Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-09-15

Cl1se of the last fiscal year / felt justified in
recommending to Congress the abolition Of
Internal revenue taxes except those upon
tobacco iu ii3 various forms and UPON DIS
alod spirits and feru.utei liquors, and
except aisO the special tax upon the
manufacturers Of and dealers in such ar
tiClts. / venture now 10 suggest that, unless
it shall be aTcertuinel that the prOba-
bic expenditures Of he government for
the coming year have been undereRiimatei,
all Internal taxes save those which relate to
distilled pirits can he prulluuy abroga'ei.
Such O. course, if accompanied 10y a simpla-
cation OF tho machinery OF collection, which
would thon be easy Of accomplishment,
might reasonably DC expected to result IN dl-
miui.hng tho cost OF such collection by at
least two millions and a half Of dollars, and
in the retirement from Office Of from Loo to
2Ojl persons. Tho system Of excise duties
hss never commended itself 10 the favor Of the
American PEOPLE, and has never been resored
TO except for supplying deficiencies IN the
treasury when 10y reason OF special ext
gcucl3s, the duties ON imports have proved
inadequate for the needs Of the government.
The sentiment of the country doubtless de-
mauds that thU present excise tax shall he
abolished az soon as such q course can
safely be pursued. 1t seems to me, how
ever, for various reasons, so sweeping
measure as the total abolition of internal
taxes would, for the present, be an unwlse
step. Two Of thee reasons are deserving Of
special mention. First, 10 is by no means
clear that even If the existing system OF du-
ties on imports is continued without mOdin-
cation, those duties alone will yield sufficient
revenue for all the ueais Of the government. 1t
is estimated that $4,000, 600 will be required
for pensions during the coming year, and
it may well be doubted Whether the max
imum annual demand for that object has
yet been reached. Uncertainty upon this
question would alone justify, in my judg-
ment the retention for the present OF that
portion of the system Of internal revenue
which is least Objectionable to the people.
Second, a total abolition Of excise taxes
would almost inevitably prove a serious If
not m insurmountable obstacle to thor
ouch revision of the tariff and to any con-
siderable reduction in import duties. The
present tarid system is in many respects
unjust Ii makes unequal distributions both
Of it, burdens and its benefits. This fact wsa
practically recognized by majority Of each
mouse Of Congress in tho passage of the act
creating the tariff commission. The report
Of that commission will be placed before you
at the beginning Of this session, and will, /
trust, afford you such information as TO the
condition ami prospects of the various com
mercal, agricultural, manufacturing, min
ing and other interests OF tine country, and
contain such sugEe7tiOns for statutory re-
vislou,as will practically aid your action upon
this important subject.
The revenue from customs for the fiscal
year ended June 20, 1879 amounted TO Sl37,-
100000. 1t has in the three succeeding years
reached-first SlS6 UOO, OuO, then Sl9s, 5000 900,
and finally, as has been already stated, 500,
10000. The income from this source for
the fiscal year which will end on June 30,
1883, will doubtless be considerably in eI-
cess of the sum last mentioned. If the tax
on domestic spirits il to be retained 1t is
plain, therefore, that large reductions from
al NaaHaH NaN
/ While recommending this reduction,
am far from advising the
abandonment Of the policy Of so discriminat.
| ing in the adjustment Of details rs to afford
aid and protection 10 domestic labor. But
/ the present system should be so revised a. &c
/ equaize the public burden among all classe.
and occupations, and bring it into closer
harmony with the present needs of industry
Without entering INTO minute detail, which
under present circumstances Is quite uuneC
. essary, / recommend an enlargement of The
free list 30 as 10 include within II the numer
Gus articles which yield uncomfortable reye
nue.; a smplifcation of the complex anC
inconsistent schedule of duties upon GER
tain manufactures, particularly those OF
cotton, iron and steel; and a substantial re
/ ductiou of the duties upon those articles, anJ
7 upon sugar, molasses, silk, wool and wooleI
goods. IL n general revision Of the tariff
shall be found TO be impracticable at thi
HNNrlDlt tAlAhH5 lllG AllsAA al lttAsN SUM
of the more conspicuous inequalities of thu
present law may be corrected before you
final adjournment. One of them is specially
referred to by tie secretary, in view Of a 70
cent decision of the supreme court, Tn,
necessity Of amending the law by which tn
Dutch standard Of color Is adopted as tn
test of the sgccharine strength of sugars i
too obvious to require comment.
THE WAR DEPARTMENT,
From the report OF the secretary of war j
appears that the only outbreaks Of Indian,
during the past year occurred in ArllOn
and in the southwestern part of New Mex
leo. They were promptly queled, and tn
quiet which has prevailed in all other part
of the country has permitted such an add
ton to be made 70 the military fore
in the region endangered by the Apache
that there is little reason TO apprehen
trouble in the future. Those parts o
the secretary's report which relate t
our seacoast defenses and their armamen
suggest the gravest reflections. Our e1istin
Notifications are notoriously inadequate t
the defense of the great harbOrs aud cite
for whose protection they were built Tn
question of providing an armament suite
to our present necessities has been the sub
ject of consideration by board, whose re
port was transmitted to Congress at the las
session. Pending the consideration G
that report, the war department Ina
taken no steps for the manufactur
or conversion of any heavy car
non; but the secretary expresses the hop
that authority and means TO begin that in
portont work will soon be provided. l invit
the attention of Congress to the propriety c
making more adequate provision for armin
and equipping the militia than is afforded b
the act of 1905, which is still upon the stat
ute books. The matter has already been tn
subject of discussion in the Senate, and bi
which seeks to supply the deficiencies of eI
listing laws is now upon its calendar.
The secretary of war calls attention I
, the fact of an embarrassment growing on
of the recent act of Congress making the re
tirement of officers of the army compusor
at the age of sixty four. The act Of 1873 is still
in force, which limits 10 four hundred the nun
Der of those who can be retired for disabilit
r or upon their own application. The two aci
when construed together seem TO forbid tn
, relieving, even for absolute incapacity, c
officers who do not fall within the puryiew {
( the latter statute, save at such times Ms theI
! chance to be less than four hundred name
/ on the retired list. There are now four hun
bred and twenty. 1t is not likely that Coz
/ gress intended this result, and concur wit
the secretary that the law ought 10
) amended.
q RIVERS AND HARBoRs