The midland journal., 1894-03-16
Short Talks on Taxes

Is pamphlet of As pages by Frederick
]. Brown, and is made up mostly of arti-
cles published in the Baltimore .SnN i'll
1912, in criticism of the Hayes bill,
which was passed by the legislature of
that year and vetoed by Gov. Brown.
The pamphlet of Mr.. Brown succeeds
in showing the fallacy of attempting to
tax personal property with anything like
equity, and that the Maryland law of tax
alton differs mainly from the tax laws of
other States in the more literal and hon
est manner of its carrying out. The law
is made dead letter in many places in
order to invite large capitalists to come
and settle there, and in that way become
the recipients of their favors and the
benefciaries of whatever expenditures
they may make.
| The tax laws of Maryland, it would
appear by this pamphlet, succeed in scar
ing away or keeping out of the State
many very rich men, because they are
more rigidly enforced than in some other
places, and not because there is any
great difference in the systems. While
Mr.. Brown finds no difficulty in pointing
out the absurdity of all personal property
tax laws and the impossibility of execut-
ing them, as well as the impolicy, he
does not help the law maker out Of the
dilemma, by explaining how such irregu-
/
larities could be avoided by better sys.
TEN. He does show the policy of except
ing all intangible property-intangible in
the sense that it cannot be seen by asses
SCISSORS, and such property as can be
modified, or readily transferred from
place TO place-and restricting the taxable
to lands, buildings, fixed plant and inl-
provements on the same, supplemented
by licenses, succession tax, etc.
1t is noticeable that the nearer the
singletax system is approached the
clearer the author sees his way. But
when he reasons that the saloons should
pay $500 and $1,000 license, in place of
the comparatively low licenses they now
pay, he shows sad lack of statistical,
ethical and economic information on the
liquor traffic.
The Hayes bill which this pamphlet is
compiled for the purpose of criticising, is
likely to emphasize the impolicy as well
as fruitlessness of the attempt to raise
taxes il accordance with antiquated
methods prescribed by the stupid and
monumental ignorance embodied in that
instrument known as the Constitution of
Maryland.
The last fifty years has seen such a
complete transformation i'll the methods
of business, and transmutation of prop
erty, to use word out of its order to
express the changed conditions which
have taken place i'll civilized society, that
the old methods of taxation, which were
invented to serve an entirely different
condition, have all become an anomily
and bundle of absurdities when the
attempt is made to fit them to present
conditions.
Everything has advanced onward and
upward but our craftsmanship and law.
making science. These are stuck in the
mud hundred years behind their time.
The great mistake the people are making
is in confding the business of legislation
mainly to set of professional fee takers
and Office hunters Our craftsmanship of
the day brings to mind the medical prac-
tice of time not so very remote, when
BARRIERS practiced phlebotomy and sur
geons dressed gunshot wounds with hot
oil. Our legislatures are filled with W.
P. c. Breckenridges, that hoary roue and
libertine, and John Shermans the spirit
of Shylock, high priests ministering in
the temple of Venice or at the altar of
Mammon, while the people expend all
their energies and life straining to grasp
the dollar, which like the stone of Ses-
yphus, slips from their grasp and goes to
the bottom of the mountain, leaving the
multitude TO mourn over their blasted
hopes and barren labors. When our
working people conclude to devote palt
of their time to law making in place of all
of it TO money making, they will find
themselves richer by such division of
| labor