The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-07-19
WAR EXPENSES.
How They Were Paid in the
Wars of the Past.

There was no revenue system during
the war of the revolution. Congress is
sued a currency instead, which depre-
cated to such an extent that in 1881, at
the end of the war, $1,000 in this cur
rency exchanged for 81 in gold or sill
Yer, and prices, estimated in this cur
rency, rose in proportion. One of the
first tasks of congress in 1889, after the
government under the constitution
came into being. was the passage of the
tariff act, and a revenue system, often
elaborate and intricate, has been. in
operation ever since.
In 1912 all the existing duties were
doubled as war measure, and internal
taxes were levied. About $S9,000,00o was
borrowed at various rates. chiefly at 6
per cent, and treasury notes TO the ex-
tent of 3s,000.00 bearing ) 20 per cent.
interest were issued. During the war
of 1S46-4s. with Mexico $50,000000 was
borrowed. principally at per cent,
and $34,000,000 OF treasury notes were
issued, most of them bearing 5 2-5 per
cent. interest. The tariff in operation
at that time was the Walker act, the
rates of which were low, but the per
capita wealth of the countryside ag-
gregate value of the country's property
per unit of the population-was only
about 5000 then, while IL is over $1,000
now, and consequently the tax burden
was heavier than the present one
will be.
. In the civil war days, when the coun-
try In the aggregate was comparatively
small and poor, when the drain for the
support OF the army and navy was far
"a a q N ic xxrha alxy
a little over half the countryside
Union states-had to meet the wars
financial demands, the burden of the
support of the government was inn
mensely greater than 1t will be in the
present instance. 1t would be tedious
to make any detailed comparison be-
tween the external (the customs) and
the internal taxes of 1898 and of the
civil war days. Moreover, the classifi-
cation and the character of the taxes
are different now from what they were
at that time, and direct comparison,
therefore, would be difficult and unsat-
isfactory. The following table will fur
nish a clearer idea of the relative bur-
den of taxation I'm the two periods than
any comparison of customs and taxes
would afford:
1915. 1898.
Proportion of duties receivedto
value of imported goods of all
sorts, free and dutiable, per
cent =. ;. =. :. -. ;. >, =. ~ %
Per capita amount of duties re-
ceived, per year. .............. $3.50 $40
Per capita amount of internal
revenue receipts, per year. 80. o.30 $40
Per capita wealth OF the country
census of 1860 and of 1890 re-
spectiyely). y)...................... 5l4 1,039
That is to say, in the latter part of
the civil war period the duties paid
bore twice as large ratio to the value
Of the imported goods as they do under
the Dingley act. The amount of the
duties which each person, on the aver
age, paid was much more than twice
as much then Tin 1860 as IL
is in 1898. Each person paid near
ly three times as much i'm internal
taxes then as he will at present, the in
ternal taxes under the Dingley law and
those under the war revenue bill re-
Gently passed being added together (the
receipts under. the war tax bill being
the estimates of its framers). Finally,
as shown by the per capita wealth OF
the country at both dates, each person
in the United States is. on the average,
more than double as well able to pay
a high tax. If he had to pay ii, in 1898
as he was in 1861 -65.-Leslie's Weekly.