The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-02-10
LIE TaxoN KNoKEEnGg.
Row Book Publishers and Readers sFe.
Injured.

The pqper-na keTs combination, Gre
ated by the present high duty upon
imported paper has 8 most iniUrious
effect upon the production Of and trade
IN bookE and 70 IL must be attributed
the scsn;y number Of new works Of
merit which at present emanate from
the American press If an author Of.
feIs bis work to a publisher he ct once
meet with the answer Paper Is so
hight does not poy 10 print new books =
Now bv this very obstacle to the pubii-
cation the government loses the excise
duty upon the paper which would oths
erwise be consumed, and decreases the
income tax upon the priDters' binders
publishers and BOOKSELLER profits,
which would be obtained from their
production and sale as well as taxes
upon the other commodities, IN adds
ton 10 paper, which are consumed in
the manufacture In ado tioa 70 this
the channels Of trade are dcharred Of
the morev which The i-sue Of new books
would put into circulation.
A common size d1odecimo volume
weighs about twelve ounces. The pa
por for this costs, ~ The present time,
seven or eirht cents more than it would
Fl the imDOst duty WIS reduced % the
same Tate as the internal tax; ard the
dIHerence--soune seventy or eighty dol
lars a thousand c0pIes-lsa serious item
in the publisher risk, and is the sole
reason which prevents him entering
into any new enterprise Remove this
barrier, and he a7ill then be ready 10
undertake the speculation. The rc.u-
sal, We Say, < positive less 10 tho rev
enue o. the duty upon tho paper and
materials which would be required for
the marufa ctuTe Is e g Lose % he
reading public, IN its Withholding FROM
them the predictions Of the brains Of
educated men. And i s. a preventive
to the progress of lst4ers in this couR-
try--a progress ELicl no should en-
deaVor most streluoJsiy 70 foster and
forward
The English papers lave laborsd for
many years to uproCt the taxes on
knowledge" and the result Of their
success is evident in the inuumcrable
excellent books and periodicals now
pouring from their presses. Situated
Is we are al the present time, il is
nothing but fair that literature should
be made to bear its proper portion Of
the national burden, but there is no
reason why we should make it bear
weighter load than is placed upon 9TH
er trades and professions, and pay in
excess OF the tax imposed by England
at the time OF her heaviest taxation If
we 90 We must expecs 10 witness the
reverse OF the rule which nov holds
good IN England There ia no denying
that we are beginning daily to observe
IL Instead Of an increasing and pros
porous periodical press many OF our
journals which were once published at
3 profit have beer compelled to reduce
their size or retire into oblivion; and
We find our publishers unready 10 sup
ply The reading wants Of the people,
either ia the issue OF original American
works or reprints OF the leading pro-
auctions Of Europe. Al this iesGlts I
from the extra eight or ten cents per I
pound which the high and prohibitory /
duty enables the paper .nouOpoiists to |
levy upon the Literature VI the iand.
When the paper duty Was high in
England o cOrTuptIug class Of journals,
a. low IN morals as they were in their
standard Of merritt we may use such
an exprcssIon--WCTe enabled 20 live.
whilst many valuable publications were
compelled 70 retire IRON the field
weighed down by the high price the
Proprielors had 10 pay for paper. &r
Robert Chambers, the eminent Scottish
publisher, once stated 40 @ public meet
ing that the Miscellany OF Tracts
published by his iirm was closed as
non remunerativC with q steady sale of
eighty thousand, ia consequence of the
great amount they had 70 pay for ex
else duty upon the paper consumed in
the work, and consequently a business
was stopped which distributed nearly
q hundred thousand dollars q year in
the employmeHtO % labor aud the profits
OF retail trade, and an organ Of lntel!i
geuce and morality lost 10 the reading
public. II such an illustration 10 given
70 show the injustice OF tax which
puts twenty-five per cent of the value
of the paper used into the Golfers of
the nation, how much more forci6ly
would be "a Ike illustration when it Is
found that the Gisc0uliuuance of usee
ful publications are caused by o duty
which gives nothing 10 the govern
meut, but puts soma forty or fifty per
cent into the pockets OF rapaciOus
monopOlists.
When, by the repeal Of the duty in
England, the price of paper was re-
duced, the inferior publications were
swept from tho field, ICr excellent ones
had an opportunity to prosper, ard the
latter soon pushed the former 20 the
wall With equal cheapEessr readers
soon appreciated what was intelligent
without dullness, aud amusing without
ribaldry.
Let our legislators remove the cause.
which has created and built mp
the paper makers monopoly, and our
publishers will again DO induced 20
cater for the reading public, and give
employment TO our ter3ry men. No
halfway measure will lead 10 this
The proposal Just made by the Finance
Committee Of the Senate, 70 reduce the
duty to fifteen per cent, viii not attain
the object ia view. twill be a heavier
tax upon literature than was levied by
the governmental England for twenty.
Eve years before 10 repealed the duty.
A customs duty upon paper approx
mating to the internal tax on that com
modify viii be the only means Of Grad
icating the evil Of which we complain
hag York Post