San Saba County news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1874-19??, 1893-11-10
TOM WATSON ON TARIFF.
A Few Samples Of the Ludicrous, Proposierous
an Outrageous System.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS
Costs The Tsx-Psysn Exactly One thousand TWt
Hundred Dollars to Collect /, at
Alexandria, Virginia.

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lanta Peoples Party Paper thus dis
eusses the tariff system, especially
the cost Of collection: This particu-
.ar branch OF the tariff question has
been so completely overlooked, that
perhaps you will allow me TO give you
a few samples of the ludicrous and
preposterous and outrageous system.
In the state Of Virginia the custom
duties amounted in 1890 to $22. 900.
How much do you suppose it cost to
collect it?
Thirty thousand dollars
At the town OF Alexandria, a dried
up interior village, they have a Gus
tom house outfit which cost the tax
PAYERS $1,000 per year.
How much duty do they collect?
One hundred and twenty-five dol
lars.
At Cherrystone. Va, the custom
house outfit costs the people 1880
per year.
IIew much do they collect?
Not one cent?
What on earth does those Office
holders do to keep up their self
esteem. God, in His majestic wisdom
only knowsl
In West Virginia. the entire Gus
tom house collections were S240.
The modest sum is gathered into
the treasury. painfully and conscien-
tiously at a moderate annual cost OF
$3.50.
In Florida the farce grows even
merrier
At Apalachicola they collect $1,000
and they spend $14O0 to do it.
At Fernandina they spend some
$500 in the frenzied toll of collecting
thirty odd hundred.
At st. Augustine. a tropical climax
is reached; a climax OF the warmest
color and the richest foliage They
arduously toll all the year; they spend
$500 of the peoples taxes, and they
collect fifteen cents.
At st. Marks they collect $24.00.
Twenty-four actual. bona fide 10
bust palpitating dollars.
They spend $500 in so doing,
At Annapolis, Maryland, they spent
in 1890 the modest total OF $3.50
They collected absolutely nothing.
In 1891, however, business was
brisk. and the collector undoubtedly
perspired; for he collected SIS. 50 at a
cost to the tax payers OF only 1892. 30.
In Saquina. Oregon, they spent
$500 in salaries. and collected $50 in
duties.
At Great Egg Harbor. y. j., the
offieeholders get 1891. and the treas
ury gets $l7.
At Sagg Harbor the collector has a
nice, snug salary of 1851 and he col
lects nothing at all.
In the state of Georgia $1,000 was
collected in 1870 at cost OF SO, 900.
At Savannah S5S.000 was collected
at a cost of $4,000.
At Brunswick $1,000. at a cost OF
$1,000.
At Atlanta they collect 5000 at a
cost Of $4,000.
At St. Mary's they raked in 500. on
tonnage duties, at the moderate ex-
pense of $140q.
In 1891 this booming seaport spread
herself. She spent $500, collecting
$50.
At Chattanooga qssD they col
lected nothing. but drew salary of
OF 500 for doing it.
At Beaufort, y. c., they collected
nothing and drew salaries of $l1S4
for doing It.
At Beaufort. :. G.. the ofiiceholders
determined to make the North Caro-
lima town ashamed OF itself So they
collected $500 and charged the
poor, down-troddeE taxpayer $4,000
for doing it.
At Georgetown. 5. c.. they whirled
in and harvested $50 as a gross re-
suit of twelve months official toll.
Their charges to taxpayers footed
up $1,000.
At vicksburg, Miss, the weary
officeholder had to collect 81 The
weary taxpayer paid him 1898 for
doing so.
Comment upon such a state Of
things would only weaken the force of
the facts
1t is safe to say that of the s., O0O,-
900 now paid every year to collect the
tariff taxes. at least $2.000.00 are
absolutely thrown away in erecting
custom houses at places where the
only demand for them comes from
those who want TO get within the
genial atmosphere OF a government
appropriation.