatiye= Of your Respective districts to tho out.
rageous, unjust and iniquitoUs measure. Il adopt |
Cd it will prove death blow to newspaper enter
advantage Of a ehcap and free press. II srN tstter
ahd eruI ont tEery 1sar1apfr not @,rned ly hsary
ecdaEis "a xNtt e = -. .ss, 70 s diefatoa M
~ II hs nt1ezarer business. da,tg@roa< a!ske to
0e 1i1tTties an1 iatzrest< ef 1s pGoMs, ...,.. ~.
united opposition Of the press Of this country;
all interested, The evil may be avoided.
ins Wfih yonf epsssenatives sfH @ in Congress,
We remain yours fTAtcrnallF,
"caal4xsn sogshEo5th s ~ Whis1sy, 1t;, REop5ietors
Morris i WiIiit, publishers Nea's Joa,nol:
"aaekey 4 Co., publishers United States Ee''1o-
sc. r. crooks. editor Of Methodist.
*Edw. Bright, editor Examiner.
! Orange Judd, editor dnaf,ican Ag77cvliarist.
Noah, Deans S Howard, proprietors Sunday
Frank Leslie, proprietor Frank Les1;e'S Musfrnt
| ed Nesrs. Masfrsrts zeitaug. Budget Of Fan, HIS
~,on dSSa eaney e ysT Nex 9esy 9oiR 1saat nH2s'"e
/ ".1ae l. Smith & Co, Saturday Erening Courier.
EreaeEs KanSa'5s kS Va; 3Sr ~o9 :H"
.'0swa1d ottendorfe1, New York Staafs- -Zei{ung.
I edward Gardner. publisher Brooklyn City Se,cs.
Edwin D. SpooAeT, publisher Brooklyn Eceaiag
II. Van Andcn. publisher Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Geo. c. Benuett, Publisher Brooklyn Daily
And many others who will memorialize Con-
Tic Washington Stuy, one of the most en-
| tcrrrising aud useful Of the smaller papers,
and which has upheld the banner Of the Union
from the beginning in a hostile neighbor-
hood, thus describes the effect Of the tax Oh
the cheaper sheets:
$50 far as the penny Journals arc concern
ed, this proposition, If It becomes law, will
| Instantly compel their proprietors to suspend
their publication, and will, therefore, entirely
defeat the design Of collecting that or any
oihcr war tax whatever IRON that class Of
business men.
For Instance: the Philadelphia Ledger,
| Washington Star, Baltimore San and Clipper:
New York Sun, and Boston Herald, al Jour
) nails of very urge circulation, receive fol
| those papers furnished to regular subscribers
tut es-1fh nf n cent cach: price barely pay.
ing for the white Paper on which and the 1lil
i. with which they are printed, after deductin:t
:, the loss from spoiled sheets and other Incl
1 dental wastage. Now, to compel the pub
fishers Of those Journals to pay into tht
: | Treasury Of the United Stptcs, Tor one year,
half or quarter cent upon every sheet the.
: print in that time, vii surely bc to exae
| mi 4ht.fr v.hc1a f.
y the year, but very probably all they have &C
9 cnmuiat ed from business in years past.
t ''To enact that every member Of Congres
3, shall pay into the United States Treasury, fl
Il the support Of the war, bis whole salary an
i tie proceeds *,fthe sale OF lis whole propert
- Of every description, would only be 1egisla1
, ing with reference to themselves, rs Mr. Co
n fax proposes to 1egis1ate with reference to th
If penny press Of the country. No member {
~ either House has come forward with any sue
1t proposition bearing upon Congress, howeyc
g "As class, The press arc willing, Of cours
- 10 bcar their fair share Of necessary taxatio
'e for war purposes, but not 10 have their enti1
,e business utterly destroyed, and their ability
u Treasury destroyed with it. The principle u
S On which such taxation is conceiyed-eno
;s mous1y disproportionate taxation upen tt
most useful business Of the timcs-is Tors
IS than foolish one. Taxation to be satisfl'
a. tory to The country, should be fair and ECU
upon all classcs, III proportion to their mcal
1t -disproportiopatelF large only on sus
us branches Of business as should be discourage
as it were, for the puGlic interest, and Oh su
Us furnish the public with 1uxuries."
No class in the community, as wh<
r. has suffered more from the war than pr
IN fishers Of newspapers. They may ha
-. gained little frum un increase Of circulate
nc IN the larger commercial centres, produced
as thc cScitcments Of the times; but they ha
lost immcasurab1y more By the falling off
|. advertisements. We had tie confession,
onr other day, Of one Of the most successful Of t
n city journals, whose entire circulation is prt
csc | ably greater than tl:tt of any other III
ire country TO the effect that it would have say
s,n- money last year il it had been suspc,
ill I'd for tic whole time. No one can doubt
truth Of the confession; but if that
: true Of large and prosperous city jourl
; what must be the case with the multitude
- country Journals, and Of others Of infer
~ note.
de- Now, it is good policy, we believe, in lay
1n, 4 lax not to lay it in sucha way as to dest
ou. the subject OF the tax. The publishers
w. newspaper, will doubtless gladly bear Il
'atk share ii the burdens Of the war: they h
has ! ALREADY contributed their part INDIRECTLY
in | We have seen: but our legislators should
careful not to iuflict upon them gree
weight than they arc able to endure.