The age-herald., 1898-04-27
Internal Revenue Taxes


 Internal Revenue Taxes
 with this object in view, your commit- tee recommends the levying of internal revenue taxes either on articles of volun- tary consumption or on objects that Will make such taxes fall mainly on persons able to contribute to the national defense, which will in the aggregate yield from ninety to one hundred millions of additional annual revenue"
 The report then enumerates different ar ticles to be taxed and the estimate hereto fore published of the amount of revenue to be derived and continues:
 '"rhese are all taxes on objects which were assessed during or subsequent to the civil war with one exception, and therefore do not open up new and untried system Of taxation. They are all internal revenue and can be collected by the existing internal revenue officials, slightly increased, with a small additional expense, and with the minimum disturbance of trade, although they are all taxes which are unwelcome and which it would not have been neces- sary to impose if war had been avoided.
 While all of the additional taxes are war taxes, which would be naturally re- pealed or modified when the necessities of war and the payment of war expenses have ceased, yet it is impossible now to place a limit on them, not only for the reason that no one can intelligently forecast the length of the war; but also for the reason that war always brings a train of extraordinary ex- penditures which do not terminate with the close of actual hostilities. It is evident that it will be necessary in order to maintain the public credit not only to realize the ad- ditional revenue provided by the accom- panying bill, but also to authorize the sec- retary of the treasury to borrow on the credit of the government from time to time, as the public necessities will require.
 The Bond Issue
 We have given therefore authority to issue and sell not exceeding $100, 900, coo ten twenty three-per cent bonds to be offered as a popular loan, believing as we do, that such bond will be taken from time to time by the masses of the people. We have hXed ten years as the period after which the bonds authorized may be redeemed at the pleasure of the United Stats not only because we regard it necessary to do this Tn order to secure subscriptions at par for the latter issues, but also because the fact that the one hundred million five per cent. loan of 1904 and the large loan of 1907 would inevitably be paid or refunded by the gov ernment before three per cent bond will pc redeemed maks a bond that can be re- deemed at the end of ten years as desira- ple 10 issue as one that can be redeemed at the end of five years
 Tn view of the fact that it will be nec- esary in very few weeks before the pro~ posed war taxes can bring results and be- lore the loan authorized can be placed to provide means to meet the rapidly aug hnehting war expenditures, authority is gwen the secretary of the treasury to tenn porarily borrow money, in no case exceed ing one year, by the issue of three per cent certificates of indebtedness It is impor- tant that the secretary Of the treasury snail have this authority in any exigenCy that may arise in the future."