Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-10-03
QDblo Statesr1art,
SHALL TAXES BE EQUAL :?
Shall There be a Privileged Glass
Exempt from Taxation?
TO THE VOTERS AND TAXPAYERS OF OHIO.
[CoHCLUsIoN.l

[COECLUsIoN.l
The grand argument of those who advo-
cate the exemption of bonds from taxation
is, that it would be repudiation-a breach OF
the National faith; but this claim we have
seen TO be groundless. The only other ar
gument urged in favor of the system with
any show of reason, is that 1t would be
hardship on persons of small means who
have invested in bonds, to diminish their
income by taxing it. The Government
funds have been spoken of as the poor mans
savings bank; the depository of the Wild
ows' and the orphans mite-as If to invest
it with sort of sacredness. But is there
any reason why the bonds of one woman of
small means should be exempt and the cot
tage and COW of another taxed? Are per-
sons of limited means whose money is in
vested in bonds, any more entitled to assist
ance from the Government by being reliev-
ed from paying taxes than persons of like
small means whose investments are in any
thing else? Let us look at the practical
operation OF the thing little.
A lady of moderate means has all her
money, say five thousand dollars invested
in Government bonds. She receives 5000 a
year in gold, worth say $i25 in paper, and
paws no taxes whatever. Another lady has
the same amount invested before the war on
bond and mortgage of property in Ohio
She will receive at the same rate of interest
(which is all she can collect by law $500 in
paper, out of which she must pay from seq
enty- -fre to one hundred dollars taxes, accord
ing to the locality of her investment.
Suppose the guardian of orphan children
has invested their money four years ago on
a long loan, secured by mortgage or other
wise. Nearly one-third Of the annual income
intended for their support and education must
be paid annually TO the State for tareS.
Again, the poor mans house, however
poor, is taxed. His personal property, his
horse, and pigs and COW, the means of his
own and his children's livelihood, if they
exceed fifty dollars in value, all are taxed.
The owner of United States bonds can hold
any amount of them-up to ten thousand
dollars-without paying any taxes on them
at all.
But we hear no complaint about taxing
these persons of small means. On the con-
trary, General Cox tells us that this grossly
unequal system is all right tand must remain
Just as it is.
Reduced to its element, the proposition Of
the advocates of exemption is simply this:
"You must not tax the man who owns a
hundred thousand dollars of Government
bonds, because if you do you must tax the
one thousand or five hundred held by a
man or woman of limited means" Well,
then, according to exactly the same
reasoning, you must not tax the man who
owns ten thousand acres of land, because if
you do, you must tax the cottage of the SOL
,dier's widow. -.i r .H
But who hold these bonds-the great
mass OF them? Are they owned, to any
great extent, by men who can't afford to
pay taxes on them? We can tell pretty
certainly by whom they are not held. They
hnlI to " hu
that great mass of the people known as the
laboring classes-men and women who earn
their bread by their daily labor-though
very many of this class own the houses they
live in, or enough personal property to be
required to pay taxes. They are not held
to any very large extent by the next class
in the scale of wealth-the men in business
and of moderate means, the farmers the
mechanics, the merchants and professional
men. They generally find use, as we re-
marked above, tor all their means either in
their business, the support OF their families,
or the establishment and improvement of
their homes. There are not many heavy
bondholders among the hundreds of thou
sands of soldiers returning-many of them
manned and broken in health-to civil lite
to seek an occupation and the means of liv-
ing. BY whom, then, are the mass of the
bonds held?
First, by the banks. Some fifteen hun
dred banks have been established by au-
thority of Congress since the beginning of
the war, which are all required to purchase
United States bonds as the basis of their
circulation. What amount of bonds are
thus held by the banks we have not
the means of determining, but it is very
large. Numbers of these banks are got
up merely to enjoy the gold interest on
these bonds. A few gentlemen of wealth
establish bank with a capital of say
one hundred thousand dollars. The
whole of this they can put into bonds
on which they will draw $4,000 in gold or
near $4,000 in paper-merely for the bonds
which they leave as security for their cir
culation, and have all the benefits of their
circulation and the regular profits of their
banking business in addition. OF course
they don't want to, pay any taxes on the
hundred thousand dollars of bonds, which
bring the six thousand dollars in gold; and
they will very generally see in the propo-
sition to make them do so flagrant disre-
gard of the best interests of the country.
Second-A large amount OF bonds are
held by men of large means, who resort to
\ them as an investment of their surplus cap
ital and means of income.
Third-A great many institutions and
COrpOTaUlOLS vi NdIlOuo Minus udtO lufCSJSu
their capital in bonds, for the sake of the
gold interest and the exemption from taxes.
Fourth7-A vast amount of bonds have
been taken up by creditors of the Govern
ment; contractors, furnishers of supplies
and others who have thus converted their
certificates of Indebtedness. For instance,
A man who has furnished a thousand bar
rels of pork or five thousand overcoats for
the army, receives for his pay a certificate
of indebtedness. These certificates being
at a slight discount in the market-being
worth, say 95 cents on the dollar-7are con-
yerred by their holder at their face into
bonds, and the contractor or the speculator
in vouchers becomes a bondholder, and to
that extent member of that privileged class
whose taxes are paid by other people,. raw
In additionfto the classes above named q
considerable amount of the bonds are scat
tered in various amounts among the people
OF more moderate MEANS: but that vast
prepOnderance of the debt is held by the
classes named above-the banks and other
corporatiOns-the men of wealth and the
Government contractors, there can be no
doubt. As a mass it is eminently the prop
erty of the wealthy classes. We would ex-
cite no jealousy of it on that account. We
would excite no hostility to it on any .ac-I
count. It was borrowed on the faith of the
nation, and let it be paid, principal and in
terest. We, simply demand Justice and
equality In distributing the burdens of tax
alton necessary to pay this debt. We de-
mand that the holders of bonds shall not
be erected into a privileged class-exempt
49,.