Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-09
MEETISa OF MERCHANfs.
A Memorial 10 the Legislature ON tn
uTaraFsanfas Tar flf1EigA 3


chairman, and the members of the press
who were present were requested to act as
secretaries. evef
The chairman, In opening the meeting,
said: You all readily understand that the
merchants of our State have felt very
grievously oppressed by the burden OF taxa
ton imposed on them, not as a matter of
burden on themselves or the people,
but that we are paying an undue share of
taxes and it is that that we propose to rem
edy in regular legal way. The Legisla-
ture of the State is fortunately in session.
The merchants in various towns in the
State have moved in this matter, and we
are here to get rid of this burden in reg
ular way. In my intercourse with the peO-
pie of Memphis, Nashville and Brownsville,
the feeling expressed was that we were not
proposing to discuss the question of high or
low taxes, but TO try to equalize the tax
on merchants and everybody else. We do
not feel that we ought to pay more of the
burdens Of the State of Tennessee
than anybody else, who receive no
more protection than others. We do in
sist that we shall pay our equal share,
no more and no less, and have no doubt,
gentlemen, that is your view of the ques-
LlOu. EfsuditJl DtIOft Iilc law ID Nlldb C1C-
rybody claims, and what l am willing, and
l have no doubt you are all willing to con-
cede to all. We had preliminary meeting
to-day, and a committee was appointed to
draft memorial to the Legislature. That
committee is ready to report and We have
met here tonight for the purpose of hearing
that memorial and adopting, amending or
discarding it as you think proper, and for
the purpose of devising further means of
getting our object before the Legislature,
with view TO have it adopted. think,
gentlemen, l have sufficiently explained the
object of the meeting.
,4s.--v THE REPORT
The following report was read by Mr..
Brown, the chairman of the committee:
To the Members of the General Assembly of the
State of Tennessee:
On behalf of the merchants of the State,
who have delegated us to present to you
their grievances and to ask Of you redress,
we beg your careful consideration of the
respectful memorial following, and if you
find that we seek nothing but what is just
and right, we beg your prompt and definite
action. We claim, without fear of contra
diction, that the merchants of Tennessee
are as peaceful and law-abiding and honest
as any other class of the population; that
they, in common with all other good citizens,
| have the best interests Of the State at heart,
and that they are perfectly willing to bear
their full share of the burdens necessary
for the support, not only Of the
expenses of the Government, but of the
| honor of the State. We do not ask that
any burden may be shifted from their Shout
ders and placed upon the shoulders Of any
| other class. We do not ask that they may
| be exempted from any burdens which, in
your wisdom, you shall decide that, in COM
mon with others, they should bear. We
| only ask that they may not be Ostracised !:
| that they may not be selected out and treat
ed as class of Pariahs or serfs, unworthy
| of the protection of the Government which
they help to support Chat they may not be
| driven from the State by unjust and I'M
wise discrimination and imposition, and
| that they may be placed upon the footing
! of equality with other citizens and treated
! in all respects as their equals. We can see
no reason, and with all difference we assert,
| that you can give none, why the mer-
| chant is not as good and as useful a
| citizen Of the State, why his occupation IS
not as necessary to the well being of the
community, or why he should pay more for
the protection he receives than the farmer
| or any other citizen. We ask for nothing
but even-handed and equal justice; we ask
simply for equality of burdens as we receive
nothing but equality of protection. And we
appeal to that spirit of fairness and justice
| which exists in the breast of every man for
that equality, and while We are aware that
the great majority of you represent agricul
tura1 constituencies, we fearlessly say that
not one of these constituencies either ask or
expect that you shall relieve them from
their fair share of the public burden by i'm
posing it without shadow of justice upon
others because they may happen to be in
the minority and unable to protect them
selves by ballot. And farther, that if they
should so far forget the great principle that
| equality is equity, and should ask or desire
| SO unfair an advantage of their fellow-citi-
zens, that you, elected and sworn to repre-
sent the State and its interests, to support
the Constitution, and to do and to deal
equal Justice to all, should scorn to yield to
their demand, and should tell them that if
they will have such unfair advantage, they
must seek other agents to accomplish it.
| As the law now stands the merchants OF
your State pay, at moderate calculation,
! from two to ten times more tax than any
! other class of your community. These are
bold figures, but they are far below the
actual facts, and they can be substantiated
| by figures, which, to use well known
aphorism. never lie. Just as the capital of
tbs farmer is his property, so the capital of
the merchant is his property. Whatever
amount of merchandise he may at auy one
time have on hand beyond that is the result
| of his credit and is no part OF either his
! capital or his property. Your present law
| first assumes as the basis upon which he
shall be assessed, the largest stock Of mer-
chandise he may have on hand at any one
| time during the year, and requires him to
pay the same ad valorem tax paid by other
citizens on their property alone, and in adj
dtion thereto, license tax OF an amount
equal to the ad valorem tax.
| Now, for the purpose OF Illustration, we
propose to compare the tax paid by FAR
| mer and merchant, each having capital
or property of $4,000. It is well known
that any competent merchant having cap
ital of ten thousand dollars can, without
trouble, have on hand at the proper bust
ness season a stock of merchandise worth
thirty thousand dollars. Of this, ten thou
sand represents and is his capital, the resi-
due is his credit. At the present rate OF
sixty cents on the hundred dollars he pays
taxes as follows:
State tax on $4,000 at Coo per $780,. $3.50
License tax, an equal amout. ......... $50
| TOTAL. ...,.....' ''''''' 'PoOV
While the farmer with the same amount
of actual capital ,000) pays $50. For eve
~ dollar thus paid by the farmer the mer-
| chant pays Sc. This is by no means an ex-
cessive Illustration. On the contrary, we
have carefully confined ourselves within
bounds, and to facts which can be proven
to any one desiring further information.
And we have notaddedfo it the further fact
that while the stock of the merchant is ne
cessarily assessed at its full value, that, as
every one knows, the real estate of the
country is not generally assessed at exceed
ing fifty per cent. of its true value, if indeed
it be assessed so high. When this is taken
in consideration it will be seen that upon
their relative amounts of property
the merchant pays twelve and
more than twelve times as much tax as the
farmer, and as the citizens who
own the lots and buildings of our
cities, and towns. And thus, commerce
which experience has shown should be free
as air, which builds up your towns and
cities, sustaining your steamboats, and rail