Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1883-04-18
yyafrhmar d 1nnrral.
undnlY Concerned.

In undertaking to demonstrate the essen
tial and radical wrougfulness and injustice
of the purpose and principle Of the revenue
law the agricultural editor Of the Freeman
seems to have bitten of a great deal more
than even his capacious Jaws can "chaw."
He exhibits considerable ingenuity in FORM
ulsting his misconceptions of something
the WArcHMAN has said, and, by emitting
essential portions of quotations and string
ing together disconnected fragments Of 9th
ers, manufactures a slim substantiation of
some Of his allegations. Passing by these
"unconsdered triAes" we come to the
point in our friends article in the last
Freeman in which he grows serious, and,
commenting on the WAToHMAN's expression
Of its belief that the principle which the
revenue law endeavors to embody is right,
SAYS: "What the law endedvored to en-
body we cannot tell. What it does embody
is an arbitrary, direct tax upon certain per
sons and kinds of property without appraisal
and regardless of value for no means are
even suggested for ascertaining Its value
which other property is not subject to. The
principle on which the listing law is founded
is, that all of every mans property shall be
set in the list, and on that list taxes shall
be equally assessed. The principle of the
revenue law is that property under its pro-
visions has no attempt made to ascertain its
value, but as said before an arbitrary direct
tax laid upon it, Can the Wdichman dis
Germ no difference in kind-only one degree
in this. And If the principle be sound and
Just, why may not its provisions be ex-
tended to embrace any other class which
a legislature strong in any certain ele-
ment might elect to thus distinguish"
The writer confuses things He confounds
principles with methods. He has not yet
illuminated sufficiently. The principle
that the listing law endeavors to embody is
that property shall pay the taxes. To carry
out that principle the law provides certain
methods. In practice among other things,
it compels many individuals, farmers es-
pecially, to set in their lists and pay taxes
upon farms, part or all Of whose acres or
buildings they do not own. The principle
of the revenue law is the same as the listing
law but it necessarily employs different
methods, which il is barely possible may be
found to work more equitably than the
methods of the listing law. The aim of the
revenue law is to compel certain corpora
tions, enjoying the protection of the laws of
the state, using its courts and institutions,
participating in its benefits and privileges,
and in various ways contributing to the ex-
penses of the government, to bear fair and
equitable share of taxation for the support
of government, thing which they have not
hitherto done. 1t is absurd to insist that
the methods of the listing law should be
employed to carry out this design. Some
of these corporations, like the express and
insurance companies, have little or no prop.
erty in the state to which the methods of
the listing law could be applied, and, in the
case of the railways which have tangible
property, the effort to assess and tax it salts.
factorily by town listers failed and for OBJ
vious reasons must fail, while the scandalous
outcome of the experiment with state listers
is still fresh in the minds of the people.
Under the methods of the listing law some
of the corporations would not be reached at
all and the application of those methods to
railway property is impracticable and has
utterly failed, so that, unless the corpora
tions were to continue to go scot free, some
methods different from those framed many
generations ago, when property was in much
less complex and diversified forms than in
these days, had to be adopted The meth
DDS of the listing law were adapted to the
appraisal of individual property, like farm,
mill or a stock of goods, lying compactly
in one town. They are not adapted to cases
such as the revenue law was framed to meet,
to corporations, foreign or domestic, whose
property or business operations extend
through many towns or all over the state.
The revenue law is simply a change of
methods framed to reach interests which
the listing law was poweress to touch. Its
methods were determined by circumstances.
They were well considered and adopted
after mature deliberation. They have the
sanction of high legal authorities as to their
validity, and Of eminent business talent and
experience as TO their reasonableness. The
methods are simple, direct and inexpensive
They are new in Vermont, but they have
long been in practice elsewhere. If the
rates (Which, so far as was possible, were
were fixed on information derived from Off
cial sources and were intended to be fail
and equitable) shall be proved by experience
to be excessive, they will unquestionably be
reduced. A tax commissioner is provided
for the collection, among his other duties
of information which shall enable succeed
ing legislatures to act in the light of more
complete and precise information than il
was possible for the present legislature tc
have before it. The legislature, employing
methods specially applicable to the casei
reached by the revenue law, seems to be thu
only power strong enough to cope success
fully with them. II the methods originally
adopted can be improved, if they work in
equitably or the rates are unduly burden
some, means have been provided to show
these things with view to applying tn,
remedy.
The apprehension expressed by the write
OF the above abstract, that the methods of tn,
revenue law may be extended to any othe
class which legislature strong in any Ger
tain element whatever that may mean ma,
elect to thus distinguish is a reasonable
one in view of the very wide departure from
those primitive times when property wa
chiefly visible effects in the hands of indi
viduals, when stocks and bonds were quit
unknown, when great corporations, publ
or private, did not exist The apprehension
is justified and the application of new meth
DDS to private corporations which :" the leg
islature may elect thus to distinguish
among the possibilities and necessities
judging from the fact that rich and power
full corporations in different parts of tn
state are reported to control the selection
and action of the local board of listers wit
the result of keeping large amounts of ia,
able property out of the list We believ
this revenue law, in spite of inevitable in
Projections, has strong spinal column G
iustica aouitu and ponularity To ,,;lI Il n {,