The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1866-01-17
49, CADIZ, OHIO, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY II, 1885,

1
ruptcy, which might sweep away the Brit
ish throne and aristocraey, aud during pc
riod of forty years England introduced th'
novelty Of peace, and reduced her debt t.
seven hundred and sixty million pounds
when the allied war against Russia ogair
swelled it to eight hundred and FIVE milliobi
pounds, at about which figure it now stands
Here then, citizens, in this mirror Of tho
British funding system We can zee reflected
the fate OF our own country.
TIE NATIONS FAITH.
Repudiation is an evil which we all desire
tv see averted, and should such o calamity
ever lefa!I our country, it will he solely ow
ing TO unequal: and mn5,st bcc1nse unequal,
taxation.
when nutional debts" says Adam
Smith, "have accumulated certain degree,
there is scarcely single instance # their hdv
ing been Jtairly and completely paid. The
liberation Of the public revenue, if il has
ever been brought about. has always been
brought about by bankruptcy, sometimes
by an avowed one, but always by a real one.
though frequently by a pretended payment. u
The Romans, at the end Of
the first Punic war, reduced the as, the
standard coin, from containing twelve ounces
Of copper to contain only two ounces. The
law which enacted it was like all other laws
relating to coin, introduced and carried
through the assembly of the people by tri'
bune, and was probably very popular law,
In the course of the second
Punic war the as was reduced TO the twenty
fourth part otits original value. And even, y
says Smith, 1.-THE enormous debt Of Great
Britain might be paid in this manner"
Nations he says. "have sometimes, for
the same purpose, adulterated their coin
that is, have mixed greater quantity of al
10y with it," When King
John of France, in order to pay his debts,
aduterated his coin, ali the officers OF hi.
mint were sworn to secrecy. And, in tile
Of the reign Of Edward VI, the English
coin was not only raised in its denomination
but adulterated in its standard. And the
like frauds were practiced in Scotland dur.
ing the minority of James VI. and have
been occasionally practiced in most other
countries
TAXATION.
Then citizens, inasmuch as the National
debt is to be perpetual, and as it bears com
paunl usury, it behooves US to consider the
means by which the usury can be paid.
Heavy taxation is the logical end inevita.
hle consequence of heavy debt. But what
is taxation? 1t is the compulsory taking
froui individuals portion of their property
to be cJu. ur,ed for public purposes. Hence
by the payment Of the tax the individual be-
comes that much poorer, and by the con
sumption Of the tax when paid the State
becomes to that extent enieebled. The dol
lar continues to exist, but the bushel OF
wheat, the yard OF stuff, or the pound oI
powder which the dollar purchased, are alb
solu; ely consumed and destroyed. Money
is the circulating measure Of voluef and the
same dollar. by the process of circulation
may purchase products TO the amount of sew
craI hundred dollars, and ceaSessly continue
to purchase an indefinite number OF othel
Values; but the -four, the gunpowder and
c.otit ng, when eaten, burned or worn out
arc absolutely consumed and lost forever
that IS, the nation is exactly y that much
poorer than it was before, and since March
1861, the United States have actually con
S, IN, d aud blotted out Of existence property
equal to nearly one-third of the real anC
per, onal wealth owned by the Government
and the people Of the United States, with
out taking into account the losses caused b,
the ravagc Of war.
INCOME TAX.
Political economists advise the levying o1
one of the following kinds of tax, and to ex-
empt from taxation all other objects:
l. Either on capital, as in Ohio.
2. Or on Income.
5. Or on consumption-all that eaten
worn or used.
4. Or on all kinds of legal forms and pro-
cccdings, notes, bills, sc.
Prior to the Inauguration of Presiden,
Lincoln, with the exception Of the sales o
public lands and the Post office, the revenlf
of the Federal Government principally nc
crued from an interest tax called tariff, or
the consumption of imported articles, and
it was SO light that the people did not fee
that tax was levied. But now we are
| taxed on incomes, We are taxed onconSump
tion; we are taxed on legal pfoccedings and
our rulers have copied from England the
long detestcd and justly odous stomp ton,
ami there are thirts.fve hundred specific
al ticles upon which there are differen,
grades of taxation. Nor is this all; We are
taxed three times at least upon every arti
Gle we wear; on the leather of which YOU
boots are made there is tax before it leavel
the tanner, who adds the tax to the value o.
the leather before he sells it to the bootmakel
and when the boots are made they are tax
ed six per cent on their value, which is add
ed by the bootnlaker to the price of thu
boots which have already been taxed once
and when you buy the boots the seller j.
taxed on the profit he mades OH them
which tax is also added to the price of the
boots, and thus on the same pair of boot.
you fave been taxed three times, which IL
a degree explains the high price you pait
for them. The higher the price of boots
! or hats, or coats, or dresses Tor your wife o.
daughter, the fewer of these articles will b,
sold, but the sril w,U mot be 9reaty felt anti
ar currency is reduced from serea to three o.
four hundred millions Of doildr& When
dollar greenback will be redeemed by dol
lar in silver; that is, when the people fee
that paper dollar is really worth dollar
they will take care Of it accordingly.
| 1t seems to me, citikens-and | would b,
glad to learn your opinion relative to what
am going to say-it does seem to me tha
taxation should be equitable; that is, tina
each citizen should be taxed according t,
Ills means, and il l am in error trust tha
| | may be corrected. For example, wher
two persons have the same means, it appear
to me that they ought to be taxed equally
But suppose that one is worth twice as mucl
q, the other, would it be just to make tn
poorer man pay as high tax as the maj
who ia worth two dollars to his one2 Yo,
say it would be unjust to do 70, and ! be
lieve that your judgment j. right Well
then, let us suppose that MIR. Jones VIII
| l.. .,,f., al a.
without la bor, has wife and family, and i
possessed Of al income Of ixteen hundre,
dollars, accrueing from mortgage securities
and he has a neighbor, MIR. Smith, VIII
owns no property, but has wife and fami
ly, and. is also possessed Of an income O
sixteen hundred dollars, the product of hi
industry. Now, these two men have tn
same income, and pay the same amount q
tax to support the, Federal Government
but what is their relative situations; Jonc
| :, ,rnrth orar x.6 Ol)0 secured hy mortoo 0as