Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-23
THE TROUBLEWIT GERMANY
Assurances That the Embargo on American
Cattle May Be Soon Suspended.
The War Between the Agrarinn and
Commercial Glasses in That Coun-
try Prussia's Income Tax.

The trouble between the United States
and Germany over the latter's exclusion
of American cattle has assumed a more
pacific aspect of late. and officials are
hopeful that the subject may Be adjusted
without further friction. The German au-
thocities have urged with apparent sin
cerity that they had no purpose to retaliate
against the United States because of the
tariff differential duty placed on German
sugars 1t has been pointed out that Ger
many took similar action against her near
reighbor. Austria, when it was suspected
that hogs coming from Austria were con-
taminated. And as Austria and Germany
are members of the triple alliance it is
urged that her course is shown to be in
spired entirely by sanitary precaution and
not through political retaliation.
The German authorities also take the
position that they will at once end the
exclusion of American cattle when it is
established that they are entirely free from
disease. In their investigations of the sub
Ject they have become satisfied that the
methods of government inspection in this
country are very rigid and effective and
they do not doubt that this will lead to
such perfect healthfulness among the cat
tie shipped abroad that the cause for the
exclusion will disappear at no distant day.
Assurances are given that when this oc-
ours the embargo will be at once sus-
pended.
Class War I'm Germany.
Another interesting report upon the war
between classes in Germany-the agrarians
on the one size and the manufacturing and
mercantile on the other-has been received
at the Department of State from United
States Consul General Charles DeKay at
Berlin. In this case the consul general
touches upon the efforts being made to
prevent a tariff war from being waged b.
Germany on Argentina, and shows how
the conditions now are very similar to
| those which caused the attack upon the
producers of the United States.
1t appears that the agrarians are seek
ing to prevent the heavy Importation of
Guebracho wood, used for tanning and
medicine. This attack is in the interest of
the owners of oak woods. The German
! chamber of commerce has just sent to the
reichstag a memorial in opposition to the
demand of the protectionsts that Argen-
tina shall be notified by the German gov
ernment of the termina ton of the most
favored nation clause of her treaty. The
chamber holds that this would simply ruin
| the German export trade to La Plata,
worth sixteen to nineteen million dollars
annually. Then France, Italy, England,
and before all others. the United States.
would hasten to Occupy field closed to us
by the war of tariffs" say the memorial
lists.
The agrarians, according to the report
wish to shut out all the chief articles which
come into competition with products of
German arabic lands and forests, particu-
larry wheat, quebracho, wood, hides, wool
ard horse inair. OF late the increase in
wheat imports from Argentina have been
considerable, being 736,0O0 double hundred
weights in 1898, as against 3lS.O00 in 1890
Prussia's Income Tax.
Prussia has an income tax which last
year yielded $29,043,0S4, and some facts
regarding it's operations, as reported to the
State Department by United States Con-
sui Morris at Ghent, Belgium, are Of
interest to people in the United States,
who are about to try the experiment. The
startling fact in this report is the remark
able number of persons who escaped the
tax altogether, although in Prussia every
citizen must pay who has anything above
the small income of s214. which would in
clude the great body of American work.
men. According to the rolls prepared, in
was 30,3S7 ,331, and of this number q, ,233.-
024 persons were exempted because their
| income was less than s214 or because they
were foreigners. So the tax was paid by
| 2,520, $50 taxpayers Qegal persons), of
whom ,922 were societies or corporations,
| the latter paying S1,S45,272 In the cities
each taxpayer paid for 3.1S persons, while
vidGals. The average income in Prussia
of persons above the minimum of $21l
was S63406 in cities and S42257 in the
country, the general average being $546.56.
OF the total tax the cities paid $27, 1856 81
and the country $7.1O2097. The amount of
tax of each taxpayer averaged 2.15 per
cent in the cities and 1.61 in the country.