The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-01-30
Financial Confidence.

Financial Confidence.
Public credit and public confidence al.
ways go forward on parallel lines at the
same rate of progress. Ii the people of the
United States have astonished the incredu.
lOus outside world by their enormous vol.
untary contributions of money to the aid
Of the Government, it is still no miracle.
but the manifest operation Of law not now
for the first time discovered by statesmen
and economists.
The alacrity with which the people of the
loyal States have come forward with their
free-will offerings in support, Of the Gov
ernment-amOuntingt to well nigh thou.
sand millions dollars-during the last year.
is highly creditable. The spectacle present.
ed, was, in the highest degree, grand and
imposing. Still, as before stated, it was not
in the nature Of a miracle. II was action
based on substantial reason. There was
nothing really impulsive about it, while at
the same time there was nothing deliberate
cool and calculating in the wonderful unan-
unity with which this offering was made.
Men arrive at some conclusions without
resorting to formal syllOgism. Some facts
combine all the results of logical process in
themselves. Such We're the facts which
gave the people inclination to pour their
surplus capital into the Treasury. 1t was
seen from the first that every bond issued
by the Government constituted lien upon
every foot of real estate, every coal and
iron mine, and greater or less per centags
OF the income from invested capital. This
knowledge went to increase public conf
dence and therefore to stimulate and up.
bear public credit.
But there is only one way i'll which real
property and investments OF capital can be
made security for public Indebtedness
That way is taxation. 1t is not enough
that protection is given to individuals and
t.x.,,
resources OF the country shall be Gaad
pro quo for this protection; and that equiv
alent must return to the Government in
the shape of taxes. Raise the income Of
the Government so that it shall cover cur
rent expenses and the interest on public
indebtedness, and still leave a fair balance
unexpended at the end of every year, and
public credit remains unimpared. But
permit the income to stand at the point
where the machine is seen to barely rub
and go, and the spectacle of a Thousand
million loan per annum will soon take on
the nature Of a dissolving view.
What we need, then, just now, and tor
some years to come, is more thorough
system of taxation. The accumulated and
accommodating wealth of the country must
be made to bear the strain Of this immense
struggle. AT present the brunt of the ex-
pense falls upon the more upright and con-
scientiOus. Thousands OF men who live
idle lives upon ample completeness do not
pay farthing Of income tax. Thousands
more pay no license while they practice
their professions. There are too many
lubber-holes through which men escape
from the letter of the law, thus defrauding
the Government out OF millions. Let US
have a revenue law that shall make it
| very costly for men to roll in luxury, and
render the journey to hell by way of diss-
patton 50 expensive that few will under
al-a IrI
pay too little to Government for the priv
| ilege of running the health of young men,
and thus putting them beyond liability TO
the performance of military duty. Who
that is candid will deny that the country
would be stronger, in a military aspect, if
not dram of even the poorest quality Of
strong liquors could be had for less than
fifty cents?
But waving special distinctions, a sound
and thorough system of direct taxation
seems necessary to maintain public credit
1t would be one step toward this to double
the tax on incomes received from the Gov
eminent. Suppose the rate of taxation, IS
respects the salaries of Government en-
ployes, be increased two-fold; and the in
comes Of persons engaged in other pursuits,
and the net incomes OF corporations, be in
creased in like proportion. Here, alone
the public. income might be measurably in.
creased without distressing any one. Upon
all things reckoned among the necessaries
of life, as contemporary well remarks,
the assessor should be constrained to lay a.
light hand as may be; but when mere
luxury is touched, let it be made to dread
the tax-gatherer.
The wealth of the country must be holden
| for the payment of the extraordinary ex-
penses Of this struggle. The public indebt.
edness must be constituted first and un-
expirable lien upon it. How can this be
done except by a system of taxation which
shall operate justly, and as lightly as cir
operate etfectively?-W Washington Chronicle