The Washington herald., 1916-07-07
Paying Uncle Sans Bills.

The preliminary report of the Commissioner
of Internal Revenue is illuminating as to who
pays the bills of Uncle Sam, and it ought to
help Congress in its efforts to SO legislate as to
increase the revenues and at the same time
make more equabe the distribution of the bur-
dens of taxation. But it will not, The Kitchin
bill will be adopted by the House on Monday
and it will later receive the sanction of the
Senate That bill will practically double the in
come taxes and place the burden on the indus
trial States to relieve the agricultural States.
Last year the total collections of internal
revenue amounted to SsIa,74o.76o.5s, and $780,
75I,o3I.37 collected in twelve States, while
slightly more than SIoo.ooo,ooo was collected in
the other thirty-six States, The customs reve-
nues amounted to S2rI, 100000, making grand
total of s724oooyooo as the revenues of the Fed
eral government. The twelve larger industrial
States therefore paid in internal revenue more
than one-half the entire revenues of the govern
ment.
The State OF New York collected $Io5, ,ooS
or more than one-hfth of the entire internal reve-
nue.; Illinois collected S65,287,s5o; Pennsylvania
collected S44,SI7,5o4; Ohio collected S33.743,476
and Kentucky collected S37,266,6s7, making to-
tai of S287 ,ooo or more than one-half the en-
tire amount of internal revenue, to be collected
in ivc States.
The one district including Maryland and the
District of Columbia paid more internal revenue
than did the combined districts which include
Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas Colorado Wyom-
ing, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Utah. Montana
Idaho, New Mexico Oklahoma and South Caro-
lima Neither Maryland the District of Co.
lumbia considered very important parts of
the Union by of the Senators and Repre-
sentatives from these fifteen States which paid
less revenue into the Federal Treasury, espe-
cially when it comes to appropriations; but this
small section stretching along the northern bank
of the Potomac very important in supplying
revenue to be appropriated for the benefit of
these fifteen large agricultural States which have
been successful in securing appropriations for
their dry rivers and creeks to teach the farm
ers how to farm, to eradicate the boil weevil and
the Southern cattle tick, to wild ducks in
Utah which have become afflicted with sore
throats from drinking salt water, to stamp out
hog cholera, to kill chipmunks and mountain
lions, to teach how to pull stumps in logged-over
States, and to improve rural sanitation by secur-
ing models for COW stables pigpens and
adjacent structures
Next year Maryland and the District of Co.
lumbia like New England, New York, Pennsyl-
vsnia, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky will be more
important as revenue producers, because the in
come tax is to be doubled. Some of our rural
statesmen afraid that the government is drift
ing toward a general pension system. 1t is. But
the pensioners are the States which are so en-
crossed IN reforming themselves and the rest of
the country and securing appropriations from
Congress, that they have neither time nor inclina-
tion to help foot the bills of the Federal govern
ment