The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-09-10
A Plea For the Retail Merchant.

L
I To the Editor: The article of Hon. F..
S. Spruill in Sundays News and OBJ
| server, is interesting and timely. l be-
lieve he underestimates the fitness OF
our Legislators for their duties when he
says that they are as little fitted there
for as the ordinary agriculturist for ma
tional banking" but in the suggestion
| of tax commission for the State he
points out need that should not be
| ignored.
AS pointed out, most of the time of
the Legislators, when in session, is spent
on private and local bills, which ought
never to be presented to them, but set
| tied by the commissioners of the various
counties. In the State of Kentucky the
Legislature is forbidden by the Consti.
| tuition to pass private Or local acts, and
1 believe the provision wise one.
| Mr.. Spruill's plan for a commission
however, ignores one very important
class of citizens, namely, the merchants
| He would have a lawyer, a banker, a
mill man, farmer, railroad man,
leach of whom would presumably study
| to find as many subjects of taxation as
possible outside of his own industry, in
order to reduce pro tanto his burden"
which would mean that he merchant
| unrepresented, would bear, as now, the
heaviest burden of taxation.
| Merchants constitute goodly portion
| of our population, and as rule are good
useful and intelligent citizens. AS a
class they have never been catered to by
politicians, have never demanded any
share in the offices, any voice in legisla-
| ton. any special privileges or recogni-
ton, and are not represented by lobby
| lists when the Legislature sits. The av-
erage merchant votes the ticket" to
help along 1.-THE representative farmer"
1.-THE brilliant lawyer" "the able finan-
cier," lends himself to the promotion of
the schemes of 1.-The enterprising manu-
| facturer" or ''the progressive railroad
builder"-and then foots an undue pro-
portion of the bills
Take as an example the drug trade
with which l am most familiar. Doubt
less third of the goods sold in the
average drug store are products of the
druggists own skill, yet the pharmacist
would scarcely expect the same recogni-
| ton and favor that are shown to manu-
facturers in other lines who are no more
worthy than he. The would-be drug
gist, after years of hard work in pre-
paration, takes a rigid examination (for
which he PAYS to prove his fitness for
his work, then wishing to open a store,
he is confronted by tax schedule some
thing on this wise:
| For privilege tax as a merchant, 81.
For privilege of keeping alcohol from
which to make tinctures, s25.
| For privilege of using chewing gum
| machine Ito save clerk hire), So.
| If handling cigarettes, for privilege tax
on same, SIS.
| Internal Revenue on all alcohol used
| in his business, $500 per gallon.
For every dollars worth of goods car
ried in stock. regular ad valorem rates.
| For privilege of living, regular poll
| tax.
| If corporation, $40 or more for privi-
| lege of existing.
| For solvent credits, regular rates.
| For all goods sold he must pay a
| stated amount for every hundred dol
| lars.
For privilege of filing report of sales
| thus disclosing his private business 10
competitors and others, a fee is ex-
acted.
| For each correction or alteration in
these reports which the powers that be
| require. dUOCUeF Zee must DE PAID.
The druggist is no exception. Retail
merchants in every line feel the heavy
hand of the tax collector. He is as
sessed by his neighbors for numerous
| local enterprises, he is taxed for roads
over which ine never drives, for libraries
and parks which he has no leisure to fire.
quent, is expected to open his purse fol
every charity from Dan to the other
place, and the cemetery fund is about
the only one that brings him any re-
turn for his money
We ought by all means to have tax
commission, not necessarily with a
merchant on it, for merchants as rule
are too busy trying to raise money to
pay the rent to catch on to such job.
But the first work of that commission
should be to remove about nine-tenths
of the license and privilege taxes of the
last revenue act, and get down to as
near an ad valorem basis as possible.
The merchant is, as rule, a good citi-
zen, patriotic and hard worker. Usual.
| ly he is self-made man. and there
would seem to be no good reason why he
should be Disseminated against in the
matter of taxation. The merchant is
| more numerous than either of the other
classes named except the farmer; give
him a show.
JULIAN f. JOHNSTON