Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-02
WHOSE THE BURDEN7
Business Men Will Test the Meaning
ofthe New Stamp Act.
COMPANIES MUST PAY TAXES
What the Representative of an Ex-
press Company Says.
IN OF II E r ClTI E S

L N " L IL "a N " 1 u =
Business men who are compelled in the
transaction of their affairs to use the tele-
graph wires freely, and who largely patron
ize the railroad and express companies and
the shipment of freight and articles, are
united in their opinion that the course pur-
sued by the telegraph and express and rail-
read companies in compelling them to pay
the internal revenue duties on dispatches
and express on freight, bills of lading and
manifests is wrong. The declaration is
openly made by leading merchants here
that the companies in SO doing are simply
taking advantage of the general ignorance
Of people with the provisions of the act ap-
proved June 10, 1898, known as the war rev.
enue act. This measure, 1t should be
known, while directly taxing bankers, brok-
ers and others. doing business either as in
dividuals, firms or corporations. did not
place similar direct tax on any other cor
pcrations save those engaged in refining
petroleum and sugar.
Object of the Framers
The trainers of the BILL. it is declared
their portions of the burden of war by
compelling them to place stamps upon the
evidences of their business
Thus, section IS of the bill provides that
after July mo telegraph company or is
esent or employe shall transmit to any
person any dispatch or message without
an adhesive stamp. denoting the tax i'm
posed oy this act, being affixed to copy
thereof or having the same stamped there
Upon. and in default thereof shall incur a
penalty of ten dollars"
In schedule A of the act the parsgra nh
follows: 49,
1t shall be the duty of every railroad or
steamboat company, carrier, express corr
p2hy or corporation or person. whose oc-
is 10 act as such, to issue 20 the
shipper or consignor or the agent or per-
sen from whom any goods are accepted for
transportation, bill of lading, NANTES.
or other eFiderce of receipt and forward
ing Tor each shipment received for car
rage and transportation. whether in bulk
or In boxes, bales, packages, bundles or
not so inclosed or Included; and there shall
De duly attached and Cancelled, as in this
9 i included, to each of said bills of Lad
ing mantfests or other memorandum. and
to each duplicate thereof, a stamp OF the
value of cent"
Test Cases to Be Made.
Many of the merchants in WASHINGTON
are already comforting with each other over
the propriety of bringing test cases to de-
termlne whether they or the CORPORATIONS
SO specl1cally directed in the act to do so
snail pay the taxes indicated 1t Is very
Prooap!e that within a day or two several
dispatches will be presented for transmits
sion at the various telegraph offices TO-
getner with the amount of the regular
rates charged heretofore by the companies.
ana "nen the senders are notified that the
messages will each require 1-cent stamps
In addition the senders will decline to affix
them. In case the company or its agent
5 5 10 transmit the message suits of
Damage Will be brought, and an immediate
regal decision secured upon the question
ne same course, it is said on excellent au-
thorlty, will be pursued regarding freight
bills and telephone messages.
The Local Sale of Stamps,
Today the employees in the office of the
deputy collector of internal revenue on G
street near It'll street, had chance, for the
first time in the past two days, to get some
rest. OF course there were people coming in
all the time and asking for stamps but the
once was not crowded. as was the case the
TWO previous days. 1t is thought the pub
lie has a supply on hand that will last for
some days.
For a short period yesterday and this
morning the local office was without a sup
ply of one-cent stamps, but this lack was
soon made good and the sales went on 1t
Is stated at the Office that it is impossible
to give the figures of the sales Of the last
two days, for the reason that the state
ments have been sent over to the offic. in
Baltimore and no summary of them was
made for lack of time. 1t Is believed the
total runs into large figures, as some of the
great corporations represented in this city
by agents bought their supplies of stamps
here. 1t was not uncommon to have one
customer leave an order for half million
of stamps.
The new law does not affect the local tel
ephone company, at least as to their local
business, as the tax on telephone messages
Is one cent for every message costing fif-
teen cents and over. The charge for local
therefore they will escape the tax as will
the local subscribers. On long distance
messages there is a tax, of course, but the
representative of the company in this city
SAID today that no extra charge would be
made, as the company would pay the tax.
What the Express Companies Say.
In regard to the stamp of one cent re-
CURED by the new law to be attached to
every bill of lading or receipt of an express
company. the representative Of one of the
companies in this city told Star reporter
today that the companies of the country
had decided that the public and not the
companies should pay this tax.
He said that so far In this city there had
been but few protests made to this extra
charge The situation, he added, with the
express companies was somewhat different
freight business, a bill of Iading for
freight might, and usually did, include a
large number of articles, but with the ex-
press companies the bulk of their business
was the handling of single packages. Ac-
cording to the law, each package reuui--
Ing, as 1t does, g. separate bill of lading,
would have to have one-cent stamp at
tached For this reason the express COM
panies. he said. had reached the conclusion
that 1t would be undertaking too much to
attempt to pay the tax
New York Telephone Company.
The New York Telephone Company yes
terday announced that the rate on all city
messages now fifteen cents will be ten cents
In the future. The revenue tax is one cent
on telephone message for which a charge
OF fifteen cents or more is made. The New
York Telephone Company say they con-
templated making this reduction in the fall
but determined not to wait They claim
they are not ,ndeavorins to evade the war
tax.
Wild Rush for Stamps
There was a wild rush for war revenue
stamps in New York Yesterday