The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-12-06
4 oursrIoa 81 lNrnnrsr.

~ egual ana uniform As Tar rs Il is
possible to be made ~ by those who
are empowered 70 mako laws govern
inc and specifying the various arti
eles and species of property Is Be
taxed, and as the question has been
agitated % some entent. 1t least as n
whether the State has the right and
ought to tax whiskes III bond, / viii
endenvar III write ven briefly al thar
Ii the FIRST rlaee, Il i claimed hy
some that The mere fact III whiskey
heing held ia bond and lii charge If
Tho Government, aud paying arove-s
NM iax. vendors Il free from any duty
that lie State might place upon Ii.
II i we're true That the Government
held the liquor il hpnd f,AF i specified
titne, "A THAI three years was the milli-
lnnm bonded period, then II blight
seem an iniustinn Il the Awnee. but
ihe bonding of whiskey Is u tha inter-
est ~ lhe. owner and nas ihe Govern.
nest TIE dwuar can remove LIS
goods Dc iay after i goes ii bond. IL
He y desires, ~ paying The revenue
taS, Which Is 30 cents i gallon, Of hi
can let il remain three years. The Il.
tentlof The bonded period.
e ID =.
Naw, what Ii tho object ~ putting
whiskey III bondf II ii evidentlytwo-
fold first, u avoid payment If the
tax until the liquor has aged and ma
tured sufficiently to be used and placed
upon the market second, 10 hold il
in large quantities for the purpose Of
munopolizing its manufacture. Now,
the constitution IL the United States
and the constitution Of this State de-
clare that taxation shall BIZ uniform,
tint every species II property shall
bear lis just aud equitable proportion.
II II il most manifsstly wrong for one
species Of property 10 be taxed annu~
ally aud another 70 be lcgslized by
law and exempt from taxation. II n
certainly within the power and pro-
Vince of 3 State 10 tax her own
products. II IL were otherwise she
would BE- powerless 70 maintain her
credit Of long to exist rs q State The
right 81 i State u tax wlliskey III
bond does not conflict with co-eqnal
right Of the Government, nor il i IN
compatible with the same.
i Senator Edmonds thought flat what
ever revenue was obtained from liquor
and tile liquor traffic should DO obtain
4 "a BY the States themselves, and 60
directly into their treasures to Be
used for Tile building Of prisons for.
4. violators Of the law. and providing
for those. as the States only may,
whom the evils IT the liquor traffic
have made homeless and desolate.
The farmer, the mechanic and tile
merchant are not exempt from taxa
Ition. The mechanic pays taxes upon
I the product Of his own labor, the mei-
chant upon his merchandise, AMI the
farmer npon his land and the horses
and machinery he uses in the cultiya
tion Of his fields, and then upon the
stock which Is raised from the food
Iprodnccd upon land already taxed.
His household, no master how primi-
tive. even the old clock upon the
mantle which beats the still hours Of
tine night and warns him in the early
dawn that the honr for labor is at
hand, is not exempt but his neighbor
can distill his grain into whiskey, put
Ii in bond and escape the payment Of
taxes for three years and then ware
house il indefinitely without being
subject to taxation. This il mani
testify unjust.
Iii West Virginia it i fair to pre-
sumo that there is held in bond and in
free warehouses over Two million dol
lars worth If whiskey that escapes
taxation year after year. This whiskey
is owned almost exclusively BY nom
residents Of the State. It is held BY
some that, as the owners pay taxes to
their resDectiye States on their certif-
Gates If ownership, they cannot BE-
taxed here. Has not the State Of
West Virginia better right to tax
the substance that il within her bor-
tders than another State has 70 tax the
certificate 81 SUBSTANCE
In all fairness to the honest, toiling
taxpayers and citizens Of West Vn-9