The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1898-06-22
The revenue BIN.
New HAVEN. w. VA,
June 18th. 1898.

=
became a law reveals some very
plain cases of injustice in its sever
al provisions and there is no deny
ing the fact that the bill taken as a
whole is unjust. And the more
one studies it the more apparent
becomes the fact that the common
people of small means, are to be
compelled to pay by far the larger
part of it while the men of large
means are to be permitted to make
money out of the war. First take
the tax on beer which is doubled,
raised from one dollar to two dol
lars per barrel of 81 gallons. Ev-
erybody knows that beer is en-
phatically the beverage of the COM
mon people and whether right or
wrong the people who drink beer
are entitled to as much considera-
ton in the matter of tax as those
who indulge in champagne and
other fine drinks. Champagne
usually retails at $500 per quart
which would be of course $1,000
per gallon. The tax on a quart of
champagne which costs the con-
sumner $500 is cents. The added
tax on a gallon of beer which costs
the consumer % cents is little
over 81 cents. Or in other words
the per cent. of the added tax to
the cost of beer is about Is cents
while the per cent. of the added
tax to the cost of champagne is J
of 1 per cent showing that the
per cent. of cost added to the poor
mans beer is about 26 times the
per cent. added to the rich mans
champagne.
Next comes the tax on Banks
which says bankers with a capital
not exceeding S25, 100000, $4,000
and two dollars additional for every
81 10000 in excess of S25, 10000,
including surplus. This is di-
rect slap at banks other than Ma
tional banks, for no national bank
can begin business with less
capital than $4,000 which allows
them to draw interest on $95, 600.
There is $4,000 of bonds deposited
to secure the circulation upon
which the national bank continues
to draw interest, and then the
$4,000 which the government
hands over to the bank making
such deposit. Can the banker
with only $4,000 of his own hon
est money compete successfully
with the banker whose working
capital the government has doub-
led?
Brokers $4,000, but any person
having paid the special tax as a
banker shall not be required to pay
the special tax as broker" OF
course not, the bunker can have
anything he wants.
Now look at the tc',ecco sched-
ule, especially the part l-lating to
cigars and cigarettes. Instead of
the So per thousand formerly levi
ed on all cigars and cigarettes
weighing over three pounds to the
thousand the tax is now $3.50 with
out regard to cost. The penny
stogy and the cigar that sells for 5,
10, 15 or 25 cents apiece, are all
taxed $3.50 per thousand alike.
Thirty six per cent. of the cost of
the poor mans penny stogy he
he pays to the government while
the man who smokes the 25c. cigar
(and we all know he is not the
poor MANI pays 1925 per cent of
the cost of his smoke to the gov
eminent Besides the added tax
of sixty cents on the thousand the
manufacturer must pay special
tax for the privilege of running
his factory, and here again the in
justice of the bill becomes very
plain. The factory that makes not
to exceed 100000 cigars per year
pays Sc special tax. If it makes
over 100000 and not over 100000,
tax of S12; this much is all right,
but look at the rest of it. A manu-
facturer making over 100000 must
pay s24 per year for the privilege
Is L L IL I.
makes s25O,O0O or s25,oO0,O0O or
more. This is manifestly unjust
to the small factories, and gives the
larger ones undue advantage, but
that feature seems to be the spec
ial design of nearly all laws that
have been made for many years.
Now compare the tax the cigar
manufacturer pays with that of the