The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-14
Not a Popular Proposition.

The Atlanta Constitution apparently
does not find the proposition to repeal the
whisky tax quite so popular as it thought 1t
would be, 1t has doubtless discovered that
the people of Georgia are not so anxious to
have free whisky as they are TO have the
taxes on the necessaries of life reduced. II
now says:
BY no means are we for free whisky. Let
the tax remain, but let the State hunanely
collect II, and let it go TO the State for the
BENEFIT of its taxpayers. This Is our POI
sihon.
The Constitution is evidently trying to
capture Mr. Blaine's thunder. Long ago
Mr.. Blaine said, Let the revenue from
whisky be divided among the States, and
that is what the Constitution, in effect, now
says. Any one who will give the subject
moments consideration will reach the CON
clusion, however that If the tax is to be
distributed among the States Mr.. Blaine's
way of distributing it is much more
just and fair than the ConStifp-
TONS is. His way is to distribute
it among the States in proportion 10
their respective populations after it has
been collected by the general govern
ment In view of the fact that
the people of the States in which
the tax is collected do not pay 1.-THE tax
being paid by the consumers Of the whisky
who are distributed throughout the whole
country-it would hardly be right for the
States in which the whisky is made TO have
the entire benefit of it. Indeed, it is doubt
full If the Constitution would agree to its
m,
do so. II the States collected and retained
the tax Georgia would get less
than $4,000 year, while Hi
nois would get $4,000, 600, and Kentucky
about 81, 600 coo, assuming, Of course, that
they would continue to collect the same
proportion Of the whole amount collected as
they do now. Illinois, Kentucky, and some
other States, would become rich very quick
", and Georgia would help TO make them
So If the tax is to go to the States, it must
be distributed as Mr.. Blaine proposes or not
at all Great care should be taken in advis-
ing the adoption OF Mr.. Blaines PROPOSE
tons for fear that the people might be led
into admiring and adopting Mr.. Blaine.
The Constitution says let the State Thu
namely collect the tax. Does it think that
the State could or would collect the tax any
more "humanelyn than the general govern
ment collects it, Who are those who, in
this State, are enforcing the collection of
the tax: Are they not Georgians, from the
Judges of the courts to the clerks of the in
ternal revenue collectors, and are they not
all Democrats! If the State had
the collection of the tax would
not Georgians he intrusted with
the collection of it, and if there was dispo-
sition to evade it, or a refusal to pay it,
would not laws have to be made to compel
its payment. And if there were such laws,
would they not be enforced, even if the tax
ressters had to be sent to prison! What
nonsense is it then to talk about the State
collecting the tax "humanely" No one
who deals honestly with the general gov
ernment realizes that there is anything
particularly harsh or Objectionable
in the law to enforce its collection. Only
these who attempt to evade it complain OF
it, and they would attempt TO evade it if it
were State law, and would complain of it
if it were enforced No thinking man will
be led away from the true issue by the
position of the Constitution. The issue is
this: Shall whisky be made free, or shall
the necessaries of life be made cheaper?