The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-09-26
Interesting Dinlogne.


The following dialogue took place in a
grocery store IN this city, between the pro-
prictor, who is Democrat. and whom VIC
will call b., and Radical customer, who is
q mechanic u .IH... H..g d.
Rddicdl--"It seems to me that you gro
Gerry men are making more money now
thnn YOU ever did before, being that gro
ceries are so high ?'
Bon the contrary. we are making less
money now than we ever did before, rs
vill rcadily prove TO you. | will take the
slngle article of coffee to illustrate. We
are paying thirty-one cents per pound by
the sack orprime Rio Coffee. We are rp-
falling il at thirty-thrce aud third cepts
per pound, leaving us. after deducting for
Hpaper,twine. loss on sack, &c, about two
ceuG9 per pound. As three and two-fourths
I 1unds cost us one dollar, at two cents
profit on each pound, we make abont six
aud n half cents on the dollar. Before the
wa !. w1en coffee was only twelve and n
h0'feeni per pound, we me'Ie the same
margin o. profit that we do now; so that
'ns'e 4 Of six and q half GEMS MS now. we
made twenty cents on the dollar; besides
we sold thrce times as much as we do now
and as goods were so much lower, we could
do business npon one-third the amount OF
capital. 40 l..
Elf what you say be true, how does it
tome ttat coffee, which was only worth
twelve cents then, is now worth thirty
eeits2
b rhesolutiou Is very plain my friend,
Co1ce Is now worth In gold only fifteen
cents. which Is about twenty-five cents in
currency, and on which there Is gold duty
Of five cents. making IN currency seven
cents more-in all twepty-niuc cents. Then
the ireights, and drayagc and handling arc
much higher (1S railroads and Clraymen
b'vel to pay hign Government taxes. J
which. with the wholesalers profit, runs II
up to thiety-one cents; SO chat YOU see Won
are paying for the blessings of Abolition
rule about sixteen cents on every pound of
eoytee that you use 10 your family, and on
every thing else In like or greater proper
tlon.
RI know that can not live half so
CON iolitnbly upon my wages now as I did
before the war, but could not see how 1t
came, for take the JoarHal ami II told me
last fall that the capitalists. merchants and
manufacturers, paid all the Federal taxes
now see plainly that the JosNraI deceived
me. and that instcad OF my IN rcighbors
more than they do. ~
B.--Certalnly the consumer l. tne man
that pays the taxes: there Is my neighbOr
Shyloek with one hundred thousand dol
lafs ail invested IN GoYernmcnt Bonds.
bearing Interest equal TO about ten per
cent aud not one cent Of Federal, State or
County taxes does lie pay upon it,and then
ismy other neighbor, Skinfint having an
income of about Eve. Thousand dollars
year, from rents ofhouses occupied by such
poor men as you areas soon rs the tax of
I've per cent, was placed on incomes. he
raised the rents upon his tenants and they
are compelled to. pay his income tax. On
the other hand there ia poor C--who served
three years In the army as private, and
lost his leg In the service; he Is compelled
to pay State and county taxes on his little
home and yet Shylock. with hundred
thousand dollars made by fat contracts dur
Ing the war (Ond always out of danger,)
pay not one cent.
R.-These are matters that have not
considered; but will give them due atten-
ton. for am sick and tired of high prices
and high taxes. t,...