The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-08-12

Tho Greatest Taxed Country in tho World.
If the temper of a people is to be judged by
their patient endurance Of enormous taxation
the people of the United States are the best
tempered in the world, for they certainly are
taxed more heavily than any other people and
make less noise about it. We have estimated
that taxation by the federal government alone,
Independent of State, county and municipal
taxes. amounts to fully fourteen dollars a
head-man, woman and child-for the whole
population. Take the case of a laboring man
with family of five or six children, and it
will be seen that he pays about hundred
dollars year, which, on an average, would
be about seventh or eighth of his earnings.
Yes, the whole working population pay in one
way or another this enormous and proportionate
amount 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, coun-
ties and municipalities amount probably to
nearly as much, for in the end, directly or in
directly, all taxation comes out of labor Why,
in the city of New York we are taxed over
twenty three millions year-as much as was
raised and expended by the United States
government thirty years ago. But it is the
federal government we speak of particularly
now.
The income of the general government last
year. reckoning from June 80, 1867 to June
% -.
millions. This, too, in time of peace and
three years after the war was closed If we
take the British government, the most expen-
sive of any in the world, and which has much
larger debt than any other, by way of com
parison, 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. ~hs is sixty
millions less than ours, Notwithstanding the
debt ia about double the amount of the interest
bearing 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 government over
colonies and territories covering fifth of the
habitable globe. We might make a COMPARE
son with the other great nations and empires
of the world and show still 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 republican
government taxes the people sixty millions a
year more in time of peace than the monarchi-
cal and expensive government of Great Britain
does the British.
Congress made pretence of taking off some
of these taxes during the last session. 1t
was estimated they would be reduced a hun
dred millions or so but in fact the reduction
was made 10 favor few manufacturers and to
increase still more their profits and wealth.
The people will scarcely feel the change, if at
ALL Their burdens will remain as heavy as
ever, or nearly so. Shifting the weight of
taxation from few rather increases it upon
the many. The trouble lies in the enormo us
expenditures of the government and in the
extravagant appropriations of Congress.
These are fast eating up the surplus money
Mr.. McCulloch 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 something like
the economy of former years. There is no
hope of this till a WISER more honest and
an economical Congress shall be elected, and
till the administration of the national finances
be placed in ADLER hands. To this the people
should turn their attention and see that in the
coming elections these old, corrupt and inca
pable Congressman be left at home and bet
ter and more competent set Of men be returned
in their place.