The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-08-25
SOME ODD IMPORTS
Articles That Are Dutieble in Vari-
GUS Parts of the World.
Taxes Imposed Upon Persons Who Follow
Certain Callings-Sweden's High Tax
Upon Commercial Travellers
from Abroad.

from Abroad.
In times past it was deemed war
rantable to tax salt, candles, leather,
brick, soap. starch, paper, and in 1862,
even bread and meat. Peter the
Great of Russia levied a tax on boards.
with the lauda ble object of making
his subjects wash their faces and
shave Brass tokens are still to be
bought in that country bearing the
words' Dorado pignaia tiagola,"
which means THE beard tax has been
paid" E. G. c. Lundy gives particu-
Lars in Temple Bar of the British hat
tax Of 1884. requiring hatters to take
put licenses and imposing an ad va
torem stamp duty on every hat sold.
In old times. too, the Scotch sacra-
mental certificates used to bear a six
penny stamp; tax on religious al
manacs, glass, stone bottles and adver-
hsements were among the fiscal duties
Of the past. There was also tax on
''the light of Heaven" in the shape of
an impost on windows until far into the
present century. This Odious and un-
sanitary burden caused architects and
builders TO erect houses with as few
windows as possible, and to escape the
tax the windows of many houses were
blocked up. Some of these dark and
dismal abodes are still Ia existence in
England. The Russian government q
few years ago decided to tax kerosene
oil and matches-virtuallv a tax on
light. In some parts Of China tax is
imposed on all women entering the
bonds OF matrimnny. Travellers to those
parts are obliged to take wife. and
when they leave the ladies take fresh
husbands, to the benefit of the revenue.
IN Servia vanity is taxed in the shape
of ladies' bustles. In Melbourne
Christmas cards are taxed one-ffth
per cent. 1t has been stated that in
Weimar the authorities levied duty
on musical parties.
Quite lately an animal tax of ten
francs has been imposed on pianos in
France. Music has paid tribute to tax
alton in other ways. A musical troupe
recently crossing the frontier Of Sax
Dny carried with them a crown of
laurels awarded them at triumphal
performance. The custom house Off
GERS taxed the laurels as spice. Nasse- !
net, the composer, it Is related, was
also charged duty on a crown of laurels
on the German frontier. In his case !
the wreath OF fame was deemed to be
woven of medicinal plants" In
Montreal organ grinders pay a license !
of twenty dollars and are only allowed |
to play at stated times. In Vienna !
they are also licensed and regulated as |
to hours. In France a certificate of |
character, 4 distinctive badge and lin |
itation Of hours is insisted upon. Ad- /
vertisements in the form Of posters and /
placards are required to bear 4 tax |
stamp in France. which is distinctly |
tax on trade and publicity. In Italy, |
where the people complain that the !
taxes are eXorbitant, the voluntary tax
paid by the poorer classes in the form
of lottery amounts in a year TO over
three million pounds sterling At
Laterza the Italians recently broke out
inopen revolt against the municipality,
which had increased the hearth tax.
and took the civic buildings by rs
sault. wounding the syndic, but they
DO not agitate against the lottery tax.
In ''Old Madrid" last year there was
terrible and fatal riotinC among the
men and women who hawk vegetables, +
fruit and other articles in the streets
and markets owing to the imposition
of tax on Spanish hawlIers.
= In 1889 NJ. Dunajewski, the Austrian
minister of finance, who was described
as ''the nimblest politician in the
world for inventing new taxes" de-
cided to tax the totalisateurs or bet
ting agencies. Totalisateurs are es-
on all German and Austrian
race courses. The system is 10 divide
all the money invested on the losing
horses among those who backed the
winner, after deducting eight per cent.
commission for the agency. There is
no cheating or welshing possible in the
plan. a ten per cent. duty on win
ninCs was decreed. In France the
parimutual, n similar system Of bet
ting. is taxed seven per cent. five per
cent. of which is devoted to the relief
nf the poor. BOollmakers are also
taxed There IS also q municipal tax
Of ten per cent. deducted from the re-
ceipts of theatrical and public enter
which IS also assigned for
the benefit of the unfortunate. This
revenue is principally distributed IN
the shape of grants to public charities
and hospitals, thus making pleasure !
come to the rescue of poverty and the
relief of pain. In Sweden commercial
visiting that country have to
pay one hundred kroner about TWEEN
ty-five dollarsl for every month or part
thereof they may remain for the privi-
lege of transactiuG their business.
Neal Dow as q Fireman.
When Neal Dow was chief Of the
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