, 1880-02-22
MUNICIPAL TAXATION.
Mayor Harrison's Plan for Licens.
ing Business Occupations.
How the Scheme Practically Works in
St, Louis.

Occupatl0nS, ana lnuS competing PeoPAe "Ao
are able to have business to pay for thelr
temerity, has been carrying on some exten-
siye correspondence with Mayor Oyerstolz,
Of st. Louisa city. in which the license
system may be said to exist in all its beauty,
for the purpose Of posting himself on the
practical workings of the scheme under his
municipal contemporary. In reply to his plea
for information Mayor Overstolz has deluged
him with enough reading matter to last him
during his term Of office. he has even done
better than that He has promised to send
him some more which at present he is TN
able to favor him with.
The St Louis Mayors budget consists OF q
schedule Of licenses, as fixed by ordinance,
with the amount Of revenue derived there
from during the last fiscal year, q copy of the
revised ordinances Of 1871, separate copies Of
ordinances regulating licenses and business
occupations, pamphlet containing the laws
in relation to wharfage, and copy Of the st.
Louis city charter. The promissory fnfor-
mation-that which Is to be sent along some
of these days as a sort OF an addendum-wlll
consist Of lot of acts recently passed by
the Missouri Legislature regulating mer-
chants and manufacturers, and printed vol
ume, now in course OF preparation, contain
ing the revised ordinances of the city COM
plete.
that st. Louis collected during the last fiscal
year s567, 7,052. General auctioneers pay $40
for period Of ten days, and corresponding
amounts for corresponding periods, the rate
being somewhat less for special classes. The
reven derived from this craft was s., 20.
Banks and brokers pay Sl00 for six months,
Billiard-halls and ten-pin alleys are taxed $40
per table for twelve and six months respect
lively, the total revenue being 81 ,030. Board
ing-houses and hotels catch it to the tune OF
$50 year, and the revenue from thls source 11e
the ordinance is being tested in the
year, but there is no showing Of
anything having been received IN that dlrec;
% fG st. Possibly Teas srf po5s aS s par52sa
ordinance is also being contested
COMMISSION MERCHANTS ARE TAXED
all the way from SO to $500 q year, accord
ing to their annual sales or purchases, the
total revenue footing up S11,275. Dram-shops
OF the first class are taxed $50 for slxmonths,
.1a amount. us0 i Why W the s thins shoqdnt Be Just
the other way is not explained, but the city
got S1S435s, and tile dives are probably
happy. The license on canines IS - a year,
and the! abundance OF the licensed animal
in St. Louis is eloquently expressed in the
statement that the revenue from this source
and and sioo was collected during the
last twelve months. From financial agents gyea
Sea Sear 0f2xsr fs City TeS o PsS P to& ar
known in St. Louis As "hying horse ~
probably the Is Flying Dutchman - Of the ay-
erage Socialistic picnic levied on to the
extent Of SO for SIX months. tbs There seem en-
Guys revenue from this source was precisely
$50. Hotel-runners catch it pretty weIl,-S100
per year,-though only 500 was collected
last year. Insurance companies are put On
hue hui therefrom was sls,700. From intelli-
gence-offices, which are taxed just half as
much, the revenue was $500. and lunk~shops,
at the same rate, paid Sf00. Llthographers
and lumber-neasurers are taxed Slo and 50
respectively, and the revenue was SEQ and
So. The new law in relation to merchants and
manufacturers has but recently been in force,
and the estimated revenue is Se5,0o Mer-
chants are required to pay an ad yalorem tax
of 20 cents on S100 valuation Of the highest
Al amount Of stock on hand between March and
June, and 81 license per$1 GOO Of all sales:
Manufacturers pay 20 cents on 500 value OF
all raw material, merchandise, and finished
products, and machinery, tools, and app!l,
of sales during the year.. The meat-shops in
one district pay 500, and those in another
SOS per year, the total revenue being: S2S.2i5.
Mercantile agencies pay S1oo, merchandise,
DIbkEfS >lfOu-lC1ltlEllt k4duC19 F10 1Q1 lC1
days, ordinaries $50 for six months, and
pawnbrokers 500 for six months. the St.Louis
''uncles" turning into the City Treasury
last year $1,000. Peddlers on foot pay $40 for
six months, while those who sport
horse and wagon pay from $50 to S75 a
year. From this class the city gets S13, ,446.
Photographers realestate agents, and street
railroads pay So5, S100. and S25 respectively
year, and the items of revenue from these
three sources were S725, S6,1o0, and $500.
Theatres and exhibitions pay SIS month,
SIS for six months, and 500 year, and the
revenue last year was S975. The regulations
regarding vehicles are very minute, and,
though the ordinance has just been declared
valid by the Supreme Court Of the State, it
has been found
IMPOSSIBLE TO COLLECT
the full revenue during the pendency Of the
case. The revenue, as given, is S42, SIC.
Weighers are ''stuck" for S25 year, and this
class enriched the city's Golfers to the amount
Of 500. "Scalpers,"c who are euphoniously
dubbed "ticket-brokers,". are taxed $50 q
year, but the ordinance Is new one, and
nothing was collected last year.
The total of 55G7, Oh is. according to the st.
Louis Mayor, a fair statement Of years in
come from licenses. The amount at present |
collected in Chicago is about S212,000.
REVOLVERS AND SHOVELS.