The oasis., 1895-02-02
A BILL WHICH SHOULD BE KILLED.

was SnOWu copy Ol oili NhiOh hS was informed will be introduced and pushed to enactment at Phoenix. The bill aims to put tax upon every meal of yictuals eaten by every man, woman and child in the territory of Arizona, and will prove one of the most odlous
 and unpopular exactiOns ever laden
 upon an already tax ridden people.
 This objectionable bill proposes to
 levy and collect from each and every
 retail butcher doing business in the
 territory uf Arizona, semi-annual
 'ax of seventy-fiye dollars, payable i'll
 advance. and the hide of every animal
 killed is to pay an inspection fee of fif-
 teen cents, while every such butcher must file bond of one thousand dol
 lars. There is already an inspection
 tax of twenty-nve cents per head for
 inspection before killing. The prop
 posed new tax will be additional.
 Many, if not most of the retailers or
 meat in Arizona kill an average of not
 more than one beef per day. The in- spection tax alone for all such would foot up fifty-five dollars annually. To this add the semi-annual tax of seven . ty-fiye dollars and the unconscionable sum of two hundred and five dollars , will be wrung from every retailer of meat in Arizona. Add to that the
 lnspection fee before killing and the
 annual tax upon the small butcher l will aggregate two hundred and nlne- ty-hve dollars. What business of : the volume impliel by the diurnal l slaughter of a single steer can stand ' such tax? Only large retailers could - pay it. Even if the small ones were h able to do so their ability would con- !. tinue but a short time, for the man ., who kills several steers would pay n exceptionally smaller tax than he d who kills only one, and could under r. sell and drive him out of business, ob-
 iterating competition and still far
 ther advancing the price Of meat to
 the consumer But the tax and the
 advance without competition will all |, be paid hy those who eat.
 II And why should the retail butcher o give bond any more than any other u retail dealer? Why more than a law u yer or an editor? The reply, from the u cowman's standpoint, is that the bond
 is to keep the retail butcher from kil- T, ling stolen steers. To do that is a q crime, subject to legal punishment. e So are malpractice by physicians and n fatal mistakes by apothecaries. Why t, not exact from doctors and prescrip- n. tion clerks bonds not to kill patients? IS The ostensible motive of this bill is e, to protect the cattle interests. The O. real motive needs no ventilation. It
 is plainly apparent
 'nhe fact is that the cattle interests III of Arizona have been over-protected. W They have been the benedciarles of t. special legislation demanded by no ed other calling, and they have arrogantly IT. refused to permit application of legis- ad lation designed to protect other inter- ns ests from their own cruel rayages, 'l- The law has protected them in tramp es ling down the trees, vines and crops " of the husbandman to the extent oi !" hundreds of thousandsof dollars dam cs age. This new move ito protect the he livestock industry" which thrusts tht w. cloven hoof upon every Arizona break he fast table, will screw down very tight ri- the political coflin-lidof every legisla ib tor voting for it.
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