The herald., 1898-06-13


egrams, patent medicines. insurance poll
cies. wines and mineral waters. vessels
engaged in foreign trade. This bill also
authorized the issuance of five hundred
millions OF interest bearing bonds.
1t was estimated by the committee that
this bill would increase the revenue one
hundred millions per annum. An analy-
sis of the figures Of the committee shows
that seventy-five millions of this increase
would come from the source usually
called taxes on consumption. and the bal
ance of twenty-five millions from stamp
taxes upon documents.
In the house an amendment providing
for an income tax was defeated by Re-
publican votes, and the bill as reported by
the house committee was passed and re-
ported to the senate. In the senate au
amendment providing for an income tax
was again defeated by Republican votes.
The Democrats in the senate offered
amendments providing for taxes upon in
comes of corporations, striking out the
bond provisions of the bill, authorizing
the coinage Of the seigniorage and the
bonds, and various other amendments
having in view taxing property and prop
erty rights, all of which were defeated by
Republican votes. Through the efforts
CT Senator White, however, an amend
ment was agreed to imposing a tax on
refining sugar and petro-
leum of one-fourth of one per cent. By
a senate amendment tea is taxed ten
cents per pound and chewing gum
twenty per cent.
From this brief outline Of the war
revenue measure it will be seen
that the bulk Of these taxes falls
upon every man, woman and child
in the United States in proportion to
the taxed articles consumed, and the
inevitable result is, and must be, that the
soldier in arms must return to the gov
ernment for which he is fighting, in the
shape of taxes, an amount nearly equal
to that paid by the individual who will
purchase the non-taxable bonds author
lied to be issued by this measure, and
who is, and will be, peaceably following
his usual vocation of money making al
home with his family.
Now it may be said that the sugar and
oi! trusts have been taxed. This is true.
But if any one supposes that these cor
porations will ultimately pay the taxes
imposed they will be sadly mistaken. In
this instance, as in all others. they will
simply raise the prices Of the monopolized
articles, and the consumer pays the taxes
for the corporations in the enhanced price
of the stamp taxes upon bonds and mort
cages. The borrower of the money Will
be required, as a condition of securing
a loan, to pay this tax, or it will be de-
same as the borrower is now required to
pay the record of the lenders mortgage.
If congress had passed a revenue bill
for direct taxes Of say, $40
per capita (amounting to seven hundred
and fifty millions per annum, about theiI
amount estimated as necessary to defray
the expenses of the war), it.would have
been little more onerous upon property
less families, but no more unjust in prin-
ciple than the present law, which requires
each family to pay like amount upon
the necessary articles of consumption.
AS the proposed law stands today it Is
tax upon families. Nothing more or
less. Congress may impose a small tax
upon sugar and oil trusts for the purpose
Of covering up the iniquities of their un-
just scheme of taxation but congress will
learn two years hence that the house
wives of our land have learned by ex-
perience who pay Republican war taxes. |
The question was asked, Who have vol
unteered 10 fight the battles of the re-
public? The answer is, The humble citi-
zens.
The question was asked, Who have
been taxed to pay the expenses of the
war? The answer is The families-every
family of the United States.
And now the third question should be
asked, Why have not other classes of cit
liens volunteered? And the fourth, Why
has the tax burden of this war been laid
upon families?