It is the accumulation of vast amounts
of untaxed church property.
In 1850, I believe, the church property of the United States which paid
no tax, municipal or State, amounted to about $83,000,000. In 1860 the
amount had doubled; in 1875 it is about $1,000,000,000. By 1900, without
check, it is safe to say this property will reach a sum exceeding
$3,000,000,000. So vast a sum, receiving all the protection and benefits
of Government without bearing its proportion of the burdens and expenses
of the same, will not be looked upon acquiescently by those who have
to pay the taxes. In a growing country, where real estate enhances so
rapidly with time, as in the United States, there is scarcely a limit to
the wealth that may be acquired by corporations, religious or otherwise,
if allowed to retain real estate without taxation. The contemplation of
so vast a property as here alluded to, without taxation, may lead to
sequestration without constitutional authority and through blood.
I would suggest the taxation of all property equally, whether church
or corporation, exempting only the last resting place of the dead and
possibly, with proper restrictions, church edifices.
Our relations with most of the foreign powers continue on a satisfactory
and friendly footing.
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