Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-12-08
THE PRESIDENT On THE ABOLI-
TON OF INTERNAL TAXATION.

III seems 10 me tnat the time mas ar
rived when the people may Justly demand
some relief from their present OnerOuS
burden, and by due economy in the vari-
Gus branches Of the public service this may
readily be afforded. | therefore concur
with the Secretary in recommending the
abolition of all internal revenue taxes eN-
CCpt those upon tobacco in its various
forms and upon distilled spirits and fer
mcnted liquors: and except, also the
special tax upon the manufacturers Of and
dealers in such articles. The retention OF
the latter tax is desirable as atfOrding the
officers of the government proper super
vision OF these articles for the prevention
of fraud"
The above paragraph from the Pre5i-
dents message contains his rccOmmen-
datiOns on the subject of internal taxa
ton.
1t is a sweeping recommendation for
the abolition of all internal revenue
taxes except those upon tobacco and dis
titled and termented liquors.
The idea upon which. the President
proceeds in this regard, aS we gather
from other parts of his message, is not
to relieve some subjects of taxation and
transfer their burden to others, or not
SO far a. he Is willing to commit him
Self-tO increase the tariff 10 the extent
of the reduction in internal tax, but
simply 10 curtail the income of the Gov
eminent and satisfy ourselves with u
more deliberate payment Of the national
debt.
We seem now to occupy the exceed
ingly comfortable position of having
more surplus revenue than We need. y
heavy surplus is accommodating in the
treasury vaults; and large balance on
the credit side of the treasury books Is
apt TO put the average Congressman in
a very uneasy condition of mind; and if
we continue to pile up the money they
will presently be demanding subsidies.
for everything from u cranberry patch
to a line of steamers or Il RAILROAD across
the continent.
But the important consideration in
this connection is whether we are not
making a useless drain upon the pockets
Of the people, i'm collecting SO large a
surplus revenue every year; suflicient,aS
the President shows, if continued at the
present rate, TO pay Otfthe public debt
in ten years.
There will not be much difference of
opinion, when the subject comes before
Congress, as to the prOpriety of reduc-
ing internal taxation. The main fight
will centerupO reduction upon tobacco
and spurious liquors. The President
would have these pay all the internal
tax we shall hereafter collect.
But even such tax, If maintained at
its present rate, would be no insigniti-
cant source of revenue. The receipts
form tobacco alone for the last fiscal
year were 81, S54 900, and the receipts
from all subjects of excise were $780,
229, OCEAN excess of more than Sll,-
100000 over those ofthe preceding year,
ard the receipts continue to increase; for
the first four months of the present fis-
cal year, July, August, September and
October, they were so, ,0O9, and If
this rate shall he maintained throughout
the year, the total receipts will be $751;
0OG-larger than they have been IN
any one year since 1870.
1t has been the policy of Congress to
reduce the several excuses that make up
our internal revenue system, for ten
years past, and il is probable that it will
make further reductions at the APP
preaching session. The match tax and
the tax ON bank deposits could easily be
RENTED, and it is probable that the tax
on tODaccO, spirits anu OeeF cOuIu DS IT.
duced without materially reducing the
receipts of the bureau. Indeed there is
reason for believing that the whiskey
tax could be reduced from ninety to fifty
cents a gallon, and the rates OH beer and
tobacco propOrtionately decreased, and
still yield Sl2O, OO0,OO0 a year, which is
as much as the government needs from
these sources. This position will be
stoutly maintained by these interests,
but there will be determined fight
against the reduction from motives out
side the revenue derived from them.
The prosperity of the country and the
easy condition of the masses of the peo-
pie are strongly reflected in the fact that
a reduction of tax can now be recon-
mended with reasons so strong to sup
port il.