The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-07-13
MANUFACTURES.
IL of Mr. Aiken on the Drink and
Smoke Bill.
r,oa Ike Congressional Record.

From lie Congressional Record.
,he few minutes allowed me, Mr.
;,map. cannot be expected TO sa,
II hat is new upon the threadbart
;scts of internal revenue and thu
have, however, decided convic
|. unon these subjects, and I desire tc
them nut upon record. To every
ris;on of this bill am unalterabli
,osed because in my opinion, should
come law it will be for the benefi,
IS ,he few at the expense of Il many
i; # is to results that we should always
T. in the enactment of such laws as is
5posed by this bill.
The first clause of the first section pro.
tas to repeal the taxes pom bank
,cts bank deposits and bank capital
"A to each of these provisions l am
ao;ed l believe, sir, that surplus
5ital should never escape taxation,
what better evidence have we thai
these specified taxes are upon sur.
s,s capital than that they exist within
vaults of banks whose owners re.
Ira their net incomes from the traffic
Them. 1t has been asserted during
Is debate that repeal OF these taxes
Su,d cheaper money to the borrower.
10 not believe it, sir; for if it did, it
s ,ould prove that men were willing to
crease the profits of trade as gratuity
the;r customers, and we all know this
never done, for the wide world over it
ackn owledged there is no friendships
trade.
am in favor Of retaining these taxes
Il another reason. Banks are the only
5stitutions in this country whicl can
18th impunity openly violate State laws.
question whether there is a State in
ais Union that has not enacted some
.scription Of usury law, and I do not
lsIoubt, but assert without fear of success.
II contradiction, that there is not q bank
the United States that pays the least
gard to such law. They tell us that
honey is worth more than the estab.
shed rate of interest. If 80, then
8 ontend that those to whom it is worth
D much should be willing and patriotic
nough 10 pay generous tax upon it
Dwards supporting thegovernment.
The second clause of this bill propo-
les to remove the tax on matches and
Datent medicines. To this am opposed,
Because there are no two articles in all
he schedules of our tariff that can bear,
Eith less oppression to the people, this
lax than these two. The chairman of
she committee on ways and means (A1r.
Kelley tells Us the tax on matches
should be removed because the law
sllows the manufacturer to buy his
tamps in large amounts, and for so do.
\ ing he gets reduction of and 10 per
cent. upon the amount purchased, and
IheSe reductions amount this year to
so, ,O00,0 900, while the income from the tax
on matches only amounts to $4,00O,OO0
3If this be SO, cir, and I understand the
gentleman correctly, suggest that if
szhis committee will introduce Il bill re-
SEpealing the privilege thus allowed these
swholesale purchasers it will readily be-.
6come law, and thereby save $5,000O00 to
8the Government and the revenue from
smatches will be increased to 100000
And he knows Us we'll as I, and we all
know, that repeal of the tax on match
Aes will not enable the consumer to puy
4 his box or dozen boxes of matches at a
Sfarthing less price than he buys them
a With the stamp attached. And just so
with perfumery and proprietary medi-
cines. The removal of the tax would
not enable Bulls cough syrup, or Sim
mons liver invigorator, or Warmers kid
ney cure to perform their reputably
wonderful alterations in the diseased
human !system at any less expense to
those who gulp them than if the tax re-
man as it is, and I therefore shall vote
to retain it where it is.
The first clause of the second section
OF the bill proposes to greatly reduce the
Tax on rectitiers and wholesale and retail
liquor dealers. AS an individual, Mr..
Chairman, | would favor prohibitory
lax upon the distillation of single
Gushel OF grain into spirituous liquors.
But that is not the policy of this Gov
ernment. We have determined to raise
revenue by taxing liquors and the man
uiacturers and venders of spirituous
liquors, aud why should we reduce the
TAX upon any of the three? Least of all
should sid we lower the tax upon the retail
iiquor dealer, for he of all men receives
lhe greatest profit from the sale of his
goods, and does the greatest injury to
society III the meantime. I would like
o3,, ~ yoIe Tor law making it penitentiary
1nehce to open q retail liquor saloon. I
ahow nothing upon which we may so
Ju:Ii! levy, a tax for revenue rs upon
spirl'aous liquors and upon those men
VINO 'anufacture and deal in them; and
i. AM In favor of SO levying that tax as
n;as .iat 1t will produce the greatest income
WIN the least oppression. If ninety
oo!ty per gallon is that tax let it remain
;a Us i. Is. If fifty cents per gallon will
inclease the revenue, reduce it to that
amount, AZ for do not believe the reduc.
moa OF the tax on spirituous liquors will
.aa.ee,rlaily affect the amount sold by the
.o.aii qealers, and as theirs is a certain
p'ont would by no means reduce the
tax upon them.
had hoped, Mr.. Chairman, to have
II, .y,ached redeeming feature in this bill
mnen saw in the second clause of the
second se section that it proposed to reduce
:he TAX on retail dealers in leaf tobacco
~ e'half what it is at present, for I
supposed this would enable those farmers
VINO grow the weed to retail the product
Ir Ir. 'aeir lei o#n farms to whom they please;
uus, sir, was greatly mistaken, for the
p.oPosed reduction leaves it ut $3.50 upon
e.Si 1sca retail dealer, end the bill says
.nlity cents for each dollar on The
HhEunt ,"h, CT their sales in excess of 81 .000,"
%n'ie the gentleman who has charge of
;us, ine OH Mr.. Kelley reports that he is
n1.lacted cona1 by his committee to move a
nouple maI, OF verbal (only verbally amend
ion's ,;nn 10 this last line of the second Sec
s.vh, s,n, 10 wit: to insert monthly" after
.,:a :aeir' and before Sales" and to sub
JJ.i,u'e JAm five hundred'' for zone thousand"
ahni'afs. hn, This, of course, makes the
sna;a s, az prohlbitory as the present law is
1@'nsI tsbans farmers retailing their own leaf
''Dacco in The open market.
g. me third secti@a proposes to reduce
tboA tbo INK upon cigars from 96 to S5 per
,,no II must he apparent to every
s"u = s,o, .nat this reduction, which would
! d1Ipuht to hundreds of thousands of
uuilafs, would henai;f tha n;oror mann fac.