Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-04-25
[From Speights' Daily Nowspaper.l
The Income Tax.

Among the propositions for repairing the
deficit in the Federal Revenue, the one
which found most favor among the masses
Of the people and meots. with tho bitterest
opposition from tho wealthy and I. powerful
minority is the re-imposition Of the income
tax. The single argument employed by
tho opponents of this measure is that a tax
on incomes is necessarily iniquitous, because
it presses entirely upon GLASS end amounts
to a penalty or fine laid upon energy,
enterprise and thrift. Wo do not propose
to take tho defensive Of this issue. Tho
considerations we have refored to are not
worth discussing aud should not receive
moments entertainment by the representa-.
tiyes Of the people. Tho tfuo theory of
taxation is tho samo as that Of ordinary
business; that is to say, matter Of value
given for value received. The man upon
whom on income tax falls derives greater
benefit from the operations of government
than tho man who has no income upon
which to pay taxes. The first great pro
vinco Of government is to provide for the
security of person aud property. To this
end really oil the operations of government
tend, and in this motive the whole idea of
social organization takes its riso. It needs
no demonstration to show that tho proper
person to charge with tho expense of main
tanning any institution is the person who
derives benefit from its maintenance. The
institution Of our government is indeed Of
boneGt to all classes of our citizens, but the
ratio of this benefit is by no means equal
per capita. Certainly. the man whose in
come is hundred thousand dollars O year
is much more largely interested in the
security of property than the man who has
only thousand or who has nothing. And
yet under tho existing system Of revenue
laws the bulk Of taxation falls upon those
Glasses who derive the leasS proportionato
benefit from the operation Of the institution
for whose maintenance they are taxed. Tho
result is that large pretext is afforded for
the ontcry that the government is being
run for the benefit of the rioh at tho expense
of the poor; an out-ory which the unani-
nous opposition of tho New York press to
the reimposition Of the Income tax by no
means tends to silence. There is, of course,
no logical objection to be urged against
every man taking care Of his own interests.
Thus it is idle to expect that the million.
aires of the Northeast will quietly submit
to tho re.imposition Of even small tax
upon the product Of their overaowing
wealth. But it is distinctly the interest Of
every man who has to toll for living to
soc that the tax is imposed upon tho in
como Of his opulent noighbor instead of
submitting to still heavier impost upon
his own neoessaries of life. "The income
tax is dospotism," shrieks one of our Now
York contemporaries, and then adds that the
proper way to make up the deficit in the
revenue is by restoring the duty on tea and
ootfoe, increasing the stamp tax on matches,
DO. That is to say in palmer terms, mako
the tax little heavier Gil all the neoossaries
of life for that is liberty; but spare the
luxuries, for tax upon them is despotism!
That is queer reasoning for o country which
is supposed to have Republican or Demo.
cratic form of Government. In England,
whose form of government is aristooratic,
the first suggestion for making up deficit
in the revenue is to increase the inoome
tax a penny or two penoo or even "Trip
pence in the pound, as the case may be.
Aud tho British aristooraoy aooopt this
burden oheerfully; because they have sense
enough to 500, and honesty enough to admit
that they are tho chief beneficiaries Of the
of the government they are taxed to sup
port. It seems to US that in no country of
tho world, short Of the absolute despotisms
of the East, are the wealthy olasses go
utterly blinded by their own avarice and
deafened by thoir own greed as in this
country. BY and by they will forgot that
thero is suoh an institution as the people in
existonce. 1t would be woll to jog their
memories before it is everlastingly too late:
Washington Post.
It is stated that OK Governor Brown has
made contract with the State Of Georgia
to laaaa all thu nnnuinfn in Tho kinn.,