The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1865-09-02
Equality of Taxation.

Equality of Taxation.
The recent democratic convention in Maine,
and the still more recent one in Ohio, as
well as many less notable gatherings of the
democracy, declare unifarlnly in favor Of
"equal taxation; = or, in other words, against
the present exemption Oft. 5. securities from
taxation.
The case presents itself with sufficient
force thus: Farmer \ owns lands. houses
and barns with $4,000; and on these IS
obliged to pay state, county. road and school
taxes amounting to perhaps $500. His city
friend b., who had perhaps q shoddy contract
and made 1880, invests Lis money in L.
S. bonds and pays not q cent Of tax. Ali the
taxable property CT The country may be worth
ten thousand millions. Ore>third Of this is
invested in Government securities, and is cx-
emrt from taxation, while the whole burthen
of supporting the national, state, and local
municipal governments falls on the other
two-thirds. Every body must admit at once
that this is uneqal-unjust.
Why not apply the remedy? The difficulty
lies here. These government bonds were
sold with the stipulation that they should be
exempt from state taxation: and nov to per
nit tie states to tax them, would be a breach
of public faith. No honest man can adyo-
cate such a thing.
What do the democracy mean, then, by
declaring in favor OF equal taxa;ion2 We
mean, in the first place, chat our republican
rulers did wrong in putting forth bonds and
selling them or such terms, and that they
shall he held responsible :or the error, to use
no stronger term. They did that which Is
inconsistent with every principle of rePubIi-
can equality--they created Il privileged class
among US. They did tat which brought on
the French revelation. The B9Urbons, to
raise money, sold titles Of nobility, and the
mobiles were exempt from taxation. This
thing went On until the people could bear the
weight no longer, aud then, one fine day, the
storm arose, aud swept k;ngs, nobles. cour-
tiers, thrones and titles into one common.
bloody grave.
SecoudIy,to avoid Ike catastrophe in this
country, the democracy mean to remedy the
evilss far and as rapidly as it can be done
consistently with TIE public honor. Geo. 7.
Curtis. tie eminent New York lawyer. for
instance, has given an opinion on this ques-
ton 10 some New Yogi. bankers, which gives
tie democracy ground to stand on. The sub
stance Of that opinion l., that though tie
states canuot tax these bonds directly, they
can DO 50 indirectly-frst. by taxing them
in the sha,e of bank stock and secondly. by
taxing the incomes derived from them. The
democracy would seek to Tighten the bur;hen
Of those now over-taxei b. placing a tax on
these bank stocks and incomes.
Again-though these bonds are exempt
from state taxation, there Is no stipulation in
tn I'm that exempts them from taxation by
the national government. The democracy
would-see if the public burthens cannot be
somewhat equaIizei BY Laying a national tax
upon them.
Aed fnaliy,-iLe remedy can 1a completed
il time y taking up those bonds rs rapidly
as pcssibie and issuing other and more equi-
table ones in their stead. Some are called
$40 bonds,-whIch means that the govern
ment "a,y redeem them in five years, or let
them run 30 years. Others are Io-f0's-
We would take both kinds up at the earliest
period.
But why cal! this democratic issue? Do
not the republicans alike favor measures SO
just and equitable? Unfortunately, no. The
Chicago Republican, for instance. denounces
all this talk about eq'.al taxation as a seces-
sion cry, got rp to injure the credit of the
Government. The Republican party is own
ed by shoddy-Shodly owns the bonds
sholdy finds himself privileged charac-
Ter, and viii never let lis party curtail his
privilege"