The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1873-08-20
NET WB ERR, s. T..
Wednesday, August 20, 1878,
labor and Taxes.

Many articles have been written and
much ink has been shed upon the re-
lations existing between labor aud
capital, but those existing between
Labor and Taxes seems to have been
almost entirely ignored. 1t appears
to have been taken for granted that
property, and by property We mean
houses and lands, and'such other ma
terial substances as are usually
onsidered wealth, pay all the
taxes and bear all the burden OF the
support of government. At first blush
it does. indeed, seem that such is The
case. Here dwells a man who OWLS
houses and lands to the value, say, OF
ten thousand dollars. On this pro-
perty he pays at present rates Of taxa
ton with which we are blessed, from
one hundred to one hundred and hfty
dollars per annum; while his laborer,
who has no property, goes scot free
and may snap his fingers at assessor
and tax collectors. The man Of pro-
perty pays even a special school tax
for the education of the child Of his
laborer, who pays nothing. So 1t ap-
pears that property pays all the taxes
and bears all the burdens incident to
the government of the State. And
this is true so far as appearances 90.
We are apt to overlook the facts that
lie behind these appearances. We
forget the secret sources OF the wealth
Of this man who own his houses and
lands and renders them so desirable
as pieces of property. We forget
whence flows that income that enables
him to pay into the State treasury the
taxes levied. He may neither SOW
nor reap; he may neither toll r"r spin;
yet he may always have q full purse
and to spare, even after paying the
onerous burdens imposed by the State.
His laborer may have enough, IN
deed, to supply the daily wants and
furnish the daily bread, but never a
surplus, although he pays not dollar
of tax to the State. Now, how is
this? How comes this singular state
of things that he, who bears the bur-
dens of the State, has plenty and to
spare, while he who is as free as the
winds has just enough and no more? ?
The truth is there is only one real
source of wealth and that is labor
The richest lands in the world are
worthless without men to till them.
The finest farms in the County Of
Newberry yield no return to their
owners without toll expended upon
them sufficient to make them wave
with their golden harvests of wheat,
or crow beautiful with their soft aeeces
of cotton wool The fine gold of the
mines is as yalucless as the flint itself
so long as it remains imbedded In the
rock. Labor of brain and muscle, ju-
diciously expended, is the real produc-
tive power, the real source Of all wealth.
Hence it follows that the laborerS In
all countries pay al the taxes and
bear all the burdens imposed by the
State, though they may appear to be
free of all.
The moral that We wish to enforce
by this line of argument, at present,
is this: the necessity of bringing the
laborers of this country, who are vo-
tcrs. to understand, that, when the
money paid into the Treasury of the
State is squandered and wronsfully
appropriated by those who have it in
charge, it is the produce Of their labor
so used, it is the sweat Of their faces
which has made rich and fat the purses
of the public peculators. Hence we
thiuk it we'll to encourage all voters
to become owners of property, both
real and personal, so that they may
have L realizing sense Of the situation
and have Il feeling demonstration by
direct application to their own pockets
of the beauties of high taxation. We
think it altogether probable that in
this way they may be taught to be
more conservative and learn a feeling
answer to the question, Who pays the
taxes?
-------------------
S'seSariSll.