Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-12-24
BAYARD TAXATION.

In recent communication with
senator BASARD, of Delaware, who is
well known throughout the country for
his conservative views upon questions
of finance, the currency, &C., reprCsen-
tative of the REGISTER yentured to
question him little a. to his views up
ON the present mode of raising revenue
for the government.
As to the tax upon tobacco, said the
distinguished statesman, | would at
once reduce il to ten cents pound. AT
that rate the government will get more
money than it did when the tax was n
cents. ] know fno reason for rcI"o~-
Ing the tax entirely; tobacco Is legltl-
mate subject for taxation; it may fairly
be classed among the luNurlcS OF
life: the use of it is not ncces-
Sarv to the existence OF any
man; nor is its use con-
fined To any class Of men; it is luxury
enioyed by all classes and conditions
alike, and the tax is thus 80 equitably
distributed rs to make the burden on
any one very light.
The tax upon spirits I,would reduce
to 80 cents a gallon for the same reason
rs before mentioned. At one time the
fax on whisky was but 30 cents, and at
another time it was 500, yet, singular
to SAY, the government received several
millions more at the former than 1t did
on the latter figure. The incentives to
false swearing, to the formation of cor
rupt rings to avoid the payment Of the
tax was greatly lessened by the smaller
tax. 1t is nonsense to say that the re-
! ductiOn i'm the tax will increase the con-
sumption; ii will only increase the gov
| crnment's chances To secure the honest
enforcement of its laws. / would re-
duce the tax upon all proprietary medi-
zines and upon the alcohol that enters
! into their preparation H. well ~ that
which enters into the man
ufacture of all manner of perfumes,
! such ~ cologne and all the stutis that
are 80 popular with the ladies-sO as to
enable the American manufactures of
these articles to ship them to other
countries. We have the most invent
i've and cnterpriSing people on the
globe, but the brightest genius and en-
terprise may be crushed by taxation.
Matches? No, | would not remove
the tax from matches. | am not re-
fCriug To the variety of matches that
fond mothers delight i'm manufacturing,
but those known of as the "Lucifer'
variety, made Of pine wood and phOS-
phOTOUS. DO YOU know that the wood
out of which these are made mainly
comes from Canada? 1t il 4 peculiarly
fine grained pine. I'm the city of my
home, Wilmington, Delaware, there is Il
large mandatory of matches; and the
readiness with which OurpeOple learn the
best mode of subscribing their own
interests is illustrated by that tinanCier
They went away up into Canada, and
thence, on the shores of u canal or navi-
gable stream they purchased u large
body of land covered with the variety
ofpinc best suited 10 thCirpurpOSe. They
cut this timber, and saw il up into
small blocks and load il into barges.
One of these bargCS will hold about ~
much ~ ten railroad cars. They float
the bargeS down into the 1t. Lawrence
river, thence through a canal into Lake
Champlain, through the length of that
lake. thence through Il canal which con-
meets Lake Champaign with the Hud-
son river, thence down the Hudson, and
through the Hudson and Delaware ca
nal to Wilmington. But about the tax.
/ 1t is but one cent box, and il the most
! absolutely equitable and evenly distrib-
uted tax of all the taxes
levied by Government. 1t costs
nO'Onc man much, Vet every
man pays trifie. 1t is felt by no one;
it is not burden; il Expresses no one;
vet no one is so rich or 80 poor but, like
the blessing of the free government il
helps to maintain, he may participate
in il. Matches, like tobacco, are not a
necessity. Only a few years ago they
We're unknown. People got along we'll
without them, and some people now do
not Use box of matches ina year. Be-
sides, remove the internal tax anu then
you must levy tariff upon foreign
matches or allow our manufacturers to
be driven from the field. How would
that help the match consumer, be he
poor or rich?
No; said the Senator, do not think
would remove the stamp tax on checks.
That Expresses no One-no industry.
The man who is able TO keep bank ac-
count ought not grumble at this moderate
tax. Checks are usually made for toll
erably large amounts, 81 that the sum of
two cents distributed over the face ct
the check is a pretty small per cent
a pretty small tax. Resides, u stamp on
q check is q species Of safety against for
geries. And the Senator went on to ex-
plain at length this proposition.
In regard to the tariff upon foreign
commerce, Senator BAYARD said; The
present tariff is bundle of crudities; it
Is contradictory i'm many of its provis-
ions, and while the plain and unlesrned