New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1878-10-12
TNEWI ORLEANS REPUBLICAN, sATURDAYg OGTOBERo 1873

| which stand as the bases of the banks,
| which yield this large taxation, are not
themselves taxable, and that if you can
remand them to their owners and take
from them the franchises of the bank,
you would necessarily, in this city and
everywhere else lose that amount Of tax
alton And that brings me to observe
another point of this discussion. For the
last fifteen years in this country there has
been a'large amount of sgitation at diff
ferent times, still going on with more in
tensity than ever, in regard to the bonds
Of the United States not being taxed.
They say that every species of property
should pay its full and fair taxation; that
if l pay on my house and you on your
farm and another man on his merchandise,
that the bondbolder ought to pay taxes
on his bonds. Well, that is strong pro-
position, and am not disposed to object
to it. think SO too. think United
i States bonds ought not to escape taxation.
Applause ] But 1 go little further.
say they not escape taxation. laugh
ter and applause go just little grain
further. say they pay fuller and
larger share Of taxtion than any other
form of property in the United States, the
national bank stock alone excepted. That
is a pretty stiff proposition, probably
some of you think. But repeat that,
with the exception of the stock of any
national bank, the bonds of the United
States pay fuller and heavier amount of
taxation than any other form of property
in this country, and they pay it in adj
vance, too. Now, let us argue that little
bit. see two gentlemen out there who
look to me as though they had about ten
thousand dollars they wanted to invest.
Laughter t.t. e..
One of them is conservative gentle
man, and he thinks that he will put it in
United States bonds. And he puts on his
4 glasses Tomorrow morning and looks
over the price list of the stock market to
see which class of the bonds he will take.
Well, will save him some trouble on that,
for If he will step into any brokers' Office
on State street they will tell him, / think,
that however he may invest in United
States bonds, he can not possibly get
more than four per cent. on his money.
The four per cents he can get at par. If
he takes any of the skies or fives or fours
and half that are out, that are not yet
funded with lower bonds, he will pay inst
enough premium to make his interest four
per, cent, and it is calculated to the nine
ty-ninth shade OF o hair. Laughter. ]
So he can save himself all trouble when
he comes to invest, and he had better put
his money in straight fours. But my other
friend, there, he does not look quite SO
conservative, and would not be content
with four per cent, and looking over the
/ price list he thinks he will take Chicago
seyens Big city, great wealth, large
amount of bonds in Boston, most all of
them here Laughter He thinks he
will take Chicago city sevens. Well, the
gentlemen who puts his ten thousand
dollars in United States tours gets only
four hundred dollars year, and the other
gentleman is quite justified, in the gener-
al view, in trying to get seven per cent
and so he takes his ten thousand dollars
in Chicago city seyens. Now, Of course,
in the city of Boston, where everything is
done just according TO the square, laugh
teri where sin has not entered and guile
is unknown [laughterl of course, in this
city of Boston, the gentleman who took
the ten thousand dollars of Chicago city
sevens will go the very next day to the
, assessors of the city OF Boston and tel
!, them he has got them Laughter YOU
, all do that way. You would not thinl
/, OF buying q city bond, or any security
whatever, without Immediately advising
the assessors that you had got them, anG
ask them to tax them. daughter Well
honest as we are down in Maine, we dc
! not always do that. My judgment is, W.
J don't get great deal of that sort of thing
taxed by your assessors even. 1t is kin(
, of property that is very hard to get hold
of, generally kept in little tin trunl
, with patent lock, and it is so easy tC
+ place it in by-way place. 1t is in youl
! wife's bureau drawer, and it is the prop
erty of your brother that lives in Colo
. RADIO [laughterl; or your son left it witt
, you When he went to California, or it i
/ / the property of your widowed sister il
Z Europe. The truth is, that the vast mas
: OF that kind of property escapes taxation
and am afraid that the gentleman VIII
4 buys that ten thousand dollars of Chicag
6 city sevens would not go right away t.
. the city assessors to Boston, but he woult
y quietly tuck it it away and get sever
I hundred dollars for his.ten thousand dol
! lars annually. Now, to place him exactl
: the same as the goyernment bond man
: he should pay three hundred dollars taxes
n Which of these two men do you think ha
4 really paid his tax, the man who took tn
= ten thousand dollars of government fours
I agreeing to take only four per cent, be
# canse taxation had been taken out in ad
e vance and the rate made low by reason c
"a IuhL 1dCES Ut I4c llhu WIZ OdhC5 tAS bSNS
Il per cents, and runs for luck as to whethe
Is the assessors will find him out or moi
i [Applause.l
K But suppose you could tax the govern
n ment bond. Suppose, for example, tina
l. government tomorrow by proclamatio
IS would say that its bonds were taxable,
l. you suppose there would be q long Procel
) sion in Boston with little bank trunk
e under their arms going to the assessor
g. Office and presenting them for taxation
J. This whole idea Of taxing governmeI
u bonds proceeds upon the absolutely wron
le assumption that if you had the power {
IL taxing them you would do it. Why don
at you tax the man with the Chicago cit
e sevens? Why don't you tax all bond
whose interest is paid by coupons? In th
m State of Maine we have debt of seven an
4 half millions. Three millions of thes
or bonds are quite well known to be held
20 the State, yet there never has a hundre
10 thousand of them turned up for taxes ye
I Now, the government Of the United State
n if it would make its bonds taxable,
X course, it would have to pay six per Gel
I'd on them, and all you would realize woul
al be that the people of the United Stat
IN would have to raise two per cent NOR
" that is, one-half more than they now hay
IN to raise by taxation. 1t is only yesterda,
= it is only thirteen years, since 1865, whe
i'll the annual interest on the bonds Of Il