Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-09-01
the year 1921 shows the follwIns Or.

''s--Auto license. s52s.pso.
"4--tneofne tax. f277.1g5.
sb-~LicauseA and fees fcollected by
Clerks of Peace,1 tff62.63
"G--fnsnrance and Banking depart.
inenta. sfsT623.
'7-Tees. Secretary Of State, sf21,.
7o7.
1T ls possible to intelllgeutly
discuss the problem Of the States
revenue without referring 10 the corr
poration charters. In 1919. foreign
corporations paid s9.7 per cent Of the
total amount paid into the general
fund. excluding the bond account of
the Highway Department. Much the
same would be found true or 1920. If
we had figures; and sllil there In com.
plaint about taxes In Delaware, even
though 4a.7 per cent of the revenue
Of the general fund for 1919 came from
the eoffers Of foreign corporations
Suppose the Federal government
should pass a national incorporation
act, depriving the States If tho right
10 ISSUE charters. Since this subject
has been frequently and seriously sug-
gested, such procedure Is not unlikely:
IN which event the effect upon The
revenues OF our State would be such
that further comment here IL IN
necessary.
The income tax has been used 10
support the highways and the schools
IN 1917 The income tax netted ssg9 0ss
In 1918 the revenue from this source
was fa2l,52o. In 1919. s27g.0g2 In
1920, s2T7.195. The figures show n
reduction from this source Of revenue
Of sl21,se0 from 1917 TO 1920 n is
| reported that the state Highway De-
nartment is in need of si75 900 adj
ditionai to meet outstanding con
tracts and necessary expenses We
should not envy those who have the
responsibility for these matters. hut
they must be met--and you can well
afford to give most careful thought to
the subject
With the two sources of revenue
corporation charters and the income
uncertain quantities. and repre-
sentina the largest and fourth largest
items in the States revenue, the out
look is not promising. And when we
recall that so per cent Of the revenue
for the general fund Is paid by for
eign corporations. II seems reasonable
20 suggest a careful study and re-
vision Of the entire taxation system.
There are possibilities Of new and
lust forms of taxation There are tax-
es now levied that should be repeated
Even though the farmer represents a
good proportion Of the population. we
must remember that the average
farmer tnot the exception but tho
average fsrmer) does not handle d
large amount of cash, and the end OF
the year leaves him with little If
any surplus. He cannot and should
not be required to bear more than his
reasonable share Of taxes Not the
least advantage of a scientific taxation
system win be that IL viii be possible
70 gauge the revenue with consider
allie greater accuracy than al present
obtainable
"A law passed by the last General
| Assembly provides for the proper
audit of expenditures; but there IS
70 provision in that law. nor does
there seem to exist any law on our
| statue books, which provides for the
audit of revenues. Just how much
| the absence OF such law means can
/ only be imagined, as there is no way
Of telling the licensee which have been
overlooked by the clerks of the peace;
nor the corporations which are delin-
quent in payment of franchise tax
nor Is there any check on fees col
| lectible by the office Of the Secretary
Of State; nor is any audit possible
Of the collections Of the State In
surance Commission.
! fsry4s.z IA.
| towards any individual official The
criticism is intended to call to your
attention the lack Of any well organ
lied and proper system"
Uses of Federal Reserve Bank.
Progress under the Federal Re-
serve Act" was the topic on which W
ii. HUT. deputy governor of the Fed
eral Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
addressed the bankers. After recitine
the carly history OF the institution he
said:
/ "The total resources Of the member
banks in the Federal Reserve system
today aggregate almost so per cent 81
| the total assets of all the institutions
eligible for membership. It therefors
1
strength of the American banking
! institutions. The eligible banks in.
terest in the Federal Reserve banks
should never be passive one; Il
should share not only in the benefit,
and protection afforded but should b,
anxious to participate in it's manage.
ment.
i l am stressing your responsibilities
! pointing to something in which yol
have a vital interest. Your Fedora
Reserve bank can only properly serv,
the banking and business interests o
your district when 1t has your ful
support and cooperation. 1t needi
your best thought ana constructiv,
Judgment and your advice and you
counsel through your representative.
on this board, in order that it may
most effectively serve you and this
community.
"The Federal Reserve banks az,
also authorized TO carry the none.
reserves of the banks of the countr,
and the member banks are required
to keep with the Reserve Banks wha
in the judgment of expert bankers i:
considered a reasonable reserve.
The Reserve banks have been dis
cussed and criticized because of tn,
powers they hold by funding theil
reserves off gold, and some of tn,
statements concerning the magnitud,
of this fund and its possible uses have
indicated a very serious misunder.
standing of the use and powers o.
I