New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-06-19
DEBT AND TAXATION.

! Respecting the VI NbooH" f'S' W"
National prosperity have been discussed by
,undrv journals witt, more levity and nlppancy
than c0mport with the gravity aud importance
! of the subject 1t may be quito true that 1t Is
inconyenient TO pay heavy taxes, without dis
proving the aycrmcnt that nations burdened
with heavy Public Debts have more rapidly in
creased their Production, Thrift and Wealth.
than ever beiore-morc rapidly than their neigh
bors who owed (or paid) ittlo or nothing.
Compare Spain (Which owes reasonable
amount, but rcpudatcs most of it with Great
Britain or France, whose debts are heavy:
Compare heavily indebted Holland with the late
| kingdom of the Two Sicilies. or with Portugal.
We have certainly on record the most doleiully
confident prophecies by eminent political cccno-
mises that. if the British Debt were increased
but a little more. it would swamp the Kingdom;
We, We have seen that Debt since rapidly
douhled-ycS trebied-yct the kingdom richer
and stronger than ever Man'ifstiy. the merits
Of the case do not al lie on the surface.
The taxing power, in wise aud firm bands, IS
capable Of "a most bcneficeut aud salutary use
| IN diminishing the number who evnde produc-
/ tive industry and live useie.sly to their Kind.
For instance: does any one doubt that an al
, nual hccnsc-fcc of 800 eXaclcd o. all prac-
ticine lawyers would result in public benei,
/ Lawyers are - useful, necessary class; but
! two-,hird, or those WAC seek to live by law are
neither useful, necessary, nor even ornamental.
! such tax a. we suggest would probably ~
rucc the profession a third. thereby sending
/ thousands INTO other vacations. and would prove
adyaniaeeous alike to rCoi lawyer, and To- those
wAo reed LEGAL Services. In our iudt q
/ taA Of even $500 per auuum on lawyers would
/ benefit all ella EOS.
So Of the sellers of Beverages. Man. being
thirsty. must drink; yet ne does not need a well
or pump on every siIcci.co-rrr. We jldgc
that Half Million OF our Thirty w. lions ~
/ people live by the retailing al something a.
drink" Suppose The vocation werc llxef'---ay
Slto in places Of less than orr thousand in
habiiani,: 5000 in places of over two thousand
and Ice, than ten thousand; $500 IN places Of
over ten thousand and less TN one hundred
thousand; and 81 900 III cities 80" aiming more
]
than one hundred thousand people what harm
! would rcsultl We should al drink AL We need
ga, least;) we should buy our beverages a.
cheaply - now; bat We might have To walk
block or two further To obtain them: II ve did
no. 20 quite 50 often. VII, harm Yet 20 \ a
tax would so reduce the number of drinNng
places as to restore scores Of thousands 10 pro-
ductiye industry who now oyade il by d.ibbi.ng
ont dimes worth Of whisky Or lager to al
corners The change thus constrained would
add Millions per annum to tic wealth OF our
country. And these are but casual suggestions.
We firmly bclic3c it possible to rai's all the
revenue needed for the support of our Govern
mcnt by taxes that individuals, indeed. wOull
feel, but which would increase the wealth and
well-being of the country.
| Yet we do not choose 10 stand with those
who deem National Debt National blessing,
lest We be held to the logical corollary that the
greater the Debt the greater the blessing, and %
TO that canonization Of st. Shoddy that We par
ticulary eschew. In our Judgment, Of all the
men who have sinncd egainst the Republic in
her recent day Of trial, those who have svindled
her with exoIbitant charges, rotten transports,
poor iron, and any other Of the kindred resorts
of rascality, should be the last forgiven. The
natural, genuine Rebel il bad egg: there was
scarcely blackleg, libertinc, rOwdy or profit.
gate in the South who was not one Of them, OF
the North who did not wish them success:
hut the reyeer in Shoddy was more hypocriti-
cal, detestable scoundrel, in that be oftencr
affected patriotism if not picty also, and, while
Rebel vas saving at Ito throat Of Uncle Sam,
Shoddy Was picking his pocket--oiton with his
eyes turned up TO heaven and with protcsiations
Of loyalty On Lis lips-the incorrgible villain,
Several have been eaSbered from high official
trusts for swindling their country when she was
On the very brink Of ruin; Others have just cs.
capped similar fate by hiring Senators and other
"big bugs " to engineer for thcm--as "cpunsol,"
Of course. One, il We mistake not, was Surgeon
General, and bought Millions worth OF medi-
cines for our Armies at rates twenty Gyo per
cent. higher than he need have paid; one,
we hear, bought $GOOO,OOO wclth Of Coffee
or the Government just when our Currency
fwas most DEPRECATED and Coffee consequently
ighest- md so on. Probably. some hundreds
Of millions have by such means been added to
our National Debt; ard Mr.. Cooke must excuse
us for not regarding those who thus lined their
own and their friends pockets as public bene-
factors. As building monuments seems now in
vogue, We suggest the erection Of pyramid Oh
which tho names OF all fhnsn rnnfry ehall be