The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-03-05
THE HELL. PUACEI.
Failure Of this Ingenious Device for Pay.
Ing or II state Debt.

ion. The scheme appears to have been
absurd from the beginning, and the law
by which it was sought to he put in opera
ton was so utterly inefficient that failure
has followed it, and disaster and general
contempt are about to Overwhclm IT,
When the law was passed at the session of
lS7G-TT its defects were pointed out by the
SINAI minority who opposed it. They claim.
ed that its provisions were impnCticablc,
and the method provided for collecting the
tax neither feasible nor efficient II was
urged by u Senator from this city that the
cities would pay the tax and the counties
ignore the Law, and that it WAS only anoth.
cr device To saddle the burden OF aXatiOn
on trade, commerce and enterprise. The
results have justified these predictions.
Eleven cities and towns in the State, with
u population Of lj7.0OO, have paid tax OF
Sll2, while ninety-ninc counties, with
u population Of l,2j0,OO0, have paid Il tax
OF only tllO,OO0. Owing to- delay, which
also Disseminated against the cities, in
putting the law into operation, the regis.
tiers were not started until October, 1877,
though the law requiring them was pass.
I'd in March, 1877. They were not supplied
10 all the counties until September, 1873. |
Iiut even allowing for the difference in
tn" time, the amount Of tax paid by the
several counties is rdiruOuSly small and
lncomprchcnsi bile on any fair theory. For
Instance, the county II Buchanan paid |
81 Is, while the county 81 nttAylvamia,
with the city Of lDanvillc, pays s., ia 81. |
The diSpr0purtion in wealth and pupula.
ton Will not account for this in any man.
ncror form. aud the inevitable conclusion
arrived ut is that the "cranking" Of the
bell in the register is almost wholly ne
elected in the counties.
The liquor sellers have been forced to
pay $fi, 100 Tor the Muilut rrsiSters-curh
one costing $lO-whIc the net increase OF
revenue over the old system "f specific
Licenses has been little over $50 900. This
Is the rrSnlt after all the cXtravagant pre-
dictions Vi DR.. Motljltt and the advocates
Of the register, who claimed that it would
support the State government, the public
schools, and 20 Tar toward paying hesitate
debt. In the Liquor bell punch" these
rural statesmen had discovered the philo.
SnphrrS Stone Of taxation, but the scheme
has turned ont onl y to br II good thing for
The contractors Tor the register, who have
been paid for the machines; good thing
lur DR.. MoiI,att, but har, thing for the
iiQu"r'sCIicrS and the poor people " no are
ont 81 pocket, and Il ht, thin. i6rthc State,
which has made 4 rriicGlous exhibition Of
lis capacity tnI business. and which has
become Il !aughin. stock for the country
Al large, and has obtained $4,000 Of add.
iI"na! lryCnU" out OF Il tax which was
Imm '''''"'' ''' CIV WY ''''H' ''''''-
Th,,.,,I...; L....,.,,,. ..,,,
wv" VI we Uh"'''F j. 'Hc punch
,Ln ;,'rn"'.n ., '''''c "NN :" Fl"sTG,
~ II ""s T'i'"F'rI II """lH
ri;,.,, w. H. ''S'''''I' "o"l" eI'"'E hc'I' I"
'"'f W''' "''! "ic"A up III"
,',,.i;, -. '"," W wy 'c""JTS'ctS am r.
,', VI T'i',' ~ N""'', Is r'Ie''
H.; .,t,";I,' u wa "r!'''-G .""'l"' III"
' l"''a S.'I' "''''' me cues are th'
"'"'!'s's "'I' !,l"F' :" 'hc ucnt-l"E!'lS
49, n''t '"'E' PAU! III me 't'ITS
w. , ,,E' 'Hv,' III nv W'''''it !" Sa''Ic
,"n "';''r ''', "i' "!I''' E'iI =" Ila' NJ
w. ~ - ~, '.,'r' ~ ''''! ''rt"''h I" I"'n
"a, J'S"',H "''" mus E'NE 'hc'ii control
w. ',Ir 'i''rS "'',i consequently "' III" stare
~ WV ''''r' T'''A'N nave VI" counties
'"r,e !''"','''' consequences arr too SrrI;
'.s ~ NC t'''!'"'tr'c'' '"r III" purpose "i
||AiT'''l':'s III finance; hence the r"a!
c"'''S W !"c "rW' payers "t III" SAT"
pt"inM'H'" l" '"r'e M|Ii"'t an, his rcadJ'at'
i"- I',vN !" tI,"''cn'' IL" u! aI'Pr"p;E'"
"T's'''r,' or my wv repeal H. lh"y
""'L nm 'n'N alternative, NIL; VIII rcr.
'%'H'I GIVE Nun lnan iS',"' he general
'IHN'" i"iht 81 tIi"Se VIM SrcS 10 amend