The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-05-15
TUESDAY, MAX is, 1877.
Earnings OF Our NcighborhOod
BANKS.

LullOlu ihtNAIbVutNIi
In your issue Of last Saturday morning
you published an interesting resume Of
the profits Of the National Banks neigh.
boring to your city on both sides Of the
river wherein you assume that all the
banks named have paid 10 per cent diVi'
dcnd to their shareholders, and then you
conclude upon this showing with the re-
mark that "the banks have not been
killed Of with taxation.n Now, as We
Of this side Of the river are at present
engaged in i struggle against inequitable
and therefore troublesome taxation, and
as the appraisemcnt Of our bank stock
will he made shortly your figures, fear,
unless corrected, will do US harm in deep.
cning the feeling already imbeddel in the
minds Of part Of the public that Ma
tional Banks pay no taxes or that Nation
al Banks should be taxed heavily, be-
cnuse, Rs is asserted, they are able TO
stand it. The facts Of the case with the
banks named in your list are more near
" az follows: One Of them has paid
but s per cent for seven years
past. Another paid its dividend for the
past year ending with May at 81, while
still another, not named in your list
yet within twelvcs miles Of your city, has
paid, am informed not over seven per
cent annually for several years past,
Two others Of the list pay FIVE per cent
whenever they earn that much, but to my
certain knowledge each Of them has d.
vided only four per cent semi.annually,
number OF times, in the last five years.
| think, il II careful and accurate state
nent was published Of the earnings Of the
National Banks within ara1iu5 Of fifty
miles Of your city, it would show only II
yeriiiCation Of the statement Of the
Comptroller Of the currency in his last
report, viz: that the average annual div.
idends upon National bank capital dur.
ing the last year were less than 0 per
cent while the ratio Of dividend to CAPT.
tai aud surplus in the same period was
only I! per cent.
The term "being killed off by taxation"
may mean different things 10 different
person, but | submit that the compulsory
giving OF ono h'rd Of all you make to the
tax gatLerer comes abOut as near 10 being
killed of or TO downright robbery as il il
possible to reach and still be within the
pale OF the Law. For instance, the First
National Bank Of Bellaire, with whose
tax Affairs happen to lie quite familiar,
paid its last dividend at the rate Of A. per
cent aemi.annually, aud for the year
closing with June will have paid state
and general government, four thousand
three hundred and eiShty-iiYe dollars for
taxes upon 4 capital Of one hundred
thousand dollars. In other wor1lsitpaid
its shareholders, who furnish the capital
foot the bills and take the risks, tro. Mird.
Of the profits and the tax gatherer the
remaining third. And it ia 30 with the
other National Banks Of the country
though their ease is not so extreme by
reason OF lighter tax rates prevailing
where their business is conducted.
Appros Of this subject allow me y lit
tie oil your space to ASSERT again what has
been so often insisted upon-and say il
for the benefit Of our people on this side
OF the riyer-that the National banks do
not ghirk nor desire 10 shirk, their fair
share Of the tax burden. What they oh.
jet to ia an intquitable appraisement, q
Ttrtiru'ar t,rpitys, ont ,rJ S,n;u,, e., q,