Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-12-04
TAX REDUCTION.


Some people find in the election
returns a loud call for reduction of
the national taxes, and determined
effort will be made by interested par
ties to prod congress into a sweeping
reduction of the revenues this winter,
the free traders insisting that the
tariff must go, and the high tariff
men that the internal revenue taxes
must be abolished. We do not be-
lieve that the people as a whole feel
in the least the burdens of our ma
tional taxes, or care to have them
much reduced. They are vastly
more interested in having congress
appropriate the proceeds honestly
and judiciously, and if the results at
the polls this month are carefully an
alyzed, it will be found that ten men
have been punished for voting for
the river and harbor bill for every
one that has suffered for opposing
large cut-down in the tax list.
Last year the receipts of the gov
eminent were about $500, 900, 900, of
which 1920, O0O,O0O came from duties
on imported goods, and s135,OO0,-
900 from internal revenue taxes.
The custom receipts are mainly in
cidential to our protective policy,
which we could not afford to abandon
if it did not yield cent to the treas
ury. The duties on Il few articles,
such as sugar, of which we cannot
produce a full supply, might be and
should be much reduced or abolish
ed, cutting down the aggregate,
$40, O0O,OOO on $50, O00,0 900. Of the
internal revenue taxes S120, 000,0
were drawn from tobacco and
liquors, leaving only S15,000,000
from all other sources. The S15,-
900, 900, which came from taxes on
bank checks, playing cards, patent
medicines, matches and banks, we
could get along without, and the
taxes should have been taken off as
+box, would I,ox,o boa,, Ioc o,,n,n,o, ;f
the democrats in the senate had al
lowed the house bill to come to a
vote. With these reductions Uncle
Sans annual revenue would be about
$3.50, OOO,O 900.
1t takes about 500, 100000 for
the current expenfes of the govern
ment, 500, 100000 for pensions,
S55 100000 for interest and S44,-
100000 for the reduction of the debt,
as required by law, leaving in good
times about $50, 10000 to be appli-
ed to the payment of the debt, the
erection of public buildings and other
internal improvements. But sea-
son of business depression would cut
down the receipts so as to wipe out
this margin and leave us nothing
above the necessary expenses. Even
if we were certain that no hard times
are ahead it would not be policy to
put the knife into the tax list very
deep, as we have said, every dollar
paid at the custom houses comes back
multiplied ten-fold in the increase OF
the price of everything which people
have to sell, be it labor or merchan.
disc. AS for the internal revenue
taxes on liquor and tobacco, no MAJ
need pay them unless he chooses, fol
they are levied on articles which W.
can all do without. In fact, the,
are not paid by consumers now, bu
by manufacturers who have grown
rich in their business and can wei
afford to contribute a large amour
to the expenses of the government
In no other way can we raise hun
dred millions year so easily as from
these sources, and if there was moth
ing else to do with the money, i
would still be wise to collect it an,
distribute it among the states.-Mi1
ror and Farmer.