Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-23
1884 1t shrunk to s52S, 291 ST. and for 1885
dwindled again to $500 ola, 1885,"
A Lawyers Sentiments.
Mr.. Ely resumes as follows (p. 1889:

Ely resumes as 1OIlOwS 10. 1879.
"A lawyer of standing in Columbus. who
holds estates in trust for several parties.
says that whenever he goes to the tax
office to pay taxes he feels capable of COM
| hitting robbery, arson and murder; be-
cause he is obliged to pay taxes on the
full value of estates Of two, three and four
thousand dollars. belonging to little orphan
children, whereas he sees wealthy clients
paying on 10 or 10 per cent of what he
knows they are worth.
After lengthy conversation with
gentleman who was once an official and
had served long in one of the tax depart
ments of Ohio 1 said 1t seems to me,
| from what you say, there is not a wealthy
| man in the state of Ohio who is not a per-
| jurer.' He replied, 1T is true I do not
! simply quote what 1 heard, evidence
| of widespread Generalization"
In Georgia.
The author proceeds to consider the OPP
Grafton of similar law in the state of
! Georgia. OF the operation of that law in
| that state he says (p 1869:
| Il visited Savannah, Atlanta and Angus
| ia, and conversed with public officers as
! well with many citizens of character
and standing in their respective communi-
| ties, and the unanimous testimony of all
| who have given this subject any careful at.
| tention more than confirms the quotations
from the comptroller general in regard to
the inadequate nature of the returns of tax
payers.
| Il conversed with a gentleman in Savan-
| nah, who is probably as well acquainted
with the actual workings of the tax laws
| there in force as any resident of the city,
| and he told me that they could not reach
| the personal property; that millions of dol
| lars escaped. "A person has bonds and does
not return them; but what are you going
| to do about it?' asked this gentleman. If
| he does not return them, must he not take
false oath and Deriure hlmSef!' L re-
piled. Yes answered he; and it is I'M
fortunately thing which is done every
| day
Another gentleman, with almost equal
| facilities for careful observation, told me
| that no one paid any attention to the per
| sonal property tax. There is, for example,
said he "a tax on watches, but there are
not ten men in Savannah who own watches.
This last was naturally said laughingly.
Watches in Philadelphia.
| In a foot note, at p. 1866 the author says:
Through the kindness of Robert P. De-
| ebert, esq, city comptroller Of Philadel-
pnia, I am enabled to give striking illustra
ton Of the futility Of the attempt to tax
| everything. There is a state tax of one
dollar each gold watch, or seventy-five
cents on each silver watch, and fifty cents
on every other watch carried in Philadel-
phia. The following table shows the num-
Der Of watches of each description taxed in
that city of nearly a million inhabitants in
the years 1883, 1884 and 1885:
Gold r.tehe. ISIS ISL 1856, $50 1850 1883
Silver watches $40 go 54o
Other watches. ......... ~ ~ %
In Wisconsin the result was the same.
The author says (p 112):
Personal property it was generally said
indeed, l remember no contradiction or
the statement-was not reached; especially
not in large places, and still more especially
in the OF of large means >
IA gentleman of prominence in city in
Wisconsin, which l will not name, and an
officeholder under the present federal ad-
ministrat ton, said to me: You see in me
monument of the iniquity of our present
system of taxation. When l was poor
and struggling young man, with hVe or SIX
hundred dollars worth OF personally, l
paid on all that l had; but now that 1
really have something, keep still and pay
taxes only on part Of my property. Indeed,
when 1 think about taxation in our states
and cities 1 feel like turning anarchist
and blowing things up with dynamite
Of the same law in West Virginia the au-
thor says (p. 173):
II will quote a few passages from the
Preliminary Report of the West Virginia
Tax Commission made in 1884, which have
a bearing upon the points under discussion,
and which confirm the results Of my own
observations.
Paid Mainly by Widows and Orphans.
For the purpose of suggestion, and by
way of illustration taxpayers may be d.
yided into two classes. One class con-
stantly schemes to shift off on neighbor
some burden which they themselves ought
to carry; the other class, unskilled In the
practices of evasion. submit to whatever is
measured out to them by the recognized
authorities, and pay whatever is demand
ed The one class is shrewd, enterprisinS
and adroit; the other is content to accu-
mulate property slowly, honestly and by
t. {r No frSf Int n a
government so to shape its tax laws that
this second class will be fairly dealt with;
it is largely composed Of those helpless and
unobtrusive persons, who, treading the
humber walks of life. make but little noise
in the world, and are seldom able to as
sert defend their personal rights Again,
the first class, by reason of their activity
and shrewdness, have more ablilty than the
other class to carry their full proportion of
a common burden. 1t is a primary
principle that the subjects Of a state ought
to contribute toward the support OF the
government nearly as possible in pro-
portion to their respective abilities; but 1t
will be seen before these reports are con-
Guided that in West Virginia almost the
reverse is the case, and man of small
means pays, as a rule, more in proportion
than man of large means.
AT present all the taxes from invisible
property come from a few conspicuously
conscientious citizens, from widows, eXecu-
tors and from guardians of the insane, and
infants; in fact, 1t is comparatively rare
thing to find a shrewd trader who gives
in any reasonable amount of notes, stocks
or money; the truth is, things have come
to such a condition in West Virginia that.
as regards paying taxes on this class of
property, it is almost as voluntary and is
considered pretty much in the same light
as donations to the neighborhood church or
Sunday school, p"
New York's Showing.
In the great state of New York the re-
suit is the same. At page lie the author
says:
while no one doubts that personal prop
erty in that state has been increasing
steadily and with great rapidity, there has
been a constant decline in the proportion
of public burdens borne by personally. In
1863 real estate contributed IS per cent of
the public revenue, and personal property
paid % per cent; while in 1879 real estate
was made to pay 81 $40 per cent, and per-
sonal property only II 2-10 per cent of the
whole tax. 1t would be difficult to show
that the value of personal property has
not increased to a larger extent in the past