The Portland daily press., 1879-09-01
The Taxes and the Poor Man.

| Senator Blaine in his speech at Damariscot-
ia undertook to make people believe that the
| poor man almost escapes taxation unless he
uses tobacco or spirituous or fermented liquors,
/ which he said were luxures and those who
used them ought to pay for. The tariff he de-
clared taxed luxuries chiefly which the poor
| man did not use. What are the facts? The
| tax on thirteen articles, including woolens,
sugar, ,smolasses, salt, iron, &c-artices of COM
| mon use which the poor man with large fam
| ily often uses more of than the millionaire
these thirteen articles pay Sc millions OF reye-
nue year, while those which are called luxu-
res, used almost entirely by the rich, pay but
% millions. In other words, the fact is that
the poor men of the country pay almost three
quarters of the taxes imposed by the Republic
can protective tariff. An instance of class-leg-
islation favoring the rich and burdening the
| laboring man which we are very glad the stall
wart Senator called attention to. albeit it was
only with intent to deceive The facts are
against him, and intelligent voters will not be
deceived by his claptrap.-Argus.
We do not purpose to discuss the tariff
question; but we do propose to look at this
statement of the argus and show how dis
ingenious it is. The Aryus seeks to convey
the impression that the poor man bears by
far the greater burden of taxation; for it
combats Senator Blaine's argument that the
rich man bears the heavier burden. Let us
see about that. The tax on spirituous and
malt liquors comes from two sources, GUS
toms and internal revenue. For the year 1868
the total tax amounted in round numbers to
S65 100000 The tax OH tobacco from the
same sources amounted to SAC, ,000, 900; a to-
tai Of $t11 100000 on these two articles of
luxury alone. The Argus has carefully
| I'D bn Mt a
revenue taxes in these articles, giving only
the import duties.
When it comes to duties what do we find?
We find silk goods paying S19,000,00O. Is
not silk an article of luxury? We find kid
gloves paying 81 ,5S9,9S4. Does that Cypress
the poor man? We find sardines paying $751;
900; marble $255, 900; calf-skins, $459,000;
'"opium prepared for smoking" S32S,000;
papier mach6 manufactures, $469, 900; wines,
$4,000; firearms, $4,000; hats and
bonnets, S295,O00; plate glass, $4,000;
Bohemian and other glass ware, $685.
600; ribbons $255,000; embroideries,
SS9o,O0O; feathers and artificial flowers,
$229,000; fans, $126,0Oo; dolls, $207, 900;
iire-crackers, S2O7, 900; fruits and nuts,
s27o,ooo; furs, $4,000; porcelain, china
ware &C., 81 10000 laces, braids &C.,
1850, ,00o Do these import duties affect the
poor man, or are the articles on which they
are levied, articles purchased by the rich and
the eXtravagant?
In regard to the other articles how is it?
How long has it been since sugar and mo-
l.
since iron was 50 low? Of provisions we
sent abroad in 1878 enough to bring us back
$I23, 600, 900; Of coal oil $48, ,000,000; of cot
ton and its manufactures $11 900, 900; of live
animals, s., 500, 900; of breadstuffs $1S1 200,
900. How much Of these necessary articles
did we import? OF iron and steel we i'm
ported $3,OO0,O 900 less than we exported OF
the others the imports are not worth reck-
oning. AS regards woolens, the argus
reckons in the finest shawls and worsteds,
and carpets and rugs and other fabrics that
only the rich or the eXtravagant buy. What
need have others to 60 abroad for food or
clothing when both are so cheap here? The
fact is the duties on these articles, some of
which, by the way, have always been in
cluded in a revenue tariff, affect the poor
man very little if any. The whole amount
of duties paid in 1868 for woolen clothing
amounted to but $313,O00. And of that sum
how much did the poor man pay
How about the rate of duty? The low
priced woolens pay from three to six cents
pound; but wooden goods of luxury like
braids, gaIloons and such, pay fifty cents
pound. Silks and velvets pay from 90 to
go per cent of their value; kid gloves pay
80 per cent; tobacco pays $3.50 pound;
salad oils one dollar a gallon; opium pre-
pared for smoking Sc pound; feathers and
flowers 50 per cent. of their value. While
on the other hand window glass pays two
cents pound; opium for medicinal use, 81
q pound; rice p cents a pound; pepper 5
cents pound, and so on. : the discrim
ination against articles Of necessity or ar
ticles of luxury? We are not attempting to