Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-06-21


havs right 10 indulge m personalities.
] en- see % difference between an IA
salt offered thsough the colsmns Of Z
newspaper and one offered $50 yosr vesy
beard" Such controversies terminate
in nothing except to strengthen the par
tisans OF either writer. So often have
] seen such controversies descend 10
disgusting repartees, that had promised
myself never to indulge.
In the issue before your last. ven-
tured short article iu regard 10 the Of.
fee Of County Commissioners, which
hes elected reply from . eontributor
Of yours, ~. N. c." Your contributor
was very fair and friendly IN his man
ner and so disposed to argue the qses-
ton fairly and dispassionately. that
have violated this promise to myself,
with the provi.o that I expect him to
deal with me in Ill honesty and fair
ness, with . mind to Be convinced II
proofs are produced, and thst-he will
not indulge in the insults which have
before cited. because upon the frst per-
sonslity offered ! propose 10 discontinue
the co0iroversy and let H. saePoosihikl
ity sttaeh 10 him.
! propose to take up the several ar
guments which my friend uses 10 suit
his purpose in detail. or course al are
in opposition to the main fact by which
I illustrated the position taken by me.
First:
Did IL ever occur to your correspondent o
that three-fourths Of the taxes were paid by per
sons whose names do not appear upon the tax
record p &c.
Unjust confess to dulness Of percep-
ton, for assure you that this never did
occur to your correspondent, and as far
as he has been able to learn, it never
did occur to anybody else except nv
friend. II cannot be denied that legal
ly and technically the taxpayers are
those who hold property and pay a GER
tain tax thereon levied BY the proper
authori:y-but he proposes to 60 out
side and to the bottom of the well.
Gladly will l accompany him.
But before we start he must first pro.
mise me that his theory proceeds not
from any Of the old struggles between
labor and capital, and which Of late has
developed into communism. Then we
will together pursue the path of truth.
| concede at the outset, that the sweat
ofthe laborer's brow furnishes the mate.
rial wealth of every country-by it the
rich revel in their luxury, the merchant
acquires wealth, and by il the property
holder is enabled to pay his taxes-but
it would be preposterous to think tina,
the property holder held his property a,
the mercy Of the laborer which he en-
ploys for fair wages to make that pro-
perty profitable TO him. The laborer re-
ceives a quid pro quo for what he does
upon the farm of his employer and is
himself benefited. What farmer or
merchant in st. Mary's county ever
takes into consideration the taxes which
he is required to pay when contracting
for labor or selling bis wares. Some
philosophers contend that all taxes fall
ultimately upon the land. but this is de-
MED. If tax be placed upon a COM
modify consumed by an artisan, he may
retrench his expenses or increase his
labor. They must be very heavy taxes,
indeed, and very injudiciously levied
which the laborer will be made to suf-
fer without obtaining higher wages. A
man who owns farm and rents it to a
tenant should receive a proportion such
as will give him q fair income out Of
which he must pay his taxes. NV
friends argument, though having some
force in it, is not practicable and is too
remote to be advanced. WHY not then
abolish all taxes upon property and es-
tablish poll-tax, as three-fourths of
taxes are paid by non-property holders:
Certainly some one pays no taxes. His
torians inform u.s.. that one of the chief
causes Of the destruction Of the Roman
State was the alteration which Con-
stantine introduced into the finances BY
substituting an universal poll-tax in lieu
of almost all the taxes which formerly
composed the revenue of the empire.
But apart from all this, conceding the
force OF the theory Of nv friend, let us
look upon another view the case-the
distribution Of the taxes. What the Ia
borer has done was done through neces-
sity, and he never thinks OF ANYTHING
but his next years labor. 1t is inmate
rial to him how the taxes are distributed,
but il is of vital interest to the property
holder, because come what may his pro-
perry is responsible for next years taxes.
How many farms in our county. after
paying expenses Of labor and fertilizers.
clear enough to pay taxes: Still there
is nothing so certain as taxes. Failure
in crops, bad seasons, mitigate against
the farmer-his taxes must BE- paid. So
with causes conflicting with the inter-
est Of the merchant. Practically and
from all reasonable conclusions the tax
payer is directly and almostly entirely
interested in the constitution of the
Commissioners Court. Second.
Z" Are we 10 look forward TO the enactment Of
a law which would 50 completely curb the am.
hition Of the sons Of toll and stifs the hopes Of
their oespringr'
Now. upon this point I am sorry 10
say that my friend has been laboring
under misconception. Admitting any
force in my theory-that only tax-pay-
ers should vote for and be County Com
missioners-this force would be an in
centive to his "sons Of toll to acquire
property. and thus add to the material
prosperity of the county. Property, as
every writer on political economy
AYERS, is the material wealth Of any
coun,ry-therefore this incentive, Il
properly understood, viii traduee my
friends argument. Third.
go speaks Of Commissioners Fenwiek and Al
vey a. hsing the only Representatives Of the ma