Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1914-09-11

IIdI1C Shall SpGoh. nv S"J
to Danish the liquor. traffic from
Virginia, will increase taxes ?
The liquor dealers. and they are
a pretty set to talk of taxes when
from court records they do not
hesitate to defraud the govern
ment whenever they get good
chance. The allies of the liquor
dealers, the Local Self-Govern-
ment association and the wet
newspapers that make thousands
of dollars out of the liquor traffic,
also say that it will Increase
taxes. Is there not a motive in
the madness of these!
WHO says it will not increase
taxes? Every disinterested man
who knows conditions in Vir-
ginia.
Ex-Governor Mann says:
L have no hesitation in saying
that in my judgment, prohibition
will not make an increase in tax.
alton necessary.
Hon. r. E. Byrd. former
speaker of the house; Hon. S. R
Donohoe, former State auditor
Hon. George B. Keezell, former
chairman of State finance com
mittee, and every other unbiased
man who has given the subject
thought says the same.
What is the experience Of
States and cities which have
, banished the liquor traffic? kar'
sas, a prohibition State, has the
cheapest tax rate of any State ii
the Union; Georgia, a prohibi
ton State, has reduced her taxes
ten per cent; North Carolina ant
West Virginia have not and will
not increase their tax rate. Dry
Danville has not increased hel
tax rate, nor Stanton. Dry
Charlottesville has an increase il
their clty's income of nearly
So, 900 a year since the saloon.
were voted out.
WILL NOT INCREASE TAXES.
There are three reasons why
the Punishment of the saloon:
will not increase taxes:
THE first is that where value:
are increased taxes are lowered
Take some of the counties il
which coal has been discovered
the increase of values has reduc'
ed the tax rate. This is true
where factories and industries
are established. The saloon de.
stroys values--yalues in the mer
aud values in property. Not ouly
that, but millions of dollars are
sent out of the State to the
whiskey trust at Louisville an(
Cincinnati, and millions are sem
out for the beer that made Mil
waukee famous" but made Rich
mond poor, and millions are sem
to ST. Louis beer king! If thi:
money were kept in Virginia ant
put on deposit for the benefit OF
the men who. spend it in drink
how it would increase taxa bic
values.
The second reason why the
Punishment of the saloons will
not increase taxes is because
every dollar of taxes gathered by
the liquor traffic costs the State
two dollars and more to take care
|of it; seventy-five per cent OF
criminal expenses is traceable to
the saloon, large percentage of
pauperism, and much Of the in
sanity. When the saloon goes
the expenses for crime, pauper-
ism and insanity go. The tax
payers who don't drink have to
pay for these.
The third reason why the driv-
ing out the saloon will not in
crease taxes is that nineteen
twentieths of the State was made
dry by one act and it did not in
crease taxes, making ore.twen-
tieth of it dry will not increase
them
A very pertinent gu estion is.
Who pays the liquor tax after
all? The whiskey trust does not
pay it. the beer kings don't pay
it, the liquor dealers don't pay it.
Who, then, pays it? The men
who drink the liquor. These
poor creatures caught in the
clutches of the vicious appetite
for strong drink Dav the taxes