The Republican journal., 1869-04-15
Where is the Burden of Taxation !?

rates. Their orders will always receive prompt attention
Where is the Burden of Taxation ?
Such is the heading which the Ban COR
Wing places over column article designed
to reply to couple of paragraphs in our
issue of last week. 1t says
In the absence Of facts and legitimate argu-
ments, the Belfast Journal enthusiastically
filings out that it ''would like to know whether
taxing the poor mans farm, cattle and carts,
and not taxing the rich mans bonds, is one of
those many determinations and that the
''rare luxury" of salt, as an example, sis taxed
only about 800 per cent?"
Commenting upon this text, the Wing
makes the following sweeping assertion
And first, as to the hating insinuation rea-
tive to bonds. 1t is utterly groundless, as even
the more intelligent Democrats very well know.
Our chatting insinuation' was that the
rich mans bonds are not taxed The Wing
will scarcely deny their exemption What
oes it mean? We judge it may possibly
be in labor with the idea that the bonds are
not held by the rich capitalists of the coun-
try. The following paragraph gives some
color of probability to this belief
When the Democracy of the Empire State
investigated the matter, they found that, eX-
cepting the bonds held in Europe much the
larger amount of bonds was held by laborng
men and women, clerks and others living upon
limited salaries, and farmers.
Does the Wing remember the successful
/ T. ids ranaptl,, do IL,
cy in Wall street, by borrowing currency
on the deposit of bonds, and wringing the
very life-blood out of business men? Near
ly twenty-five millions of dollars were sud-
denly Withdrawn from circulation. creating
a panic, out of which the conspirators reap
ed rich harvest at the expense Of the pub
lie. Was that done by "laboring men and
women, clerks and others? The idea is
preposterous.
Again, the whole banking capital of the
country is founded in these bonds. No 9TH
er is known. Bonds are deposited at Wash
ington, and currency issued to the banks
upon them. Do laboring men and women
own the entire banking capital of the coun-
try The Wing will see to what absurJi-
ties its line of argument leads.
Again it remarks
We supposed the cry in reference to bonds
had died out with the reputation campaign
which preceded the Democratic Convention of
last year.
We call the attention of our contemporary
to the course of the town of Montville, the
strongest radical town in this county, as set
forth IN another column Of this paper. It
will see that so far from having ssdied out y
the cry that comes from the people, suffer
ing from unjust oppression, is breaking out
anew, in unexpected quarters, and without
regard to party teelin gs. 1t uW be heard.
No lapse of time, nor habit of acquesence,
nor threats, nor cajolery, can stihe it. The
eNempting of this large class of property
from the common burden is rank and tv-
rannical injustice that must be riehted
The Wing next proceeds to comment on
the taxation of farming stock and nipple
ments, uader the internal rerenue laao We
were not talking of that. What we say is
that when the assessors of Bangor, or Bel
fast, or Montville, make their annual asses
ments of taxes, they exempt the bonds held
by their wealthy men, and levy taxes on the
farms, stock and implements Of the farmers.
But for the outrageously unjust law of Con-
gress, made by the friends of the Wing to
favor the bondholder, all property could be
reached alike. Now the farmer has to paw
his own tax and that of his bondholding
neighbor.
In relation to the taxation Of salt. the
Wing says
The next statement that salt is taxed 800
per cent, deserves more notice only as being,
to put it very mildly, grave error MANY
charges have been rung by Democratic papers
upon this one article. Yet none of them to
our knowledge have given, as none dare pub
llsh, what the tax really is. The tariff amounts
to the enormous sum Of IS cents upon verv
one hundred pounds
Let us see about this. a bushel of salt
costs in Turks Island, cents. 1t weighs
80 pounds. This would be fraction less
than two hundred per cent duty. Then the
various forms of taxation upon the yes-
sci that brings the salt, upon the storage.
upon the importer, upon the retailer, and
upon every person who touches it, rests at
last upon the consumer. And the consum-
er, when he buys a bushel of salt in our
market, pays SINTY-SIX CENTS for it.
1t cost has increased EIGHT HUNDRED
AND FIFTY PER CENT. since it left
the manufacturers hands!
We fear that our neighbor, in meddling
with the salt question, has got himself into
a pickle. But it is inevitable. He makes
the best use of the material furnished by
the wrong side of the argument-but the
cause is an unjust one.
Now the practical application of the ar
gument is this: If the bonds were taxa
BILE, as they ought to be, the tax on salt,
sugar, flour, clothing, and the other neces-
sites of life could be reduced, to the relief
of the poor man. But so long as this