The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-10-07
..o,rcu TO PAY THE NATIONAL
- nERT THRICE, AND PAY BIG
SHARE OF THE TAXES.

About the time we read that the
ian emperor is advocating a pol
e teetotalism for the Fatherland
il! 1oarn beer has become the ma
We beverage of the United States.
t. oIu we were known as a nation
To- ansrmers of hard liquor" red
o. y oforty-rod." That was in the
s ssrs of cheap whiskey, before the
o@' when there was no tax on dis
wa liouor, and we drank about
'llic as much whiskey as beer each
W. r-about two gallons per capita.
! !Vr with the heavy tax on distilled
10rors, we drink less whiskey and
more beer. ..,o, 80 hoor i
.-.raosing: it is becoming an Ameri-
nv habit. Just as beer is the ma
t"n drink so the cigarette is our
notional smoke. Not that the con-
nantion of tobacco in the form OF
o'rars and pipe smokes has decreas-
.S. II has increased. But that the
usa Of cigarettes has added that form
IS tobacco to the national habit.
" CIGARETTES and beer! The high cost
of living! 49,.
# is a singlar thing that when the
sfab cost of living began to pinch
and the politicians and public men
% S,G 70 cast about to make political
oo3ital out of it the attack was made
On the tariff on imported goods and
tariff revision plank was straight
wav included in the platform for
rbicb the mapority of voters at the
1ost national election expressed their
d nrofnrence. The revision seeks to re-
move large portion of the $780,
OoN 600 which we pay yearly as trlD-
mo tn foreign manufacturers for the
a 500 100000 worth of goods we
hiring into the country.
Heavily Tax Drinking and Smoking
Nothing was said of the 1898, OOO,-
oo0 we pay for the $4,000, O,OOO
worth of tobacco and beverages we
smoke and chew and drink. That is
4 form of tax which no one kicks at
The little vices a man has do not
fgure in his computing the high cost
of living. Hard times, lack OF WORK
\ and high prices for food may cause
the man to cut down on the expend-
B itures for the house. He will move
IN cheaper location, reduce the
n meat bill spend less for clothes, Dut
he will manage to scrape together the
8 few cents he has to pay for keeping
q his tobacco pouch filled and for an
occasional tipple.
He kicks about the high price OF
q beef and talks about the tariff, but ne
+. never seems to think that nearly hall
q cent out of every nickel he pays for
a glass of beer goes for federal in
come; that eight cents from the price
of every pound of tobacco he uses is
tax. and that one and quarter cents
8 of the price of each box of cigarettes
goes for the same purpose.
He does not know, or if he does he
b does not care, that he is bearing the
brunt of the national taxes. The
non-consumer of liquor and tobacco
may thank the men who line the bal
and puff the fragrant weeds for theiI
q efforts in his behalf. The tax on
smoking and drinking now pays hall
q the expenses of thevfederal govern
ment. There is no kick. The man
n who does not contribute to this taz
certainly does not kick, and the man
who pays it certainly does not mind
1t is the easiest way of getting mon
ey for the running expenses OF the
government. The federal income ta1
is recognized by lawmakers and ex
perts in taxation as the method caus,
ing least complaint
A man would make loud protest a.
paying SIS as income tax; but ne
pays it if he is a good fellow anC
spends his money for about tel
drinks a day.
Tribute Is 1858, OOO,O 900 Year.
And the 1898, 100000 tribute mon
ey paid to Uncle Sam is not all; there
is $4,000, 1000 paid each year tt