The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-22

class, You must produce so much; TO those
OF the second class, You must produce so
much" and 80 on down to the bottom. Then
the trades Of the town were divided into classes,
In the first class would be Wholesale and re-
tail dealers who imported things. In the second
class would be the merchants who didn't i'm
port. In the third class would come the drug
gists, the taiors. the grocers and the furni-
ture men. In the fourth class were the BUTCH
ers. booksellers and grocers selling at retail
only. In the fifth class would como ice deal
ers. barber shops. cigar stores. bakers. In
the sixth class would be butchers 10 the streets.
boarding houses. wine shops, secondhand fur
nitre stores. fish dealers, cafes. fruit stores
and dressmakcrs, In the seventh class would be
the eating and the lodging houses, public halls,
stores selling wood and coal. taverns and grog
shops. In the eighth class would be BARRIERS
who didn't have any shops. stationery stands
and news stands. and 40 on. The professional
men we're In another class-doctors, teachers,
lawyers. &c. Each profession had a class
Of its own.
The Government would say 10 each class,
We assess you so much. Now get IT,. and all
the wholesale dealers who were importers
would meet, find out h they had to pay In
the aggregate. divide II up and then pay II.
The retailers would meet. find out what they had
TO pay and divide up. AL the doctors would
meet, all the lawyers and 80 on through each
class. They would oil have meetings, find
out what had been assessed against their bust
ness and divide the thing up.
There was nothing equitable about this. A
mar might have a retail store and do q big
business in II, and right alongside Of him might
be another man with a retail store who did little
business. but II they were in the same class
each paid the same tax. unless the mar who did
the small business was able TO make the other
men In his class bear a part OF his burden. The
mar who didn't report himself at the beginning
Of the fiscal year was a defrauder OF the reve-
nue and punishments were provided for him.
The man who did any business that he was not
licensed to do was a defrauder. Such a thing
as a department store was an impossibility. for
a man who undertook TO sell different kinds OF
goods would have TO pay the tax on each kind.
Again. the man who had two entrances to his
store for the public might have to pay tax on
two stores instead Of one.
REFORMS MADE BY AMERICANS.
Now to come to tho changes that have been
made In the system Of taxation in Porto Rico,
the Americans abolished absolutely tho con-
eumers' tax. That was q tax that came out Of
the pockets OF the poor. 1t was a tax that made
them pay more for their food. II was a tax
that oppressed them heavily. One Of the first
things that was done was to wipe that tax out.
Then came the wiping out Of the tax on skill
and the tax on the professions, the tax on art
and the tax on education. The teachers and
the doctors and the artists and the mechanics.
the engineers and all men Of that class were
placed on the list Of those exempt.
Next came a reformation In the tax on land.
The change that was made. 1t Ia understood.
will not be permanent. but the system now is
better than the system that existed. The land.
bv order Of Gen. Henry, was divided into three
classes. First c~lass-sugar land-was taxed
one peso a cuardo. which is q little less than an
American mere. The second class was made
up Of land not so good. That was taxed one
half peso a cuardo. The third class was land
that was good only for grazing purpose and
that was taxed one-Quarter Of a peso a cuardo.
Tho income tax on urban property was con-
tinued and houses still pay taxes according to
the rental value.
In addition TO these taxes there is A school
tar imposed. There are internal revenue stamp
taxes, which include a stamp OF q on each Ger.
'il'h'' hoTtN Wy ~ " INV ouIruuN " lnS tfOv-
eminent and one-tenth OF a cent STAMP on
each box OF matches made. A tax of 3 cents
a litre Is imposed on spirituous liquors: a tax
Of s. for a license 10 carry firearms: a tax Of
~ 50 for each trademark issued; q tax Of 2
cents a pound on oleomargarins and a tax Of
20 cents a pack on playing cards.
This will give the reader an idea Of how the
money that IL used to run the island of Porto
Rico Is being raised. Not only has everything
been done TO tighten the burden of the people
OF tho island in ordinary times, but in the ex-
traordinary times following the hurricane in
August, last year, the law was stretched BY
military decree 40 that no man who was i'm
poverished by the hurricane was asked 20 nav
any taxes at all. Lane owners and others
were permitted TO apply for the remission
of all their taxes. and thousands upon thou
sands Of dollars In taxes were RENTED.
Porto Rico since the close OF the war has
been probably the most misrepresented bit
OF territory in the whole world. II has been
the subject Of word painting by specialists In
calamity bowling who were egged on by enc
mics Of the country to such an extent that thou