Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-09-09
Pay mo Taxes ON their
Great Wea1th-The Farmers and
Mechanics Foot the Bill. -

A =
Hon. JAMES A. ALLEN, of Illinois, in q
recent speech, shows up the fallacy of Mr..
Senator YATES, of the same State, that
bondholders pay the taxes, in a light so
clear that he who runs may read. He says
At the close of the war, it was found that
our Government was indebted to the enor-
nous extent of twenty-five hundred mil
lions OF dOllarS-asu so vast that the hu-
man mind is lost in the contemplation of
it-a sum so vast that the mind can scarcely
conceive of the amOunt-sO vast that IL all
the gold and silver that has been exhumed
from the mines of this North American
continent from the time of Columbus to
this day were coined, it would not equal
this debt by far. This debt is represented
by what is known as Government bonds.
They are promises of the Government to
pay the holder what their face calls within
certain periods, and bearing certain rates of
interest. They are in the form of ten forty
bonds, few of them are seven-thirty
bonds, but the great bulk of them are in
the form of fve-twenty bonds. They are
promises of the Government to pay the
holder within five years, or. within twenty
years, the sums specified in the bonds, and
bearing six per cent in coin, payable semi
annually. ALI these bonds, of the various
classes, by act of Congress were exempted
from taxation for all State, county and mu.
nicipal purposes. This twenty-five hum
dred millions of bonds is about equal to
Hence, you see that the Republican party
have, by their legislation. exempted near
ly one-fitth of the entire property of this
country. In this they have violated the
rule which L say has been regarded as a
fundamental rule heretofore by all parties
in this country, that men should be re-
quired to bear the burdens of the
Government in proportion to what
they have to protect. Why is this
vast amount of wealth EXEMPTED
from the burden of taxation? Iti prof
table investment. These bonds are more
profitable to the holder than your farms,
your workshops, or your stores. The hold
ers OF them realize higher rate of interest
than you realize from the money invested
in your workshops, your farms, or in any
of the various pursuits of business. Six
per cent. interest in gold is equal to ten or
twelve per cent. interest in the currency of
the country. They hold these bonds, and
they draw their semi-annual interest on
them without labor, while you who have
farms and workshops, and pursue the va
rious callings, have to toll from early dawn
to dewey eve, and at the end of the year
are not able to reckon up ten per cent. in
terest. The bondholder has no labor to
perform, except to walk down to bank and
present his coupons, and draw his in
terest upon the bonds that he holds. Is
there any reason why his property should
be exempted and yours taxed? Is there
any reason why the man who adds moth
ing to the aggregate wealth and import
ance of your country, who, like the lilv.
| labors not, neither doth he spin, should
not be taxed as well as you who labor i?
Now what reason did the Republican
party give in excmpting these bonds from
taxation? It was this: that it would rem
| der these bonds less valuable to the holder
if they were taxed. 1t is true that it
would render the bonds less valuable to
| the holder; but your farm upon the same
rule is rendered less valuable to you by
| the tax laid upon it. Your horse is rem
iered less valuable to you on account of
being taxed, and so with all your personal
| property according to the rate of taxation
imposed. It Is no reason at all then why
the bondholder should be exempted from
raxation.d Let us look for moment at the
practical working of this taxation. You
have q court house to build. When your
commissioners, or whoever is intrusted