The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-09-13
The lrrepressiblo MIR. Spinner ON the
Bonds and Politics Again.

The Irrepressible MIR. Spinner ON the
| Bonds and Politics Again.
| United States Treasurer Spinner is out again
with letter pleading for the bondholders, and
with stump. speech in the body of that letter
| against the democrats and in favor of the
radicals. He is the most irrepressible func-
tionary in this line we have ever known
Judging from the frequent appearance and
length of his letters, the Office Of Treasurer
must be very light one. A man who can find
SO much time to write for public consumption
and political effect can have little else to do
Of course his communications are always in
| reply to some patriotic Jones, Smith or Thomp-
son, who wants information but it so happens
that the questions are in Invariably such leading
ones as exactly suit the answers which it is
well known the Treasury oracle will give.
Thus Mr.. Spinner acquires the honor of noto-
riety through the press which he could obtain
in no other way than by this ingenious process
of responding to the appeals of patriotic cor
respondents.
This time 1t is Thompson who wants to be
democratic platform means about "equal taxa
ton of every species Of property according to
its real value, including government bonds
and other securities" what the ''practce of
the government has been respecting the taxa
ton of government bonds, and whether ''the
lands of the farmer and homesteads of the la
boring people shall pay an dd yal0rem tax
10 l,ot Al
consumer" And he asks further eff the gov
eminent has ever applied this principle to its
method of raising revenue"
| In answer to these inquiries Mr. Spinner re-
plies-First, that he hopes Grant and Colfax
will be elected, and that the result will be
not only settlement of the political troubles
Of the country but the financial problem also.
Still, he fears there are some leading men in
his party-the radical party-''who are not
well grounded in ethics or political economy"
A very sensible remark, only he ought to have
said great many leading men, and not few
merely, are in that benighted condition. Yet
he hopes all this ignorance will be
sloughed off, and that the purified radical
party will take from the d6bris of the disin-
tegrated democratic party enough men who
are sound on the question of finance" He
looks to financial issues as being the ones on
which parties will be divided in the future and
after the next election.
With regard to taxing United States bonds,
he says the plank of the democratic platform
referred to is buncombe, and he does not
L. hat ,lxAI e
believed that this or any other civilized govern
ment on the face of the earth ever taxed its
| own stocks or permitted them to be taxed by
| any other power within its limits or jurisdic-
tion." We think Mr. Spinner has limited
knowledge Of history or be would not make
such a sweeping assertion. The incomes
derived from government stocks are taxed in
this country now and have been in other
countries-that is, the interest is taxed, which
| is about the same thing as taxing the bonds
| If the principle be admitted though only by
| the tax Of a MILL the government can at its
| discretion tax to any extent. This, however,
| applies to the supreme government, and not to
the local governments. Still 1t is a question
whether the separate States or municipalities
can constitutionally tax incomes derived from
government bonds, notwithstanding the de-
csion of the case Mr.. Spinner quotes with
regard to the city of Charleston taxing United
States stocks It did not appear clear in that
case that the tax was directly upon the inte-
| rest or income derived from the stocks, and
| Chief Justice Marshall took the broad ground
that no local authority could touch the credit
Of the supreme government by taxing its Sc
| curities. Still there was difference of opin-
ion among the judges as to whether the in
terest as income could be taxed. Mr.. Spinner
reiterates the old cry of reputation, because it
is proposed to make the bondholders contri-
butte In some way or other to the common
burdens of the country. According to his
view Of the matter this enormous moneyed
oligarchy ought to be exempt from taxation,
because, forsooth, If taxed the credit Of the
United States would be damaged. We rather
think the reverse would be the case, and that
both the revenue and credit of the government
would be, greatly improved by making such an
enormous mass Of wealth contribute a fair pro-