Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1865-07-29

OYERous TAXATION The Rochester
Union says the taxes of some persons in
city actually exceed the earnings Of their
capital, and, so far as personrl property is
concerned, the more man has the pol 70
he is. 1t is the case, perhaps, with some
owners of real estate !. The city taxes are
Ave per cent and the county three per
cent. GIN personal property, cash :. in
seres:, money losned on bonds and mort.
cages, unless : man can manage by nsu.
rious process to get more than lawful in
terest The earnings of his cal ital will not
pay tho local taxes. It has come to jus.
this: the law says it is usury to take more
than seven per cent. for the usd of money,
and atfixes penalty to violation. The
authorities of the city and county say that
a man shall pay eight per ceHt taxes, or
one per cent more than bis money will
earn.
Here is an instance: A gentleman of
this city some time since invested for
widow $4,000 At six per cen.-a safe in.
vestment. This years the assessors taxed
this $4,000 as personal property, which
they had right to do, We presume. This
woman is required to pay cigh. per cent
and receives but six. She is called upon
to pay into public treasury $40 more than
her money earns. Her cash is hungry
elephant, OF no use, and eating itself up.
In real estate the taxation is ne. so
sweeping, because the valuation is below
par. Property is valued at about one
third wha. it is held TO be worth, and the
tax is assessed upon valuation A house
and lot valued by the owner ut -, 900, is
not valued by the assessor at more than
$1,000. and the city and county tax would
be only $50. Some real estate may be
assessed at more than one third its real
value, but much Of it is not
1t is not strange that owners Of personal
property evade taxation at the expense Of
duty and conscience, when,the tax gather
er comes in to take more than lis lcgti.
mate earning if correctly reported. How
long can this state of things continue with
out ruiz. or reputation
Jay Cooke has recently employed Sam
Wilkeson, the gushing sensational Wash
ington letter writer, to prepare highfn
lutin essay arguing that the na,ionol deb,
is blessing. The people won. swolow
any such ilap-doodle. They know it is
not a blessing; at the same time they
knew i. was necessarily incurred in de-
Tending the life of the nation, and that i,
is sacred deb, Of honor, every cent Of
which mnst be scrupuously paid.
We are glad to observe that the admin
had nothing to do with suggest.
ing the publication of Mr. Cookies mani.
festo. Mr.. McCulloch, the Secretary Of
the Treasury, is reported to express the
opinion, not that that the debt is a bless
ing but that his hope is that it may be SO
arranged that it will no. become nation.
al calamity Wisconsin Journal.
THE GRAssHoPrER PLAGUE.-Tne St.
Paul Pioneer says that the grasshopper
scourge in the counties Of Renyillc, Blue
Earth, Brown, Nicolet, lie Sueur aud
Scott, MINI this season, in numbers ard
des,ructveness, equals anything ever
known in almost any part of the civilized
world. The locusts Of Egypt were 10th.
ing to compare with them IN many local.
lies. Thus far their ravages have been
confined chiefly to the prairies, but they
have recently commenced flying and !
in the timber known as the "Dg
"oods,' and there is every probability !
that they will pass through and beyond |,
il, and sweep the southwestern par, OF the :
State. There are only too strong grounds |
for believing that 10 the six counties named |
here will not be an average Of more than !
one half the crop left to harvest, and ,ho,o
will hardly be enough vegetables left for
leed.@ Corn has been less injured thus
Than other crops, and wheat has suffered
N0''' - - =. - .-o&
GEN. LEE WRITING HlsroRx. A !
Richmond paper understands that Gen. !
Lee is varying the monotony of his retire,
ment in Cumberland county by making |
history. He is writing history Of his
from the time that he assumed |
of the army Of Northern Vigin.
ID, after the battle Of Seven Pines, TO the !
capitalization of Appoms.tox Cour, House
On the 9th Of April General Lees work
will contain an account Of the exploits Of
he various commands comprised ii the |
army Of northern Virginia. The close Of |
WINNER or the beginning Of autumn will |
doubtless witness the completion Of this
Jook, that is destined to be handed down
70 all times a. truthful and impartial
1aYrative of the greatest campaigns of the