The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-01-18
BURLINGTON, sATURDAY =, JAN UARY Is, 1862.


q 0oy1nNodl,s MksoAaH.
q. 0MAsNt. Of ~ Stnsss and Hoxss oJ Rsp,
seAf1tass:. = 8 s,5 2 8 8 s =
Yos have had conferred upon yoa and J,
eavs accepted the duty Of caring ~, gaardiu
and psomoting the interest Of the Etste. m
aosy, q All timcs resp poneible, Il at present mn,
more than ordinarily 10, for tie reaeon that 4
Mstlon ot which We are part Is engaged la CT,
/ War, most wantonly and wickedly thrust upr
4 10 ~ bad and designfng men. doubt o.
you Will address yourselves to the discharge
this duty calmly aud earnestly, seeking wisdo
and strength from Him who is King Of KIM
and Lord Of Lords ~
Constifnt'on requires that ! shall con
lcate to you the condition Of tho State, 40
tecommend such matters as may deem exp
disnt, and Inow proceed to the performane
Of that duty.
RrvExuE AND TAXATION.
The expenditures Of the last two years for 4
State purposes have been about $500, 600, "a
each year. This includes both Ordinary and e,
traordinary expenditurcs-ts amounts expent
ed for the Insane Asylum, the Penitentiafy, th
Blind Asylum At Vinton, the printing Of sh
Revised Statutes. and other extraordinary OF
jects, a. well Is the amounts expended in carry
ing on the ordinary operations Of the Stat
Government The expenditure has not in an
case been permitted to exceed the appropria
ton, and is materially lees both for the PenI
tentiary and Insane Asylum, and has in all case
that have come under my observation beef
carefully and economically made. In my iudg
ment. there is not another State in the Union d
which the protection of the Government is ex
tended to as large a population, so widely scat
tered, more economically than in our own. Blu
"a 1t,-< III
finances are not in a healthy condition. III,
Report OF the Auditor, of State discloscs th.
somewhat startling fact that of the tar for 1861
and preceding years, there was at the date o
his Report 1.-THE 4th day of November, 1861 de
!inquent and unpaid the large sum Of about
$780, ,OO0--a sum more than sufficient to cove,
the entire expenses Of our State Governmen,
for one year. TITS large delinquency has Oc
CURED mainly within the last four years, and the
same Report shows that there were at the same
date warrants drawn ON the Treasury to the
amount of S1Os.64b, which were unpaid 70,
want OF funds, most Of which were drawing in.
terest At the rate Of eight per cent. per annum
From; these facts the following conclusions are
inevitablc: lst, That during the last four years
there has been levied . State tax larger by about
$S0O. 600, than the necessities Of the State re-
quired. 2nd., That this tax was rendered No
>$ecssy " snO i~Cs Suut OUly pOTtlOu VI OuI
people paid the tax due the State. 3rd, That
the State has been compelled yearly to pay
large sums by way ofinterest on warrants, which
need not have been paid had the taxes been
collected promptly and the Treasury kept sup
piled with funds to meet all demands upon it,
4th., That the State, being compelled to pur.
chase its supplies with warrants, has had to
pay higher prices than if it bad had the cash
70 pay. 9TH, That the tax-payins portion Of
our people have thus been compelled to psy
not only their proper share of the public bur
thens, but also the share of those who did not
pay their taxes, increased by high interest and
high prices. These things should not be s6.--
They reflect discredit not only on those Of our
citizens who seek to avoid their just snare OF
those burdens which3Are imposed upon all for
the benefit of all, but also upon the laws which
permit them to do so with impunity. therefore
very earnestly recommend to your attention a
careful examination OF our revenue laws for
the purpose of ascertaining if they can be made
more effective in enforcing the prompt payment
Of taxes
The leading features of good revenue law
in my judgment are as follows: lst The impo.
stion of such penalty for the non payment Of
taxes when dne az will make it Enthusiastically
the interest OF every tax payer to pay promptly.
"a. The.assurance to the purchaser OF property
at tax sales Of valid title at the expiration of
liked time. There is in my opinion much mis-
apprehension in the minds of many persons on
this subject. Some seem to think they receive
no value for the money paid by them as taxes,
and that they are therefore not culpable in
avoiding payment if they can. Others, whilst
they admit there is some kind OF doubtful obli-
CATION upon them to pay their taxes. If conve
nlent, yet insist that any stringency in the laws
to compel payment would be unjust and oppres-
siye, and that no greater penalty should be i'm
posed for non.payment than the interest allow
ed by law between citizens. These arc radical
errors Every citiz, n is protected by the State,
in life, liberty and property in all he has and all
he may acquire, and in all his honest efforts for
further acquisition, and in return, he ia bound
as a good citizen to render, obedience to the
laws, to pay promptly his share of the taxes ne
cessary for the support Of government and in
time of war, if need be to defend the govern
ment with bis life. If he fails to perform either
OF these duties Of good citizen, he is liable to
punishment, and the amount added to his taxes
for failure Of payment at the time fixed by law
is not the interest due upon debt, but a fine
or penalty for the non pc; Torrance of duty.
Nor can any one justly complain of this. Why
should any one Of our people claim that he
should enjoy all the benefits of civil government
and be exempt from its burthens; that he should
have all these advantages at tie expense of his
neighbors!
3 It may be said that some are unable to pay
their taxes. This it seems to me is erroneous.
The amount of tax each one has to pay is in
proportion to the property he has, the greater
the tax, the greater the amount of property from
which to raise means of payment am well
convinced that taxes are paid most promptly
by cur farmers and by men Of compai atively
small means, and that there are very few of US
who do not spend yearly for articles of luxury
which do not promote either our health, our
prosperity, or our happiness, more than :he
sum required from us as taxes for the support ol
the government that protects US. The subject
Of revenue aud taxation assumes a graver in.
tArest and importance at this time for the reason
that our State is called upon for the first time
since its admission to pay direct tax for the
support of the General Government We may
expect to be called on to pay during the present
year Federal tax of from $500, 600 to 800,
600. This is rendered necessary by the heavy
expenditures incurred by the General Govern
meat in preparing to put down the Rebellion iu
certain States Of the Union. A resort to loanl
has been and must continue to be necessary t<
meet these expenses, and pradence and sound
economy require that the General Government
shall not be compelled to borrow money to pay
the interest accruing upon its loans. The in
terest upon loans made and to be made must b,
met by actual payment, and not by incurrinl
further indebtedness. The capitalists Of th1
country have thus far responded nobly to tn,
calls made upon them by the Government, an,
have given it assistance and support as neces
sary as that rendered by the soldiers in the field
Six hundred thousand gallant men, of whom
twenty thousand are from our own State, are il
arms, ,,giving their labor, their health, and thei
lives. for the country, and now the call come
to 10 who are at home, and We are asked 70 Civ
. little of our substance to the same goo
cause ~.
| l have caused to be prepared from document
In the Office Of the Auditor of State table, here
TO appended, giving some interesting informs
4 ton touching the taxes paid by our people.
will perhaps be matter Of surprise TO many the
the taxes for the support Of tho State Govern
ment besr 20 small q proportion to the entir
amount of taxes paid. 1t appears from this q
ble that the whole amount Of taxes for all puI
poses for 1861, was 81 ,700, 900, and that Or thi
amount only 100000 was expended from th
State Treasury for state purposes, while 81, 400
600 were expended from the several count
Treasures for county and other purpoees. / =,
gard this table ss useful, for this among othe
/ rea eaenna viz. that fho manila n W. honn iod =