The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-06-19
"unIrorm" Taxation.
From &c Indianapoli, ,Lourno

CFOHA AtS 4ItutdItupOtt8 JOuTWQf.
The Sentinel undertakes the defense
ofthe demago9ical clap.trap resolution
of the New Albany Congressional Con-
vention, which declares that all proper
ty ought to be Subjected to the same
taxation, not only for national, but
also for State, county and municipal
purposes" In our structures on this
resolution we showed that it was i'm
possible TO subject all the property of
the country to the same taxation for
national purposes, for the reason that
the Constitution prohibits Congress
from collecting taxes by a levy on all
propertyin proportion to its value
National taxes must be specific and in.
direct, astheY now are, or If direct they
must be apporttoned among the sever.
al States, notin proportion to the value
of property in each, but in proportion
to their representative population
Consequently, if the attempt were
made to collect two hundred millions
OF internal revenue by direct taxation,
Indiana would have to pay as much
for each representative she is allowed
in Congress as the State of New York
or Rhode Island, whose wealth is many
times greater in proportion to the pop
ulation than that of Indiana.
We said further that the principle
enunciated in this resolution would
require all property now exempt from
uaLlOuat AdAdliOh " Db td46u directly
according TO its value, and that the
bulk of property now exempt consists
of farms, farming implements and live
stock; and that the authors of the reso-
luton dare not go before the farmers
of this State and advocate q change in
| the system of national taxation which
would req ire farms and farm stock 10
pay an al UdtorenI tax to the General
Government. We therefore properly
characterized the resolution as hum.
buggery and charlatanism.
Instead. however, of declaring that
there should be one dead level system
| of taxation, by which the pittance of
| cent as the wealth OF the rich, the
State Convention took precisely the OPP
| postte ground, as its resolution, here
cited, conclusively proves
"Sd. Inc Government of the United
States should be administered with the
| strictest economy consistent with the
public safety and interest. Revenue
should be so laid as to 0iVe the greatest
possible exemption to articles ofpTfRIarV
necessity aud fail most hedvtty Ttpo7,
tu1uTTeS ana the ICedtth Of The countrU,
and all property should bear Just pro-
portion of the burden of taxatfon.h
This resolution of the Republican
State Convention is in harmony with
the revenue legislation OF the Republi-
can Congress. The latter has refrained
from imposing direct taxes upon the
States, as they would necessarily be
levied upon all property alike, but has
sought its sources of revenue, as far as
practicable, in articles of luxury and
the profits of the accumulated wealth
| of the country. Farms are exempted
from national taxation, but the income
of the wealthy is taxed. The farmers
horses, cattle, and implements of Inns.
bandry are not taxed by the General
Government, but whisky, wines, ci-
gars, gold and silver plate, tobacco in
its various forms, the receipts of eoFpo.
rate bodies, the gains and business oil
banking institutions, gold watches and
! billiard tables ate so taxed.
There was never u more bare-faced
case of political scoundreltsm than the
Copperhead effort to prejudice farmers
and poor men against the Republican
party, on the lying pretense that they
are Disseminated against in the matter
| of national taxation The most prepos-
| ferrous falsehoods are unblushingly ut
tered on this subject by Democratic
| politicians, and the press5of that party
seems to vie with the most unprinci-
| pied of It's stump orators in the manu-.
| facture and dissemination of lies. II
would be difficult to devise q tax sys.
tenn more favorable to the laborfnp
masses. or less oppressive to the farm
ing interest than that adopted by Con-
gress for raising revenue for the sup.
port OF the National Government.