Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-06-01


ond, for the protection afforded to their
property or wealth against the assaults
or encroachments Of all other persons
and certain elements, such as ere,
food, etc They arc liable for taxes,
Hrst, as citizens or individual members
Of the government, and in this respect
the liability Of each and all Is ex-
actly equal. All having equal rights
and privileges before the law, all should
pay equally for the protection Of
such rights and guaranty Of such privi-
leges Second, as owners and accumu-
lators Of wealth, or property; and in
this respect there Is NO equality what
ever in liability. Even as tho wealth
Of individuals differs In amount and
value, so also should the taxes paid for
the protection Of such wealth differ in
proportion and amount These are tho
eternal truths upon which, ss Q sub
structure, the scientific system Of taxa
tion must be built
Now let US glance a$ tho present sys-
tenn First, there Is the revenue for the
support Of the general government,
which Is derived from tax levied upon
certain articles Of domestic manufacture
(the internal revenue taxi, and Q tax
levied upon certain imported goods (the
protective tariff. In this article, treat
ing specially of taxation, il is not my
intention to point out or enlarge upon
the extortionate profits charged by GER
tain lines of manufacture which have
organized themselves into trusts under
cover of the protective tariff Both the
tariff and the internal revenue tax are
what Is known as a tax upon consump-
tion, or indirect tax. That is to say. enter
ing as such taxes do into the first cost Of
articles manufactured here and the cost
to the importing merchant Of goods i'm
ported from abroad, the tax Is included
in the price of the goods to the oonsum-
er, and hence each individual pays
taxes according TO his consumption and
not according to his wealth. This of
necessity entirely exempts from taxa
ton the residual increment" or net
annual increase In wealth, because
such increment Is what is left after all
demands for consumption are satisfied.
It is the accumulation Of residual In
crement," or net product after all de-
mands for consumption are satisfied,
that makes up = great portion of what
of each ten-year period
Incomes, whether derived from direct
wages, rents, profits or interest and
dividends, grade and ascend In a grad
uating scale from those of the day
laborer, who receives but "bare sub
sistenoe," or less than $500 . year, or
the landlord, merchant or investor,
who receives Q comfortable living, to
the landlord, merchant, investor or
railroad president or insurance man
| ager who receives anywhere from elo,-
600 to CSC. 1000 . year, TO fabulous In
come, running into millions. But some
where on this graduated scale we reach
point that divides those who spend
their entire income for . living (of q
grade and style commensurate with the
position they aspire to in society from
those who receive more income than
they can spend for living, AMI conse.
quently have left some residual incre-
ment." Up TO that point all have paid
portion of their earnings as tax;
above that point each individual has
some wealth that cannot be reached by
indirect taxation.
Now as to state, county and munich.
pal taxes At first blush 1t would seem
as if here we tax all men according to
their wealth. directly and in manner
they cannot evade or dodge. Let us
see.
First, as to land taxes-if Mr.. Wake
tieldfwin pardon my presumption in
treating of a subject of which have not
even "a superficial knowledge" Under
the present system, all contiguous lands
OF the same actual value, are assessed
for taxation at the same valuation, cir
respective of improvements" but such
assessed valuation Il but . variable per-
centage of the actual value In the case
OF improved lands, the same percentage
OF the actual value of the improvements
Is added to the assessed value of tho
land AS the annual increase in
value of unimproved land out
side of business centers amounts
to eight or ten times the
amount of the tax, the land owner holds
on and pays the tax until he chooses to
sell, when he recoups himself for all
the taxes he has paid and "shifts" them
on to the buyer of the land, who, II he
occupies and uses such land for income
producing business, collects the interest
upon the cost of his land from his GUS
toners, or patrons Under the opera
ton of the single tax Limited the re-
suits would be the same, but in less
marked degree. But under the opera
ton OF the single tax unlimited" there
would be taken as an annual tax, the
greatest amount offered by any individ-
ual annually for the use of the land.
freely and without reserve concede that
this course would force land owners
to either improve their land or abandon
1t to those who would. But why i'm
prove it il they must pay its full rental
value as a tax? In order that
they may rent both the land
and the improvements to a tenant.
from whom they would receive both the
land rent or single tax and also the cur
rent rate OF interest, sinking fund, in
surance, etc., for the improvements.
From whom would the tenant obtain
the money to pay the land rent, or
single tax? From his customers or pa
irons, of course, such tax being neces-
sarily included in the price of all he
sold, and of all services he rendered.
Thus the people, as consumers, would
pay for the business "exploiters" the
license tax for their occupancy of these
valuable lands" which single takers
assure US would pay the bulk Of the
taxes. The profits pertaining to the
occupancy of locations. or sites, for
business purposes, Is what creates land
values. The varying scale Of profits
pertaining to various localities, or sites,
Is what causes the difference in the price
OF land The single tax, by obviating
the necessity on the part of capital of
making any investment of money in
land, would give capitalists . monopoly
OF a. many of the choice locations as
they were able to improve, while the
rent for the improvements would give
them interest upon every dollar they
had invested
The taxes uDon residence sites ara and