The daily gazette., 1879-04-28
Paid by other 26 States sl12,193,!

Thus while, according to Mr.. Conk-
ling, the 9,4s7,3S6 inhabitants OF the
South pay $l3,627, l92. 81, ,or SLAB head,
iuto the Golfers OF the nation, the 24,6e6,-
225 of the twenty-six other States lex
cluding New York; pay S4.54 per capita,
while each unit OF the wretched and over
burdened population OF the Empire s ate,
4,3S2, .50 men, women anu children CON
ttibutes $24S The curse never fell
upon our nation-we mean our State
till now. We do not know exactly
which hypothesis is the true one. Either
New York, in paying about five times as
much as her proportionate share of the
country's taxation for national purposes
is attesting her wealth, glory and pa riot
ism, or she is being most toully imposed
upon. Whichever Is true, it seems TO us
that in "the greatest effort of his life"
Senator ConklinG, who we believe is a
Senator from New York, might have
dwelt upon this extraordinary dispropor-
tion between Eer payments and her pop
ulatiOn long enough to explain it.
But carry this remarkable argument a
step further. The total customs receipts
for the last fiscal year amounted to $780,
170,6S0, of which $94,059,24 were re-
ceived at this port. 1t follows, then, ac-
cording TO MIR. Conkling's system of
arithmetic and political economy, that
each of the inhabitants OF New York
City, rich or poor, great or small-we as
sumo the figures of the last census to be
authoritative as to both parties in the
comparison-was taxed under the tariff
within q very small faction of one hun
dred dollars, while residents outside
Of the city paid into the Treasury some
thing under seventy cents head. The
World has never ceased to point out
that the present tariff is abominably UNI
equal and unjust in its operations, but
not until Mr.. Conkling came to the trout
and mad. it plain had it occurred to us
that to the residents of this city tariff is
actually one hundred and forty-tLree
times as onerous as to the residents of
Jersey City, Brooklyn or Weslchester
County. The discovery is so appalling
that II will probably drive Mr.. Fernando
Wood into suicide to think of its having
been sna chad from him by rural law
yer casually in the Senate.
When we reflect that according to Mr..
ConkhDg the average head of a family of
five persons in New Yotk Citv has TO pay
Sj00'a year in duties, and further that the
earnings of such a person do not exceed
5000, we see at once how very small a
margin Is left the poor creature to meet
his share of the internal revenue tax,
to say nothing of the items of food,
clothing, rent and fuel. Ia the ignor-
ance of their hearts political economists
have hitherto maintained that taxes and
duties are really borne by the consumer
and not by the importer or manufacture
er. In the light of this false doctrine 1T
has been supposed that when a distiller
in Chicago or Louisville paid the excise
upon barrel of whiskey he included
the sum in his bill TO the wholesale mer-
chant say, at New York, who charged ID
upon the retailer, say, at New Haven,
who collected it from the consumer in
the land of steady habits and romantic
coachinen. In like manner il been idly
thought that when an importer paid the
Collector of the Port of New York the
duties upon a bale of blankets and sold
that bale to go West he got the money
back again from a Kansas City dealer,
who got it back from a storekeeper at
Abilene, who collected it from farmer
or a drover.
According to Mr.. Conkling, hewever,
the transaction begins and ends with |
the first payment into the Treasury so |
that if we were to abolish the custom |
houses the residents-or more properly |
the importers-of New York would find |
their profits increased by S94 200, 900 a |
year, while the remaining inhabitsnts |
of the Union would scarcely be affected.
Or If the excise tax on whiskey and to-
bacco were removed the consumers and |
distributors would not gain anything, |
while the dlstillers and manufacturers
would lpocket one hundred millions Of
dollars annually! i
POLITICAL economy adopted by the |
recognized Republican leader in the |
Senate and applied by us to the people
of his own State. These Figures" and