Weekly Arizona citizen., 1880-10-09
Give Your Attention to the Present Infamous
 Bullion Tax Law,
AND TOTHE REMEDIES OF TERED BY THE TWO PARTIES BEFORE
 THE PEOPLE.
The RsPublicans Will Aid to Remove and ihe Democrats Would Add
 to Your Burdens.

The most important question which
 has arisen so far in the present cam
 paign ia Pima county, so far as the
 Legislative candidates arc concerned, is upon the law levying tax of two
 per cent, payable quarterly, upon the
 net proceeds of mines, and the close
 and urgent attention of all interested in mining is invited 10 the action of
 the two parties on this important sub
 ject.
 In regard 10 ihe law itself the fol- lowing are facts:
 l. The tax of two per cent. IS
 purely arbitrary. All other taxes are based upon the amount of property assessed aud the amount of revenue required; but thIs tax is leyIed with out regard 10 the amount of money to be raised.
 9 Other taxes are paid once a year; ; this tax has 10 be paid every three
 months.
 8. The money from other taxes
 goes for general expenses of govern ment, while seventy-fve per cent. of hi. goes 10 the county for road build ing purposes.
 4. The amount of the tax is exor- bitant and out of all proportion 10 sim liar taxes levied elsewhere and to the purpose for which it is intended. ! Under the present law al least SlOO,OOO may Tn all probability be paid next year into the treasury of Pima county for road building. IL is simply no- torious that roads have not been built
 bv the county. The roads from Char 1 lcston and Contention 10 Tombstone are main, travelled stage roads, but
 the mining companies of that district | had to build them at their own eI- pense. The road into the Orc Blanco
 mines was built by the Orion mining company, and it was SO utterly a
 waste of breath 10 talk 10 the Board
 Of Supervisors about il that no one
 was foOlhardy enough 10 broach the subject. When the miners of the Patagonia Mountains wanted their much ed road put in decent shape, ! their petitions were considered as so much waste paper. The crossing of ! the San Pedro River, at Charleston, I where the stage from Patagonia and 1 Huachuca 10 Tombstone crosses, is 6 | notoriously bad place where teams 1 have been lost during the past few months, and lives endangered, and yet, : though the mining company having mills at that point pays thousands of 1 dollars yearly in bullion tax, is is im- ' possible 10 get the supervisors 10 | bridge the river, though them oney is ! al hand and the demandurgent ,. The tax is not levied against pro perty, but directly against induIi y and intelligence.
 , 6. IL is inquisitorisl in it's na'ure, ! and therefore particularly obno ,iOus. ! Under it, the superintnodeRs of al mine has every quarter to lay, under , oath, the entire books of his company open 10 what is equivalent to public ! inspection, and it is maintained by 1 those who know that to answer ques- ! tions required by law is impossible. | No merchant, banker or lawyer would stand such an inqCisltion into his business affairs as this law puts upon l mines.
 :. The law is so complex, conflict ing and contrary that legal advice is necessary 10 construe if.
 g. Under the present law, the miner who ships few tons of ore to San Francisco for reduction and makes a small profit therefrom has to 1 pay the two per cent. tax and answer i the lnquisitorial questions; if he sends ! the ore 10 a custom mill, the same 1 thing is expected from him, and the | poor hard-wOrking man who with his own hands makes an arrastra and re- duces just enough 10 make a living is compelled 10 make his returns or
 break the statutes of the Territory. g. The law discriminates unjustly against silver In favor of gold. Ores
 that do not yield over $50 per ton are
 exempt from taxation. Silver ores yielding but $30 leave no margin for profit, while gold mine of equally rich ore of any amount, would be most valuable. The largest gold
 mine ln Arizona, the Vulture, will not run st the outside over SIP, yet il pays handsomely, and will pay no tsI; similarly the Yellow Jacket and Dos Csbesas gold mines. The great
 Black Hills gold mines yield only
 from seven 10 ten dollars, and the gl- gantic Mulattos of Sonora not over
 thirteen on an average. Who can
 toresee what gold mines will soon be
 opened in Arizona When we con-
 sider that silver bullion is already at
 a discount of from ten 10 fifteen per
 cent. and is legislated against, It IS
 manifest injustice for our local laws
 to add sn additional burden of two
 per cent. against our most important
 product.
 SucL being the law, the following are the blanks Of the political parties as adopted st their conventions;
 Democratic plank;
 Resolved, That the tax on the net proceeds of mining is q discrimins- ting tax against one of the most lm- portant industries of the Territory, and should be modified; and that all taxes should be levied equitably upon the sctual value of the property.
 Republican plank:
 Fifth, That the present law levying tax of two per cent, payable quar- terly, on the net proceeds of mines, Is an eItortionate tax levied against the parsmo cunt industry of the Terri tory, and being in the nature of tax on incomes, Is wrong in principle, and should therefore be repealed.
 Let us compare these for Q moment.
 The Democrats say mining IS one of the most important industries Of the Territory; the Republicans say it IS the paramount industry. Take away the mines and what is there left in Arizon1s The farmers and stock men lose their markets, merchants their trade, lawyers, doctors and bankers their business, ana the Apache rosms st large. The industry of mining is what makes AriZons.
 The Democrats say the law should be modified; the Republicans demand its repeal, saying the law is like 8 rotten egg, so bsd all through from beginning to end that it cannot be so modified ss to make it wholesome, but it must be thrown away.