THE FARMER AND THE TARIFF. 299 



source of revenue. The Constitution requires that all direct 

 taxes— which include income taxes— should be apportioned to 

 states according to their population. As the ability of states 

 to pay is by no means according to their population the tax is 

 too obviously unjust to be levied. During the Civil War such 

 a tax was imposed, and collected from some states, but the sums 

 so raised were repaid to the states, the tax being recognized as 

 unfair. Subsequently an income tax law was passed, which 

 the Supreme Court held to be a direct tax and, therefore, 

 unconstitutional and void. We can have no national income 

 or other direct tax without an amendment to the Constitution 

 of the United States. 



It is obvious that indirect taxes are in one way very 

 undesirable, as the consumer pays much more than the 

 government receives, the tax paid by the importer and 

 manufacturer being treated as part of the cost of the product 

 and paying a profit to all who handle the goods, the tax with 

 profits added being finally paid by consumer. While profits 

 vary greatly in different lines of business, we may say, 

 roughly, that the profit to the importer, is twenty-five per 

 cent, to the jobber ten per cent, and to the retailer twenty-five 

 per cent, out of wdiich must come their expenses. If, then, 

 an importer pays on a certain lot of goods an import tax of 

 $100, he collects from the jobber $125; when the jobber sells 

 the goods he adds to the tax which he has paid $12.50, 

 making $137.50, to which the retailer in turn adds $34.88, 

 making $171.88, which the consumer pays in taxes in order 

 that the government may get $100. Sometimes it would be 

 more, and in other cases less, depending upon the nature of 

 the goods and the stress of competition, but the range of 

 profits given is about what is necessary to pay the expense 

 of the purchase and distribution of commodities, with a 

 reasonable profit. On such staple goods as sugar, tea, and 

 coff'ee, the profits are much less, and on some other classes of 

 products they are greater. 



These facts, which of course are well understood by 

 legislators and economists, have led many to insist that all 

 taxes should be so levied that the one who ultimately pays the 



