Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-03-26

partner. Mr.. J. Aston Cabell. Both had
! had their assessments raised, while the
receipts OF the firm for last year sno"eu
a falling off
Mr.. William A. Moncure had inucn 10
| say TO the committee regarding the mat
ter of the incomes OF lawyers here in the
/ last year or so, and Mir. ltill MohldsuS
talked along the same line.
Mr. Hardwicke stated that 4 was I'M
1 possible for the committee 10 get az tbe
/ income Of the lawyers with any desIee
of accuracy. and It had TO use III jung
! ment in fixing the assessments. lie salu
the general idea OF the committee was to
make those who had practiced three
years pay $40, four years so, nve years
and so on S3O and up 10 $780, He added
| that he would be glad 10 have the MEM
! bers of the legal profession next year 10
/ assist the committee I'm regulating the
| assessments. which those present agreed
they would gladly DO. Mr.. Moncure sug-
gested that the Bar Association sof the
/ city would meet soon, and 1t might ap-
point q committee looking to this end
Dr. w. a. Deas was the next profess
sionaI man 70 be heard by the committee
and he complained that his license had
been increased while his income from his
work last year showed decrease.
PROTESTS FROM LIQUOR DEALERS.
The liquor dealers were then invited in'
and they trooped i'm in platoons. Each
had a lengthy and appealing statement
to make about hard times, dull trade, ana
the increase i'm license taxes. Each man
had the same complaint-the committee
had put up each mans license fror SJO
to SlOO for this year, while business was
so dull and stagnant that it was almost
impossible to continue il. Mr.. +. Remke
said he had been put up, while three
other saloons in the same square with
him We're left at $50 He added, further
that he believed others of these bars did
more business than he did. one or two
others made similar statements to the
committee.
The first of the iquor-dealers to speak
was Mr. Charles Thalhimer, a wholesale
and retail wine merchant on Broad street
who said he would be glad TO pay the
increased license-tax, or even a greater
tax. II trade would Justify 1t, but, un-
fortunately, it would not. Mr.. Thalhimer
asserted that business had in some re
spects fallen off 30 per cent. as compared
with what it was in former years.
Mr. L. Craig Pelouze appeared on behalf
of Colonel Archer, proprietor of the Inn
perlal, and others who urged the commit
tee not TO increase their license laAes
were Messrs. Andrew Fontanessl, X
ErdnciOne, X. JdcOUh, \. Levy - 80
f. Johnson. f. Carroll, John NJ. Ryan,
John j. Rankin. Massei & Pohli, Il. =.
Boze. Miss Maggie OConner Through
Mr.. Hartley, B. G. Metzger. l.. c. Gissel-
brecht c. II. Reid, j. W. Solomon, ). Nj.
Thompson. G. T.. Saunders. James hain'
NJ. S. Crump. II. Ullman, l.. p. Ellis, f.
Morello A. Gianotti. p. T. Murphy, I. j.
Griffin, and James Bahen.
REST MEANS OF TAXATION.
Mr.. Robert Hill Jr., appeared as the
representative Of the Peter Stumpf Brew
ing Company and as one of committee
from the Retail Liquor-Dealers' Associa-
ton. He summed up the situation among
those engaged IN the liquor traffic In THIS
city. He began with the assertion that
there was not a bar-rOOm or a liquor
dealer i'm the city making any money.
Most of them were I'm debt, ana had not
paid back money they had borrowed last
year. Mr.. Hill said he believed the COM
mon good of the city would be better
served If the committee would require all
those engaged In the liquor business here
to pay an annual license-taX of $50. lie
was satisfied it would be more beneficial
to the city i'm general and keep better
class of liquOr-dealers in the business II
the committee would lower the thirteen
saloonsts who had previously been pay
ing 500 and leave the other sixty-odd at
their former figures. $50 a year.
Being questioned as 10 his opinion III
regard to the best arrangement or sys-
TEN for taxing liquor-dealers in the city
Mr.. Hill declined to answer, saying that
many States had different laws. Incl
dentally he referred to the State Of Penn
svlvania. where the qualifications en-
braced citizenship.
DOCTORS UP IN ARMS.
The doctors were the next objectors and
the Richmond Academy of Medicine and
Surgery was represented by a committee
of seven. headed by Dr. j. Allison hodges,
who spoke for that body. He began by
explaining that the physicians felt that
there had been some miscOncepton OF the |
duties Of a city towards its physicians
and the duties of a city's physicians 10 II, !
&c. DR.. Hodges referred to the considera-
ton the academy had given to this sub
ject. and added that he had written TO |
seven States for information as to the |
tax upon doctors within their respective |
confines. Extracts from the replies TO
these letters were read and showed that |
I'm North Carolina the state tax was $40, |
but the law distinctly provides that no /
city can impose an additional tax; in |
New York the tax is trihing in Maryland |
there is neither State nor city tax; in |
Kentucky the physician has only to pre- |
sent his diploma and pay fee Of g; in |
Pennsylvania the physician has only to |
pay a fee Of $ upon presentation or regis
tration of his diploma; the State Of South |
Carolina has no State tax. but her cities |
impose a tax based upon income.
"Now, Mr.. Chairman" said the |
speaker eve pay i'm Virginia a State |
tax Of $40 then an income-tax to the /
State" continued Or. Hodges, and this |
additional city tax, which is nothing more ]
than an extra income-taX, which makes IL /
too burdensome." The Doctor made the /
statement that no young physician left /
college and went into the practice Of his /
profession who made any more than
enough 10 pay his landlady and his tailor
ing bills and he challenged any contradc- |
tion Of this assertion. The average physi- /
clan Of the city Of Richmond did not re-
ceive more than $1,000 per year which he
regarded as a painful, but a true, condition |
Of affairs
WHAT THEY Do FOR THE CITY.
In connection with the question Of what
the city owes to its physicians Or. Hodges
gave the committee some very interesting
and valuable information. He said that
the City Dispensary gave last year 1929
prescriptions with medicines added in
most cases., which. at 50 cents each would
amount TO 81 7.10; the Free Dispensary Of
the University College Of Medicine. under
the superintendency Of Dr. j. NJ. Winfree,
had given 12OO2 prescriptions. 5000; the
Virginia Hospital had given 24S services,
81 SIS, and outside Of these the physicians
of the city had made on the average Of
three charity visits each day, which. at 81
for each visit. would aggregate $l73.725.
saving 10 the city the grand sum OF $780,
1856. Or. Hodges stated that should there
be added 10 the last-named amount the
$2l7 500 the hospitals and colleges brought
10 Richmond annually. II could be seen
fhat from these sources the city generally