Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-18

that was the direct tax. 1t will be re-
membered that the Constitution pro.
vided that no capitation or other di-
rect tax shall be laid unless In proper
ton to the census which the Constitu.
ton directs shall be taken. Such an
apportionment was found to be eX-
tremely difficult in practice and the
direct tax never became of any import
ance until the time of the Civil War
and even then produced but little rev.
enue. After the financing of the War
of 1912 had been completed, that is to
say, after 1917, the Government .deriv-
ed little or no income from internal
revenue. Thus 1t was that until the
time of the Civil War the main de-
pendence of the Federal Government
for revenue receipts from taxation
came from customs duties. During
this period. however, a substantial
amount of revenue was derived from
for sale of public lands, but while the
income from this source was quite inn
portant i'm some years, yet for the
whole period, from 17S9-1S61, it
amounted to less than 10 per cent of
the total revenues of the Government.
Public lands were disposed of at alb.
surdiy low prices.
First Great Strain.
1t was during the period of the Civil
War, from 1876, that the first great
strain came upon the revenue system
of the Federal Government. 1t be.
came necessary on account of the ire.
mendous amounts, for those times.
which it was necessary to raise in
order to meet the expenses of the war
against the States in secession, for
Congress to devise new means of rails
ing revenue. AS David A. Wells aptly
expressed 1t, 1.-THE great necessity oil
the situation was revenue, and to OBJ
tain 1t speedily and in large amounts
through taxation was the only princi-
pie recognized III it can he called a
principle), and was akin to that recon-
mended to the Evolutionary Irishman
on his first visit to Donnybrook Fair:
Wherever you see head, hit itr
Wherever you find an article, a prod
uet, trade, profession, sale or a
source of income, tax it, And so an
edict went forth to this effect. and the
people cheerfully submitted"
For the first time in the history of
the country incomes were taxed.
When objection was raised that such
taxation was ulrect, ana mus was pro-
hibited by the Constitution. it was
gravely argued that the tax was in.
direct and therefore legal. The long
and the. short Of it was that the people
of the North were willing to back the
Government with their last dollar and
were not inclined to be critical of the
methods devised by Congress to raise
the necessary funds for the prosecu.
ton of the war. Nearly every indus.
trial product was taxed. Cotton was
taxed at the rate of 2 cents a pound:
salt at cents a hundredweight; to.
bacco from Is to 80 cents a pound:
cigars, So to $40 a thousand: sugar
from to 31a cents per pound. Dis
titled spirits were taxed progressively
first at 20 cents, and finally at 50 per
proof gallon. Curious and complex
taxes were imposed on products OF
ordinary manufacturing industry--a
tax being first imposed on the raw
material and then on the total or in
creased value of each successive stage
of manufacture up to the finished prod
uct. Then. as If this were not enough
manufacturers We're compelled to pay