Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-05-02
TIMING Federal and STATE Sc.
CURFTIES.

CURETIES.
The adverse report of the house bank
ing committee on the bill authorizing
State taxation of greenbacks, brings
prominently before the country one of
the most obnoxious features of the legis-
lation of the war period. There are out
standing to-day about three hundred and
forty-six million dollars in greenback
money-an amount largely in excess of
the combined capital of the national
banks whose charters expire next Feb
ruary; and yet not one dollar of this
enormous sum can be taxed for either
national or local purposes.
1t would have been far better for the
morals of the country, as well as for the
financial interests of all classes of the
American people, had the government
securities and currency been placed on
the market at discount, and that
clause in the law omitted which exempts
them from Federal and State taxation.
From the commencement of the war
in 1851 up to the Both of June 1881, the
amount paid out by the government for
pensions and bounties did not equal the
loss in revenue to the country during the
same period. owing to the non.taxable
quality of the obligations of the govern
ment. There should be a constitu-
tional limit to the power of
the States to tax Federal securities,
as we'll as constitutional inhibition
against the issuing Of any bond or other
evidence of debt on gold, silver or paper
currency by either Federal or State au-
thority of non taxable quality. Such
legislation encourages an unequal distri-
button of the burthens of government,
opens the door to fraud and serves as an
incention to the accumulation of wealth
at the expense of the morals of the people.
The records of the courts of the
country are full of instances where
bankers and capitalists have anticipated,
under the provisions of the bond and cur
rency legislation of congress, the visit of
the assessor and converted taxable Sc
cureties into the non taxable issues of
the government. Instances have been
known where dishonest persons have
made one-t Thousand dollar government
bond the means of exempting from taxa
ton hundreds of thousands of dollars of
taxable money, such as national bank
issues and gold and silver coin.
This practice grew to such
an alarming extent in several of the
States, that it became necessary to guard
against it by requiring the assessor, in all
cases where government bonds were list
ed, to take their number, date and series.
In States where these safeguards have
been thrown around the revenue, taxation
has been lightest.
The objections urged against the policy
of State taxation of national securities
are, on the other hand, of a
very grave and weighty character, the
most important of which being that the
financial legislation of Congress might in
this way be nullified by unfriendly loca
or State legislation. To allow govern
ment bonds or currency to be taxed by
State authority without placing some
limit On the local taxing power, would, it
is true, be placing it within the power of
the State authorities to confiscate Federal
obligations by taxation. To apply such
remedy to existing evils without prescrib-
ing a limit, would be more dangerous
than the evils themselves.
The interests at stake in matters of