Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1893-01-19

IL not this commentary on
the depravity aud the temptation
|of wealth Il always seems 10 me
hat the true doctrine is the. thing
That isright, 10 the thing tAat il to
besdpne, md that expedieacy finds
no place When . question Of Justice
Is involxed II il is unjust to tax
bonds AMI stocks let them be ex-
empt; il is he inst let them be
taxed, aud let there be il remedy
that win reach them and punish
the dodeisg taxpayer according to
his desert. Then We are told that
this is 'inquisitorial,' and that ron
are imposing .pEins and. penalties. :
The honest man need have no fear
of paine and penalties, nor the
peaceful man for the hangman:: It
is 'the rogue who meier felt the hal
ter draw, with good opinion OF the
law
Should be 'Ia9Eisitorial.'
Certainly the!faw is 'inquisito-
rial Was there ever tax law
drawn that did not give the asses
sors the power on inquiry in values,
ownerships, &c? Did anyone ever
know of system of government
organized without inquisitorial pow
er! Let a citizen of Baltimore
commit fraud by concealing his
property from the payment of an
honest private debt. See how quick
the thumb-screws Of an inquisito-
rial court will be put on him, and
not only him, but on all his neigh
bors, friends and even servants. il
necessary to discover his concealed
goods and uncover the fraud. Will
not the inquisitorial lawyer prope
to the very inner citadel of witness
ses-conscience, and hang them up
before the public gaze. Now is
there any valid reason WHY man
who voluntarily conceals his prop
erty from payment of an honest
obligation to the State should ba
exempt from inquisitorial methods
on behalf Of his creditor, the State.
] repeat, il it be unjust to tax this
class of property change the con-
stitution and exempt it but il it
be just, then tax il. and use all the
necessary inquisitoriat powers of
the State TO discover it, and COM
pei the owner to pay his just debt.
Can the State for the sake of expe-
diency, afford to do an unjust
thing!
A Cry Of "WolT"
we are told that it will drive
capital away. 1t is true that there
are few things SO sensitive as capital,
or go sordid and selfish as the love
Of money. While you cannot drive
the land away, you can drive away
the land owner; for our young men
from the country are rapidly going
to the cities and towns. aud instead
OF deserted villages we have de-
serted farms throughout the older
states. We need the capital to
develop our farming interests and
for the employment of labor, and l
suggest as an experiment that we
exempt all the real estate from tax
alton anddax the bonds and stocks
instead. What do you think would
be the result: We would soon see
real estate booming and the capt.
talist making haste TO get some of
his money into real estate. But
when once there, il yon were to
reinstate the land tax, he would
come forth with the same old cry:
You will drive capital away There
Is no interest SO depressed to-day
as the farming interest. No indus
try so unproductive and no values
SO diminished as land values.
Substantial Ghosts.
Yet, it is insisted that nothing
but substantial visible property
should be taxed; that bonds and
stocks are only metaphysical
things. That they are only the
ghosts of property as one said.
Well now, the owner OF stocks and
bonds that can count his wealth by
the million has some;very attractive
ghosts; they are like Mrs. Teodle's
coffin-nice to have in the family.
People do not object to living in
these haunted hGuses. The ghosts
that can materialize into a paIatial
residence, costing 81 200. 600. on
Fifth avenue, or even 500, 900 on
Mount Vernon square, surely has
the clements of su bstantiaIitv. Not.