The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1865-08-02
Bonds and Taxes.

II is beginning 10 enter the minds of the
poor and working classes of the country th al
upon them only rests the great weight of
public debt, in the shape of lakes. They
begin 10 perceive that, in the form of tie
high rents, they are paying the property tax
OF the landlords that in buying their cloth
ing and household coEveniences of various
kinds, they are paying over and over again
the merchants various licences and the
manufacturers lakes that in buying their
food they are paying the farmers tax that
in making essential and unavoidable jour
neys they have TO pay the railroad tax that
in sickness they have 10 foot the physicians
l;cence and that, in the very use of the
Government currency, they have TO pay the
bank tax which the suppression of the Stale
banks threw upon the people, Capital may
advance the money for them, but labor e.
venlualy has to foot all the bills
Against the state of affairs there appears
10 be no absolute remedy. The burden,
however can be greatly ightened when
capital is sufficiently generous and enlight>
ened 10 compromise and share with labor
both the losses and the profits. Through
the system of wages paid to those who la
Dor the lax burdens are rendered heavy or
light as capital sees fit to determine. 1t is
too much the rule when labor is abundant
for capital TO reduce wages, so that the
working man has all The lax 10 work out,
aud what should have been profit or his
skill or energies goes 10 fill The Golfers of
the employer. In The present stale OF the
country, while the prices of food and every
thing required by laboring men continues
al a most inflated standafd, il is wrong 10
pull down wages merely 10 increase the
profits OF the rich. The tax weight will be
fell sensbly enough by every workingman,
without reducing wages, until such time as
there may be a corresponding red uction in
prices OF food, merchandise, manufactures,
&c. The working men of this country are
not prepared for, and viii bitterly resist any
attempt 10 establish, The outrageous En-
gish system Of low rates of compensation
Tor labor.
Il is claimed by some of he journals in
the interest OF the dominent political parry
that the national debt is floating capital
upon which business projects can be based
and carried out. If this be true, why is it
,ha; the Government bonds are not then
taxed as other capital Labor is straning.
every nerve to work out the taxes 10 pay
the interest due TO the Government bond
holders, in addition to the multitude of OH
er taxes 10 capital in other forms, aud yet
these bondholiers are exempt from taxation
entirely. Are those bonds exem pisd from
taxation simply because the holders can
have no means OF making labor work ont
like il. There seems to be a good reason,
if Government bonds are valuable working
capital why they should not be taxed like
other capital that realizes 4 profit to the
owner or holder. By exempting these
bonds, the only channel by which the
wealthy capitalist could be taxed without
being able 10 make the workngman foot
the bill, is efectually closed up. This is all
wrong. There should be no class Iegisla-
iion-especially so largely in favor of a
class always abundanily able BY their wealth
to protect themselves.
There is loo much of growing dispos-
lion 10 make this a Government of moRopo-
lies--a rich mans government. Unless The
people shall examine more clearly into
their own interests and curb by their voles
the rapid tendency TO Capitalization aud
arislocsacy, they will soon fad themselves
in the same desPicable and Impoverished
condition as are the down lrodIen subjects
of the Old World monarchies. Let them
unite and determine TO return TO the days
and rule OF Democracy and oil will be well.
Patriot s Union