Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-03-18
10 w A N e w s
) PAPERS a = =
TANNING MORTGAGES.

TO any one who has even given seri-
Gus thought to the subject it is mat
ter of establishment that the public has
so long insisted on taxing mortgages
as property. The superficial theory
has been that mortgages are held by
wealthy people and that Ain taxing the
mortgage the holder is being mulcted
for the public benefit. This theory
need only be scratched to show how
falfaeious it is beneath the surface.
There IS no such misunderstanding
about the case of the landlord who has
house for rent. Nobody thinks that
the owner of the house pays the tax
on it. Everybody can see that the tax
must come out of the revenue from
the house and that the renter must
pay it. Increase the tax on the house,
and 1t means increased rent for the
renter to pay. The case of the man
with mortgage is identical. This
man Is merely renting his money.
When you tax the instrument repre-
senting the money loaner's investment,
you do not decrease the return he re-
ceives from the investment. but you
increase the cost of the loan to the
included in the interest rate paid by
the borrower. The borrower dn that
case is paying taxes on his debt. If
any legislator should introduce a bill
requiring all borrowers to pay taxes
on their debts he would be laughed
out OF any legislature. And yet that
is practically what is insisted upon
by these who demand the retention of
the property tax on mortgages.
If the Iowa legislature will give SER
ious consideration to measure similar
to that now pending in New York, it
win be attacking the tax ferret evil at
dts root.
AN IOWA WAR TIME PAPER.
Huntington Hawkeye.l
An interesting Iowa war time" pa
per- the Muscatine Weekly Courier of
the date of May 80. 1863, has been pre-
scented to The Hawk Eye by Thomas
Brown of Grattan street. The paper is
we'll worth perusal affording many in
teres,ting contrasts to papers of today.
The readers of today will note the price
which is fifteen cents per week for the
Daily Courier, or seven dollars year,
the weekly Courier costing two dollars
per annum There Is but little adver-
Using, most of the space being devoted
to news. while the editorial page is
made the most important. Edward IL.
Thayer is the editor and proprietor.
An extensive article on Mr.. Vallan-
iigham" is one of the prominent fea-
lures OF the first page. A speech of
Daniel Webster, delivered during the
notification times, In 1882, is also re-
printed on that page.
One of the editorials Is entitled
.eVicksburg Taken" and closes with the
words:
"As many Iowa regiments must have
been engaged in the recent battles UNI
der General Grant, we await with mucu
anxiety further intelligence from
Vicksburg.
For the most part, the telegraph news
has no heads Here and there
single line head Is printed. One report
reminds one of the present war ru-
mors from the far east in their uncer-
tainty.
.The Richmond Wing Of the 25th has
a letter from Jackson, 10th, which says
it is reported in Mobile that Snyder's
bluffs has been reoccupied," etc. That
is care against printing rumor with
out committing the paper.
An original poem written by Stone
wall Jackson during the Mexican war
is also printed under the title MY
Wife and Child"
The press from which articles are
repented are the Chicago Times, the
Philadelphia Bulletin, New York Tribe
une, Washington D. c.. papers.