The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-08-19
The CRY OF ..ston Thief,

1MC NEy VI 0kUp L.
The tactics of the professional pick
rocket, who joins in the hue and cry
of "stop thief" after some imag-
mary rogue, while. at the same time,
he chuckles over the ill-gotten
gains in his own pocket, are as old
as the business he follows. The City
Council seem to have adopted the
same strategy in their simulated in.
dignation over the decision Of the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
by which those who sell in market are
required to pay a tax to the Govern
ment. 1t will be remembered that at
the last meeting Of the Council, Mr..
Van Ripper. with mock indignation, in
troduced the following resolutions,
which were unanimously adopted:
Resolved. That it is the sense of the
City Council of Evansville, Indiana,
that the recent attempt to levy and
collect a tax (of the government of
$40 from each and every farmer or
gardener, who brings to our city his
wagon load Of vegetables, is at once
an outrage on the producer and con-
sumner, and we cannot think 1t was
duly considered nor intended by Con-
gress; and
Resolved, That we hereby request
the Assessor and Collector of Inter-
nal Revenue to suspend the collection
of this tax from the honest farmer,
until they can properly lay the matter
before the proper authorities, as we
feel that, inasmuch as said tax has
not been collected during the past
three years, it seems to US that 1t is
over zeal to serve the government
that prompts its collection at this
time, when the law authorizing its
collection is about drawing to close;
and.
Resolved, That a special committee
of three 90 be appointed by this
Council to prepare an address to the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
praying that the execution of this OBJ
noxious law be suspended until the
representations of the people can be
heard, which we feel will insure its
repeal.
Now one would naturally conclude,
on reading the above resolutions, that
the present Democratic Council would
do, and were doing, all it possibly
could to lift the burdens of taxa
ton from the farmers and gardeners.
But what are the facts in the case?
Why, the present Democratic Coun-
Gil, which resolves that an attempt to
levy and collect Government tax of
so per year, from every farmer who
brings to our city his wagon load of
vegetables, is an outrage upon the
producer and the consumer - has
actually INCREASED the taxes on the
farmers for doing that same thing, to
more than that amount. Last year
the average tax levied upon farmers
and gardeners for stalls under cover,
was forty dallars per STALL The present
Council raised the price to an average
of FIFTY-oNE DOLLARS, or an in
crease of EleUsn Dollars per gear. Last
year the gardeners who used the curb
stone, backing their wagons against
the same, were charged fifteen cents
per morning for the privilege. The
present Democratic Council, which is
so outraged over a government tax
of ten dollars" charges these same
gardeners for the same privilege thirty
sac to t.0elve dollars per year-an in
crease of over One HUNDRED PER
CENT. Now, if taxation is such an
outrage upon producers and consum
ers, why did the Council pile it
on to the farmers and gardeners go
steep for merely backing against the
curbstone? IF the Council is so ter
ribly outraged because of the govern
ment tax. why not come down some
what in its demands. We dare say
the government authorities would
very cheerfully take halt of the an
crease of the rents of stalls, as .tf.red bg
the present Council, and give the farm
ers clear receipts. But if the present
Council doubles the taxation on the
farmers and gardeners, with W hat con-
sistency can it cry thief" at the gov
eminent, and denounce its collection
of revenue as an outrage on produc-
ers and consumers?