The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1866-12-22
Tax on Necessities vs.. wealth.

One Of the heaviest burdens that is nov
pressing upon the lahoring classes of this
country, and particularly of tho Pacific
States, is the most eFiminally unjust sys-
tenn of taxation under which they are la-
boring.
To our mind, nothing Is clearer thar
the capital of country and not its labor
should pay its taxes. We are utterly in
capable of comprehending either the jus
tice or fairness of a taxation system, which
compels the man Of toll, who laborz
assiduously for twelve or fifteen hours a
day. in order to support a wife and half
dozen children, whose food il Of the
coarsest quality, while his garments, and
those of his wife and little ones scarcely
respond to the merest demands of decency,
should absolutely pay more Of the govern.
ment debt than the loFdly millionaire who
counts his treasures by hundreds Of thou,
sands Of dollars.
Take for example, on the ono hand, the
poor mechanic Of San Francisco, who
penniless as pauper, has by bis unaided
strong arm, to support family consist
ing of himself, his wife and six children
and on the other hand let US take the
capitalist who has a million dollars IN
bank, owes not cent, and has neither
wife, children nor ward depending on
him for support. Now WHICH Of these
individuals, we ask, under our present
indirect taxation system pays the most to-
wards supporting the federal government
The man of money may place at inter
est suficiepcy Of his capital to bring
him 5000 per annum, keep the remainder
on deposit in bank, watching and wait
| ing his chances for some grand specula
ton, and pay not one cent to the govern
ment, more than if he owned not dol
lar in the world.
The only revenue which the fedora
tax-gatherer derives from this millionaire
is sumped up in the duties which he
pays on the yictuals and clothes necessary
for one man, Even these he often pur
chases at rate far beloY their real value
owing to the fact that the iaboring produ
Ger is forced to sell them at ruinous re-
duced prices, in order to enable him tC
meet the imperious demands of creditors
On the other hand our poor mechanic
or what is the same thing our poor farm
er-has eight mouths to feed, eight backs
to clothe, and sixteen feet to be supplied
with shoe leather, and every time he un
dertakes to meet any of these wants he
must pay tribute to the government.
A glance at our large table of prices
current, with accompanying list of duties
will show that out of every three dollars
which this mechanic expends for boot
and shoes, he pays at least from seventy
five cents to one dollar to the general gov
ernment-the duty upon leather being
from 25 to 35 per cent upon its value
On every pound ofsugar, tea, coffee, rice
starch, soap, salt, nails, pulu-mattiDg; OF
every box of matches, every can of frui
and every gallon of molasses he pays a
about the same rate, namely, two dollars
to the merchant aRd one to the govern
lment.
| Now, inasmuch as it costs this labor
ling mechanic, from four to five times as
lmuch money, to feed and clothe his fami
| ly of eight persons, as it does the man 0
dollars to feed and clothe himself, is i
mot clear that the former pays at leas
from four to FIVE times as much as the lat
ter towards defraying the expenses Of tn
government?
] All this, too, he must do by the unaid