Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-15
TAXATION AND WORK.
How the Public Revenue of the
United States Is Derived.
IT'S FUNDS HELD In TRUST ONLY.
Average Earnings Of Millions Who Are
Occupied for Gain.
TWO TERMS WITH THE SAME MEANING
WRITTEN FOR THE pIsPArcu.I

In the Fofenl, Ior september, 1881, the
writer presented a condensed statement Of
the income and expenditure of the United
States for the fiscal year ending June 80,
1889, in the customary form of an account
current such as every merchant or banker
renders to his correspondents who, trust
their money or merchandise in his control.
1t were well that the Government of the
United States should be held to the same
form of accountability, as the national taxes
are placed in its hands under the same con-
ditions Of trust
Nothing is more common in public dis
cussion, especially on the part of very sim
cere men who represent what is called ma
tionalism, collectivism, and other more or
less mild forms of socialism, despotism, or
communism, than to impute to the State
the possession of an immense property
which it should deal with in a so-calied
'1iberal" manner Again, nothing is more
common than for shallow and unthinking
men, even in business life, to advocate Glib
eral appropriation" by Congress for boun-
ties, subsidies and expenditures of all kinds
that are esteemed semi-public enterprises,
but are in fact undertaken mainly if not
wholly for private gain.
Now the State, in the sense in which that
word is used to designate either the Nation.
or each separate member of the Union-or
the city or the town-poSsesses no property
except public buildings that have been paid
for out of taxes, and the unsold portions of
public lands. The income of the State is
wholly derived from taxation, and all its
funds are held in trust for the public service
only. 1t can impropriate or become pos
sessed of property only by way OF taxation.
The Tariff Only List of Taxes or Duties.
The very definition of a tax in the die
tionary, by which a court must be governed
in the construction of revenue acts, is "a
rate or sum of money assessed on the per-
son or property of citizen bv Government
for the use of the Nation or State
The definition of a duty is also ''an i'm
post, customs, tribute or tax" Some per-
cons hold that "a tariff is not a tax. >" A
tariff is only list of taxes or duties
There is no difference between dutv'or a
tax in law or equity, and no distinction
can be made. All the fallacies about put
ting our burdens upon other nations by
taxing imports may be set aside. A duty
is tax, and all the taxes that the Govern
ment receives the people pay; when such
taxes are badly assessed the people may pay
2 great deal more than the Government re-
ceives, or, what is perhaps worse, many
people may be deprived of the opportunity
TO apply their work in the most productive
way by bad system of taxation.
Taxation is but one of the several meth
DDS by which the annual product of the
community is distributed. These methods
of distribution are named rents, profits, in
terest, salaries, earnings. wages, stealings
and taxes
The annual product, which is the subject
of such distribution, is the measure or re-
suit of the annual work, whether the work
be mental, manual or mechanical 1t cor
responds to the effective work or exertion
of productive energy of that part of the
population which does the work, number
ing about one in three of the population
such being the proportion occupied for gain.
Seven Per Cent OF the Product Pays Taxes.
The aggregate of taxation-national, state,
county, city and town, so far as the writer
has been able to compute it, comes to about
six or seven per cent of the product; it,
therefore, represents six or seven per cent
of the whole work of the community, to
which all contribute in ratio to their con-
sumption or use of subjects of taxation
National taxes, including postal service
ONE to more than one-half the total burden.
Out Of our present population of over
65,OOO,OoO there are about $4,000, 900
who are at work in the sense of being SOC
cupled for gain" in professional and per-
sonal service, trade and transportation,
manufacturing, mechanic, arts and mining.
and agriculture. Their average earnings
which are the measure os the value of their
product NAV be at the rate of two dollars
day for three hundred DAYS in the Sear-siX
hundred dollars worth for each group of
three persons-but there are vastly greater
number, probably ninety per cent of ali
Who are occupied for gain, who secure less
than that sum, than there are who secure
more in the distribution of the product.
The average of the whole working COM
munity-mental, manual and mechanical
includes, of course, the share of the product
which falls to capital as well as to labor
10 the administrative as we'll as the work
ing force. 1t represents a division of the
total product at its final valuation by the
total number who share the work in any
way.
What a Thousand Persons Produce.
In 1880 the list of persons who were occu-
pied for gain was made out under four titles,
and under each of these titles the sub
divisions were given. The subsequent varia-
tions in the ratio of one class to another
have not been great If we apply the pro-
portions of 1880 to the working force of the
present day, computed at 2S,O00,00O men,
women and young persons, we get the fol-
lowing results. There arc approximately in
each thousand persons the following di-
visions Of occupations:
L Clergymen, lawyers, doctors, chief
officers of banks, railroads, insur-
ance companies, and the like, whose
work is mental or administrative. 40
Q. Merchants, ,tradesmen, hotel keepers.
clerks, statesmen, saleSwomen, etc. 60
9. Work of a collective kind conducted
in factories and W orkshops, textile.
iron or steel, machine shops, boots
anu suoes, ctc; ---.--....: --;:-:.--.; IO
4. Mechanical work of an individual
order, carpenters, masons, black
smiths, ....-..............-......- 1UI
3. Personal scrvice-DomeStic servants,
draymen, railways and express,
sailors, walters, etc. 13l
q Laborers on farms, laborers not spec
ified, and laborers in mines, etc 3l2
z. AgTiculturists Farmers, stock
raisers ........................ go