The Placer herald., 1867-02-23
From the Scientific Americana
REPORT OF The REVENUE C0MMIS.
SION.

REPORT OF The REVENUE C0MMIs.
SION.
The report Of The Special Commissioner
Of the Revenue, David A. Wells. is a docu-
ment which every intelligent citizen Of the
United States owes i, to himself and country
TO procure aud study. 1t is not newspal
per article, to lun the eye over among other
things. 1t is a work Of science, research,
and philosophy; condensed into a phamphltt,
it is true, but containing more matter, more
meaning. and more instruction, than almost
any beck, so-ral!ed. that we can think Of
among the publications OF years. In respect
10 the amount Of intellectual labor expend'
ed, of talent. experience and knowledge call.
ed into requisiion from innumeratle sources,
and the number Of coIlaboratoTs employed
aud directed ly one master mind, there are
very few works in our Libraries Except en-
cycopedias) ha, will really bear compari>
son to it. Mr. Wells has thrown his whole
soul into lis work. laborirg with An enlhu-
sias'ir industry, night and day, for years. and
the result is "a put lie service such as the
country is rarely fortunate enough to obtain
for its money, in any department. No man
can he exactly right in all his conclusions,
hut if Cong gress shall legisa,e as we'll as
Mr. Wells has advised, there will he little
left TO regret.
We would gladly give the report to our
readers entire, did space permit. We can
only glance at the main features, in The hope
of indulging some Of "Ihe plain people, who
govern The country at last, to make it their
business to Get and digest The whole.
1t appears that the s5O,00o,0o0 lost to
The revenue by the wh;sk+y frauds and cog
nate operations which have Per.aded the
whole liquor business Of the country, have
no, been saved to the drinkers, but have
mostly gone into the pockets OF manufacture
ers aud knavsh revenue officers. The av.
erage CONSUMPTION being 40,0o0,0oo gallons
Der annum, would Weld at two dollars Il
gallon, a revenue Of SsO, 100000. Less than
:3O,O0O,OOO were actually paid on only
three eighths of the amount made aud sold;
aud yet the average ruling price, notw'h'
standing exceptional cases of which much
has been said, Las been nearly equal to The
cos! of manufacturing llus the tax, showing
that in general the people have paid The
tax, although their government has not got
il. From the enormous development OF
fraud and official dishonesty in the past
year, perfected by practice and stimulated
ty the high rate Of the TAX, it results that
The revenue from spirits has increased but
about two and halfper cent from that Of
1864. while the tax actually paid 10y the
consumer has been four or five hundred per
ceLt greater. TIE Commissioner RECON-
meuds reduring the "swag" fifty per cent;
in other wo,'ls making the tax one dollar n
gallon. A .tl more impoltan recommend'
alton is renew ed: that Of supervisors Of the
revenue, with the duty among Others OF
keeping the disiiIIery inspectors in lively rot
,a,ion from one sphere Of inspection TO an
other.
The tax on carriages, watches and plate,
is condemned as too inquisi,orial, annoying,
and expensive to collect. in proportion /"
The revenue derived herefrom. The tax Of
three cents per pound on raw cotton, Is re.
commended TO be retained. The general
tax Of five per cent on products and sales OF
manufacturing industry. should bs reduced
to three per cent. with proportional reduce
ton Of the spe. ific taxes. The taxes on The
manufacture Of salt, emery, sulphur: acid,
bar, plate and sheet iron, aud on the elements
Of the manufacture Of steel, to he entirely
removed, and that on refined sugar TO be ~
duced from two and half per cent to one
per cent. The decided opinion of the Com
missioner is that Il rapid reduction OF the
p,incipal OF the public debt, is at present the
true policy ofths Government, and that the
adoption uf this course, SO lar from protrac,-
ing the period in which the national debt
can be discharged, will, on the contrary,
greatly shor,en il.
The taxes bear an excessive proportion
both TO the population aud the public debt.
The amounts uf the late fiscal year were: In.
ternal Revenue. $3l0.9O6, ,9s+, currency, and
Gus, oms. sl79,O46.G3o, gold; total Of
1851 572,26O in currency. Our domestic
manufactures are taxed Sl7S,0O0.OOO; busi-
ness (Iicenses) sls,ooo,oo0 (gross re'eip's)
81 | 5000 incomes, $6s. .O0O,O 900; banking,
Sl2,OO0,O00; stamps, Sl5,00O,00O. We
pay an average OF SIG o. currency, or
$ll 46 in gold, for eve'y man, woman, and
child in the country. while our public debt
averages per- capita S74 %. The worst taxed
county (ou's +xcepl-d) in the world. Grea,
Britain, pays $40 80, with public debt Of
1892 per capita. France pays 81 o.. and
Austria but IS 81. The ratio Of taxes to
property with US is almost per cent. !"
Grea, Britain it is nine tenlhs Of Que per
| cent.
Furthermore. it should lie remembered that
taxes in Great Britain are levied in such II man.
ner rs in the least possible degree to enhance
prces-all OF the ordinary forms and products OF
industry being exempt from taxation; while in the
United States the eX mption OF amy form OF Capt
tai OF process OF result OF industry is the except
lon rather Than he rule. Thus in Great Britain,
in 1865, ~ & percent oil the revenue was derived
| from liquors and tobacco, while in the United
States.swth at least II double consumption, the
percentage Of receipts from the same articles was
only 81 ol II cent
The tax Of q per cent on the woocn industry
of Massachusetts alone (S4S .43O674), was equiva.
lent 10 nearly 20 per cent on the whole capital
($l4735, ,S3O) invested in this business; while the
| tox on boots and shoes was equal t. 30 per cent