Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1878-11-28

an able editorial on slow to Save" an
after speaking Of the leniency of some {
+ our laws for the punishment of minor Of
fences, ETC.. and suggesting that criminal
Ne made TO work. makes the following
suggestions. etc. in relation to adoptin,
the Moffatt bell punch in Montana:
Under present regulations large elias
of our population contributes nOthin.
whatever towards our county fund, an,
elsewhere method Of taxation has beef
introduced which has been found admirabl,
we'll calculated to reach that class. w,
mean the liquor tax. usually known by tn,
name of the instrument used in its imposi
tiOn-tlle Moffatt bell punch. From tn,
State in which it was first introduced, Vir
ginia, the punch has been adopted by h,any
other States, north as well as south, as vel
as by many of our larger cities. and no.
where when once employed has il been
abandoned. The tax it imposes ia entirely
voluntary. and is the fairest OF all possible
taxes in this, that it is strictly proportion
ate to the amount Of business transacted.
II is tax on the consumer, a tax levied
on a luxury in whose indulgence originate
large share of the expenses incurred in
criminal prosecutions. and from which.
therefore. it is proper that we endeavOr to
collect sufficient to make good those ex-
penses. Without attempting to enter into
its merits in detail, we will simply point to
the tact that the liquor dealers are the
strongest advocates Of the beii-punch,
wherever ii has been placed on trial, which
proves that the protection itassures against
bad debts is more than an Offset to the tax
it levies. If such a measure has been found
beneficial in Older and more settled COM
how much better will il succeed
in Montana. where the entire body ofplacer
mines are practically exempt from taxa
ton. although they would willingly bear
their just portion of the public burdens.
Among the free living, extravagant Mon
tanians, the bell punch tax would he far
more productive than certain wild schemes
OF taxation finding favor in some quarters.
willie it would be altogether without the
disastrous consequences sure 10 result
from experiments in paths lately pro-
posed.''
We believe a large majority of the tax
payers of the Territory will unqualifedly
endorse such measure. From Eastern
exchanges we learn that the MOffatt bell
punch has been in use as a part Of the ma
chinery OF tax collection in Richmond,
for fourteen months. and it has
given unbounded satisfaction. The Com
missioner who has charge of this part of
the revenue has just published report
showing the number of alcoholic and malt
thinks taken and taxed each month. and it
lffords some interesting information. The
population of the city is less than $4,000.
md the total income from malt and alco-
lolic drinks sold by the glass in the four
cen months ending with October 81, 1873.
vas S52.736.93. OF this sum. alcohol paid
s4S, 1922. and malt S9.S94.Ol The bell
'ing l.SO3,693 times for alcoholic drinks,
IN which the tax is l-2 cents each, and
'.97S.32S for malt drinks, on which the tax
S ID cent each. 1t was a noticeable feat
Ire Of tie hot spell in st. Louis last sum-
ner that there was a heavy falling off in
he patronage of the bars, but no statistics
onld be had TO prove its extent. The same
hing is clearly shown in the Richmond
lblcs. In October, 1877, the total number
f alcoholic drinks registered was 2l2.Ol6.
t dropped to 1SS.0OO in December. and
1900 in april. 1873. 1t kept running
own through June, July and August, and
cached its lowest limit in September.
lien it was but 1920. Last month it
allied, and ran up to l06.477. The falling
fl from the highest point is doubtless in
ome measure due to evasions of the law,
ut unquestionably the most of it is charge
~.~.-.~- '..o,ooTviussrc.,I- IIInrsrrIcrs. wv
'arked diminution in the number Of malt
Kinks is noticeable on account of the warm
Gather. The bell punch seems to be a
eat success in the Old Dominion. ,