The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-12-18

q OCuun4f
sssss paid Into tho treasury incl ssss ~
ess,Dy collectors, s55o,6co waA sfrom l,a,o,
. .Ni and ss5,550 from beer aea,srs 49,
~. Ivy totai OF s646.l50 paid nv bn.b c,assas
- ,s'doe collects a tax OF ss0O from ~
,e,ail or Wholesale dealer IN whisky vhish
,nxih the sale Of ali Kinds ~ In
~, ..,g beverages. A tax o, on,t sio !.
en.psa asa,nst the beer dealer, and. OF
land ,,i,i. - me statutes provide, counties
~, '. ~. anu towns may each levv bsi'
wnat the State collects, 'e'F hai'
nsre are more beer saloons ard hoo
Isee,eIs IN Texas than there ora ,,h,.t,
| 49, rs. Inc difference In the amonnT ~
haiiI i,ufvssu is too great In fact. IL noi
..s,ess mat burt one llceNse shonid u \
, s.al's1, aud all dealers shonId ha ~.
auirea 20 pay the same sum h iaxes n
Nv, Iuunes put little inquiry ana inypstiss.
haa, ~ n,u mat many persons holding n
| vioi,, Nv eense sen whisky. too, and become.
~ s.o,atcts OF the law, and defeat tho sat-
~ ~ county out of the fax which ~
reisons engaged in the business ara ,,a,,'
| .-s, Al exclusive beer dealers mr. dns,or,
y rug an exclusive beer liresse on, ~,
sul,ty OF this, but there is n Iarra n,r,hos
Mno are, and 1t requires frequent invasti
s@tlons TO Keep UP With and detect the,,
pe,eVe 1t would be wise leris'at,on ta
ssuu &C. the general liquor dealers tax ~
riar ~ PCT at'nun, ana do away with tie
clause permitting an "excluelve 49,.
license" By this course many littie .sh MA.
lcists would be driven out of bns,nns,
anu.o,u.o'ediy, but still the change would
e s IN largely Increased revenue To M
9..t.e uiaa TO the several counties TIA
y, would oppose this change In,
!, would be most whol6s1p,e ono fron,
" "b, every other point of view. ONLY -
iars.sr per cent OF the beer dealers In the
i,aeer cues OF the State, comply with tbs
nns,oa 1ata,liis them to Keep their license
t,1y.ri,i 10 a Nonspicuous place. Investigation
f1Varlably reveals the fact tha, ~ H. -.
cry or the brewers agent has in5,cna i,
dispenser of the drink. to take ont a snae
e.ai United States revenre stamn ffro-
pueh.iy as retail liquor dealer) wh;cb i,
nov transferable, whereupon the brewerS
" ,he brewers agent takes out the State
s sI.a county license, which tboinx trans.
hte -, ono ttme) is generally held by the
IT, OF the agent, as collateral secur-
nj, AZ .ne money invested, until the dealer
Nno Guys beer from his brewery friend
can pay out the license. paying A siipniaIsS
sum per week or month.
90 II one dealer gets tired and gives ,,
anu Quits' the brewery or the Srewer,s
ssoue KEYS another man TO take crt n
Special United States stamp and 70 ahead
ut'tta the license held by the brewery and
ny ~, pie"eds agent. This have found in
an the larger cities In the state That :
nave visited So it happens fhaf ma ,,,s,
running the place has no State and ccsnfy
license that he can exhibit 10 tho nnhlic
III compliance with the law. And while tho
S."pute prohibits more than one transfer
OF license, in this way half a dozen mr.
more men have been known to run the
Sans piace OF business. dispensing beer
eaeh having a Federal revenue STAMP. but
all having the same State and county "A,
cense which the brewery or brewers apent
mas taken out. IF the law is to remain lii,e
1t is IN tnis resDeGt to the amount of tax
imposed on malt dealers. 1t should at least
De so changed as to make an exclusive malt
dealers license not transferable. Some Of
VIe prewle1ies in the State protest
against paying the tax of a beer Healer
claiming that as they manufactures I'M,
beer, they are not subject TO the license
TAX. | believe 1t would be good idea
ana the proper thing to do to exempt them
from This dealers tax. but place a STAMP
TAX OF say 30 cents per barrel upon every
barrel of beer sold in this State An ef-
Tort was made in the last legislature to
tax beer after this forum but IL was de-
feated. 1t is argued. by those who oppose
it. that outside breweries could not be
reached by such a law. BY requiring ali
barrels of beer, sold or tapped for sale at
retail OF by wholesale. to bear the State
stamp, as it is required to bear the United
States revenue stamp, the agents of outside
breweries COULD be reached as well as those
located in the State. BY providing a pen
atty fer selling unstamped beer, by re-
tailers or by brewers Wholesale agents in
this State. 1t appears to me would be an
easy solution 10 the objections advanced by
these who opposed this form of tax before
the last legislature. The matter ought to
be taken up, and legislation of some kind
1-.,1 l. a. T.
the United States revenue OF as much as
four or five hundred thousand dollars per
annun, probably. from the stamp tax. to
say nothing of the sum collected from each
wholesale or qetail dealer. while the Stats,
as Shown above. under the $50 tax on deal
ers, receives only $95.550. The breweries
in this State pay probably five or six hun
Tired dollars in occupation taxes (under
protest, s1nne of Jhem) to the State, and
about $250,000 per annum in stamp tax to
the United States. Under the war tax bill
they are paying at the rate of about four
hundred Thousand per year. and this does
not take into account beer sold here from
breweries outside the State.
STATE REVENUE AGENT.
The office Of State revenue agent was ere
ated by the legislature In 1891. There has been
n DISPOSITION on the part of some. in each
legislature that has assembled since then. to
abolish the office. This opposition may have
arisen from two sources--political prejudice
that was engendered about the time IL was
created. and dislike of many persons to being
compelled to pay occupation taxes. 1t would
probably be indelcatc in me to give my esti-
mate of what has been done in tho line of en-
forcing the collection OF taxes of this sort
But there is no doubt of the Importance OF
the office to the States financial well-DelnS
With the proper man in charge oflthe office
one that will insist on the enforcement or the
revenue laws without fear or favor, and helr
enough given him that he could cheek W
every tax coll ector in the State at least once
year, believe fully quarter Oh mn
lion dollars, with the law as It now exlsts
could be collected annually that is now los
to the State, | have made this estimate. MOI
because ! desired to be extravagant In my
yitn, of the Offices Importance to the stat
from financial point of view. but from th'
few months experience l have had In per
forming the duties of the position. ana IN,
amounts collected In some counties tnai wa
not being paid. and had not been PAID u
fund at his disposal to employ counsel TO pros
ecute delinquents when occasion required
enough could be collected by the state rev
enue agent annually. that IS not now col
lected at all to pay nll the salaried ofhcers o
Inc state their annual salaries.
OF course II other duties should be imposed
such as some have suggested. more derlca
helm and more deputies would De required
Provision should be made by the legislature
Nv passing n law to that effect. requiring tn
State revenue agent to collect the IrahcnLs'
tax from corporations from wnom II rs nu
and who may be delinquent Tor past years
There ought TO be q provision engfaIleu ohl,
our statutes, too requiring every Danher %
broker, resolving money on deposit. ~ tn,