National Republican., 1878-07-11

economy knows, and the editor in question
ought to know before he attempts to in
struct the public that all impost duties and
excise taxes are indirect taxcs-taxes inn
posed upon goods, wares, merchandise, and
articles imported into or manufactured in
the country-and not taxes levied upon the
States, or the individuals composing the
State, according to population, representa-
tion, or to the valuation Of the property,
real or personal, of the States, or of the in
dividuals composing the State.
At least fve-eiphths of all the impost
taxes collected in the country are collected
at the port of New York. Is any one so
ignorant or stupid as to think or assert that
because this is the fact, therefore the mer-
chants and importers Of the city Of New
York pay five-eighths of all the customs
duties collected in the country Yet this last
statement, should the Washington organ or
some New York city editor enunciate it to
show his readers the unequal distribution OF
taxation under Radical or Democratic tariff
laws, would be rs near the truth as the
statements under consideration.
Of the S119OO0,OcO collected during the
year 1877 Of internal-revenue taxes, nearly
one hundred millions were collected on the
two articles-whisky and manufactured to-
bacco. But none OF this was collected di-
rectly from the farmers who raised the corn,
rye or barley from which the whisky was
made, nor from the planters who raised the
tobacco, provided they did not manufacture
1t nor sell leaf-tobacco for consumption be
fore 1t was manufactured, nor to illicit man.
ufacturcrs to be manufactured and sold in
fraud of the revenue. The tax, ninety cents
per gallon on whisky, and twenty -four cents
per pound on manufactured tobacco, or
S6 per thousand on cigars, though paid
primarily by the distiller or the man
ufacturer, is added by him to the
price Of the article, and is made
part and parcel of its merchantable or ex-
change value. The tax follows the article
into the hands Of the jobber, the Wholesale
and retail dealer whose business II is to dis
tribute these two articles whisky and to-
bacco) over this broad land, until it reaches
tHc cOnsumeIS. Inc CONSUMERS ultimately
pay the tax-each in exact proportion to
the quantity he consumes-and he pays for
it voluntarily; for no one compels him to
use either one or the other. Does the organ
claim that Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky
consume more whisky per capita than New
York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts,, or
that Virginia and North Carolina consume
more tax-paid tobacco per capita than Yer
mont, Maine, md Rhode Island? Judging
from the number of persons who were Ii
censed to sell whisky and manufactured
tobacco in these different States during the
year 1877, the one hundred millions of in
ternal revenue was ultimately paid by all
the States-New York, Pennsylvania, and
Massachusetts, paying their full share-and
so they will continue to do while the Gov
ernment continues to levy tax on whisky
and tobacco and the inhabitants of these
States continue TO drink the one and smoke
and chew the other. If this is an unequal
distribution of taxation, it will be difficult
to point ont some mode by which impost
and excise duties and taxes can be equal
lied