Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1875-01-07

to sec it. 1t may DO wrong in his opin.
ion to get the best attainable good out
of an evil, but nevertheless we are dis.
posed to disagree with our Agency
City correspondent on this point, and
we believe we are in accord with nine.
tenths Of the best people in the commu.
nifty upon this point.
Mr.. Dudley 10 unworthy of himself
when he intimates that we referred to
fines, ETC., received in the courts of this
county as the "largo portion of our
taxes coming from the liquor traffic"
Mr.. Dudley knew perfectly we'll
when he made those comments that
we referred to the Internal Revenue
taxes collected by the General Govern
ment. For the fiscal year ending June
3Oth last, the Government collected
from the sale of liquors in the United
States S5s, 74s, 1887. This is the tax
collected, exclusive of the duties on i'm
ported wines, brandies, ETC., which will
probably amount to sum approxima-
ting the above, although VIC have not
the figures before us. 1t will thus be
seen that the taxes collected on all the
forms Of liquor in the United States,
exclusive of the custom duties, by the
Internal Revenue Department, amount
to about one dollar and fifty cents
per capita for all its men, women and
children. If we are to understand
anything by Mr.. Dudley's communica-
ton, IL is that the National Govern
ment should pursue the same course
towards the liquor traffic that is pur-
sued by the State of Iowa, to.wit
the Maine Law free whiskey policy,
If so, the tax thus lost must be levied
on something else, or else be made di'
rect. because no one knows better than
Mr.. Dudley that taxation is now dowr
to the lowest point to meet the curren
> expenses. Suppose the latter alterna
tive be agreed upon, and the tax gath
! erer is sent forth TO collect the amour
which the Dudley philosophy says i
all wrong to collect off of the liquo
traffic. Wapello county has abou
i 24,OOO people, which at 81 so per head
which amount is now collected off tn
Y whiskey interest, would make 49,, 90
o per anpum to be paid by the people Q
;. Wapello county direct were MI
l. Dudley's theories to prevail, unless "
n have utterly misunderstood his pc
le sition. Under this state of things,
y wealthy farmer like Mr.. Dudley woul
le have to pay special or direct tax
q say $4,000 per annum. We should II
70 to see the ax-gatherer under itndlor
r. tenn start on his errand oiI;Ialv San
r Agency City. perhB,h his little old old
a. :, would pay his ffime he got up to
r. r creamer wGge Hanna's and n. D
=, *2oOo whole neighborhood would
~ oParms, and the last state of that
~ ok collector would be worse than the
FIRST. In fact, the people would hang
him to the first convenient tree, and
the verdict would be, served him
right.
So much for Mr.. Dudley statement,
made either purposely or otherwise,
that the liquor traffic paid no taxes.
That it pays none under the State law,
but upon the contrary is the fruitful
source for nearly one half of the suits |
and taxes in Wapello and all other |
counties in Iowa, 10 the fault of the |
Legislators of Mr.. Dudley's way of
thinking. For twenty years the bud. |
ley philosophers have made the laws, |
elected the Judges, and ran the grand |
juries Of Iowa, and during that time
the liquor trade has steadily increased |
in Iowa, and elsewhere in the States
where prohibitory laws are on the
statute books. Even Massachusetts,,
the staidest and most respectable Of
oil the States in the Union, has DELHI.
erately pronounced her Maine law q
failure, and elected q Democrat and
license man for Go We. On :. that
we have to suggest to our friend Dud-
ley, whether or not it would be advis-
able to make change? If it is DEM
onstrated that litigation and prosecu-
tons are the fruitful sources of taxa.
ton, and that they do not prohibit the
sale or consumption of liquor, would
it not be better to pursue the govern
ment course in Iowa, and make this
traffic pay taxes, instead of largely in
creasing the peoples taxes by SO much
futile and impotent litigation?
Our remarks about fellow getting |
a nip on the sly in Ottumws, were in
tended to be jocuiar. We supposed |
they would be so understood by every
one Of our readers who could tell joke
from funeral procession. The truth
is, brother Dudley's theories put into
practical effect, have substantially Civ
on us free whiskey without any limit |
or state regulation, and that was exactly
the complaint of the harmless para.
graph, which has caused all this rum
pus between Mr.. Dudley and the
COURIER.