Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-01

With q growing deficiency staring it In
the face this government, through those
who are legislatively responsible for its
present conduct. II searching for concidera-
BILE additions to its income, and after more
or less Of thought the majority have come
to the conclusion that tax upon incomes
will do much toward filling up the I'M
slightly hole in the treasury. The PROPOSE
ton II. however, extremely unpopular save
with two classes-those democrats who i'm
ag1ne they see in II the only relief for an
embarrassed administration and the popu-
lists. who. as q rule. have no incomes large
enough to be taxable. Even among loyal
democrats there Is opposition 70 the tax,
in fact, the more loyal the democrat the
less Is the enthusiasm on this interesting
topic. 1t IL admitted by those who are
convinced that tarin duties must be low
cred that the deficit will have to be made
up through the agency of internal taxaticn,
but as soon as that point Is reached there
Is instant division and divergence. 1t Is
more than difficult to understand the FRO
cssses by which income-tax advocates can
have satisfied themselves that they alone
have reached the true solution Of a most
iatricate problem, especially when history
makes plain the antagonism with which
Americans greeted an impost similar In
general outline to that now proposed In
an exhaustive review of income-tax legis-
lation, published in the Annals of the Amer
lean Academy. Prof. Frederic C. Howe of
Johns Hopkins University says that few
taxes were more unpopular or odious to the
people than the income tax. From it's first
imposition 1t was assailed az invading the
sanctity Of the most private affairs. as be-
too fno Ia Irar ioito rial
into business relations and an insuferable
pene ration into those affairs of the indi-
vidual which were in a sense sacred. and
which in the past had been exempted from
the visits of the excise man. 1t was FIR
Their alleged. with some truth. that tax
which offered such opportunities for evasion
was q charge upon honesty and a premium
upon false returns"
But there are other reasons why no such
tax should be levied and among these is
that which shows sectional inequality and
proves that the burden Is on the class that
deserves exemption-the successfully in
dustrious and thrifty. OF course there is
not so much disparity between the north
and the south as there was during 1867
when one collection district in New York
received more than twice asa much income
tax than was collected IN all the states of
Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Florida,
but comparisons startlingly similar will
surely develop II the extremely unpopular
attachment to the Wilson bill becomes law.
Conceding that the Wilson bill will render
increased internal taxation necessary and
insisting that the most undesirable i'm
post is the income tax, We must turn to the
only other products now regarded as fair
subjects for assessment-whisky. malt IL
Quors and tobacco. Those articles are now
q source of considerable revenue and they
could produce a still greater sum without
causing any one much Inconvenience and
without affecting either the price or the
quality Of the articles. As The Star mas re-
peatedly shown, the tax upon beer has
been an insufficient one collar per barrel for
more than thirty years. Discussing the ad-
visibility Of increasing this tax. Prof, Howe
calls attention to the fact that one dollar
per barrel Is equivalent to an ad valorem
tax Of twenty per cent, or approximately
one-ffth OF q cent per glass. "Inasmuch
as the article" says he. "can be produced
at an average cost of from one and two
thirds to one and three-quarter cents per
glass, and sells at retail for five cents, this
Is manifestly an insufficient rate as meas
ured by what other commodities entering
largely into consumption are taxed The
conclusions reached by the professor are
that the rate of distilled spirits should be
increased to S1.2o per gallon, the rate upon
malt liquors from s1.OO to 500 per barrel
and the rate on cigars and tobacco to twice
the present assessment. During the year
1893 the total receipts from the three
sources named amounted to $3.50 200. 600:
with the Increases suggested-and to which
but little sound opposition is possible--the
revenues would reach 1858. 900, 600. a total
that would relieve the government of any
possibility of financial embarrassment