APPENDIX.

217

“ Why, you hurt us on all sides ; you take away our profits ; you destroyour monopoly ; you break up the treating habit; and, worse yet, you destroyour respectability.”

‘•How?”

“By not taxing us. The license is a certificate of respectability; itmakes our business just as good as any man’s ; nay, even better. We areunder the special protection of both State and general governments. Sup-posing two men come into my saloon and begin to fight, the police willcome in and arrest them, or I may kick them out for disorderly conduct.I am all right—my license says I am ; and if these men can’t behave in arespectable place, they can be fined as disorderly persons. But remove fromme the support of law, and when a fight occurred in my saloon it would be adisorderly place, and the police would arrest me and close up my place.You would put me on the level with the house of ill-fame.

“ Doctor, the whisky men will fight the real estate tax party becausethe carrying out of its principles would be a dangerous thing for thesaloon.”

MR. WELLS’S REPORT.

It was first proposed to publish in full the Hon. David A. Wells’s “ Re-port of the Commissioners to Revise the Laws for the Assessment and Col-lection of Taxes in New York , in accordance with the Act of April 26,1870,” together with his supplementary report, which reached many editionshere and were printed in England and in France . It was found, however,that the examples used in these reports had become so antiquated as to beunavailable. It is greatly to be regretted that the report should have lostcurrency in any degree, as substantially nothing has been added in the wayof ideas since that time to those which are contained in that able document.

No one could do a greater service to economic study than by taking upthat report, bringing the figures down to date, revising the data as to exist-ing laws so as to correspond with present conditions, and, whilst adheringstrictly to the form of the book, giving it the present applicability of a cur-rent publication. If any competent person will undertake this work, thisassociation will be glad to assist in its publication in any way that may beproper, and the report being now out of print and being difficult to obtain,this association will furnish a copy for that purpose to any one who may,with its approval, undertake the work. We make this suggestion with thefull approval of Mr. Wells. 1

1 Commissioner Andrews said that David A. Wells did a noble work in exposingthe fallacies, incongruities, and contradictions of the present laws, with such singular