Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-08-15
IFrom the New York Herald. August Il. a Grant
paper ll.Jas5 asti % =
The Greatest Taxed Country I'm
the World. .9ans7

If the temper of a-peeple is to be judged
by Stheir patient endurance of enormous
taxation the people of theI United States
rerthe best tempered inlthe world. forthey@
certainly are taxed more heavily than any
other people and make less noise aboutit.t
We have estimated that taxation by taei
Federal Government alone, independentOf
State, county andlmuuicipal taxes, amounts
to fully fourteen dollars head--man, wo-
man and ehildTfors the whole populations.
Take the case, of a laboripgy man with a.
family of five or six children, and 1t will be
seen, thatsbe pays about q hundred dollars q
year, which, on an average, would be about
g. seventh or eighth of his earnings.
Yes, the whole working population pay in
One way or another this enormous and pro-
portienate samount of their hard earned
money. Nearly one days labor out of the
week the year round goes to the support of
the Federal Government. The local taxes
imposed by the States, counties and muni-
cfpaiities amount probably to nearly as
much, sfor in the end, directly or indirectly,
all tnxation comes out OF labor. Why, in
the city of New York we are faxed over
asWas raised and expended by the United
States Government thirty years ago.. But
tits the Federal Government we lspeaksOf
particularly now.lcs lsHsunu &c 9i.9d sfaI
The income of the General Government
last year. reckoning from June 30, 1857, 10
June 30 1868. was over four hundred and
sixty millions This, too, in time of peace
and three years after the war was closed.
If we take the British Government, the
most expensive of any In the world, and
which has much larger debt than any
other, by way OF comparison, we shall See
that our national revenue and taxes exceed
those Of Great Britain. The total revenue
OF England from all sources rarely reaches
eighty millions sterling, or four hundred
millions of dollars. This Is sixty millions
lees than ours, withstanding the debt Is
about double the amount of the interest
beafinR debt of the United States, and the
English have besides to support costly
royal establishment, an expensive army
and navy and the vast machinery of GOV
ering a fifth OF the babitable globe. We
nfight make acomparison with the other
great nations and empires fthe world and
SHOW astill greater difference in the cost
of government between them and this
country; but England is the most costly
and more to the point. Yes, our Republi-
can Government taxes the people sixty
millions year more in time of peace than
the monarchical- and expensive govern
ment of Great Britain does the British.
Congress made q pretence OF taking off
some of these taxes during the last session.
1t was estimated they would be reduced
hundred millions or so; but in fact the re-
duefion was made to favor a few manufac-
turefs and toincrease still more their profits
and wealth. The people win scarcely feel
the change, If at Iall. Their burdens will
remain as heavy as ever, or nearly so.--s
Shifting the weight of taxation from a. few
rathefincreases it upon the many. The
trouble lies in the enormous expenditures
of the government and in the extravagsnt.
appropriations of Congress. These 7are
fast eating up the surplus money Mr.. Nc
Culloch had in the Treasury, and at the
end of the fiscal year we may look for de-
ficiency. Nothing can be done to relieve
the, country of the overwhelming taxation
that bears upon it till we return to some-.
thing like the economy, of former years.
There is no hope of this till a wiser, a more
honest and an economical Congress shall
be, elected and. till the administration of
the cnationsl finances be- placed in abler
hands. To this the people should turn
their attention and see that in the coming
elections, these old, corrupt and incapable
Congressman be left at home and a better,
and more competent set Of men be returned
in their place. s,,,a.,,sE r .i-l5-57