The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1889-03-12

Pensacola Pensacolian.

The State Legislature at it's regular
session, next month, should lose no time
in repeating or very materially modifying
the unwise law by which, under the
omniverous heading of " occupation tax"
the most grievous damage is done to the
manufacturing interests of Florida. AS
this law is construed and enforced small
industries ar. throttled and every effort
to build up manufactures is virtually an
offence for which penalty must be paid,
either in the onerous levy of "dealer's
license" or really and actually in
fines and cost for "doing business
without license" as several small trades
men In our city have good reason to
know under this law shoemaker can
not make and sell pair Of shoes except
upon special order without laying him
SELF liable to fine or imprisonment, unless
he takes out and pays for dealers IL
cense, the same as a merchant neither
can timer make and sell pans or any
other article of his handicraft, nor can
any mechanic make and keep in stock any
article of his trade (no matter if every
material entering into its manufacture is
grown or produced here), except by pay
ing premium to the State on his indus
try and enterprise.
In every other State, of which we have
knowledge, manufactures are encouraged,
and a bonus is offered by relieving, even
from ordinary assessment and taxation,
all the stock, machinery and fixtures Of
any manufacturing enterprise, for GER
tain term of years, some times five, some
times ten, and often for longer period,
but here double burdens are laid on
them.
There are certain classes of business on
which it is customary to place a special
privilege tax, but assuredly it should not
be done on any production by which the
raw material of the country is made up
into merchantable wares or on the produc-
tions of skill and industry Of any kind :;
agents from other States, cities and towns
come here and sell carload after carload
Of their wares, without paying nickel
for the privilege, but one ofour own citi-
zens must perforce pay special levy be-
fore he is allowed to sell an article made
by himself and in his own shop, unless he
gets an order from John Smith to make
that article and if John Smith don't take
it the maker can't sell it TO any one else
Is not this worse than absurd? What
inducements have men Of skill and small
capital to settle where such laws are in
force? Is it any wonder that we have
few manufactures, or that raw materials
by the million dollars worth lie and rot
in our forests and on the Gulf shores
We need manufactures of every kind yet
this law places ban on their building
and exacts penalty for their operation.
Let our people get up petitions for the
removal of this unjust, unwise and worse
than useless taxation let the Legislature
repeal such laws and make others giving
the largest inducement and encourage
ment to men of skill and capital to put
up factories of all descriptions, and the
State Treasury will get dollars where it
does not get cents now, and new era of
prosperity will dawn upon us. The pres
ent law is worse than "pennywise and
pound foolish" it is financial suicide for
the State to enforce such laws and their
presence on the statute books is worthy
of the dark ages. We invite people to
come here, but fine them for working at
their trades, and discriminate against oar
own people and force them to buy the pro-
ductions of other States by taxing to
death any attempt at manufacturing in
our own. Let our shoemakers, tinners,
saddlers, marble cutters, cabinet makers,
and in fact everybody make it point to
see chat our legislators take the right
steps In this matter.