Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-06
WASHINGTON.
Pig Iron Kelley and the Revenue
ReformerS.

He1OFmeEBs
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4.-The tariff mem
bers are not disposed 10 despise tAe reve
nue. reform movement. Kelley of Penn
sylVsnia, has prepared and will INTRODUCES
in the House tomorrow the following re
solution, which he will press to a vote
1t is but one of the many tactics by
which the. tariffites hope to commit the
revenue reformers:
Resolved, That the true principle of re,
venue reform points to the abolition OF
the internal revenue system, which was
created as war measure to provide fol
extraordinary expenses, and the continu-
ance of which involves the employment,
at the cost of millions of dollars annually
of an army of assessors, collectors, sup,
ervisors, detectives and other officers pre-
viously unknown, and requires the repeal,
at the earliest day consistent with the
maintenance of the faith and credit OF
the Government, of all stamp and other
internal taxes, and that properly djusted
rates shall be retained on distilled spirits,
tobacco, and malt liquors, so long as the
legitimate expenses of the Government
require the collection of any sum for in
ternal taxes.
Brigham XOung's Income Tax.
In December, 1866, John P. Tsggert,
Assessor of Internal Revenue for the
Territory of Utah, assessed Brigham
Young as Trustee for the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, an in
come tax of $39, $50, TO which he added
q penalty of $19, 779. so. Mr.. Young
appealed from the assessment, asking to
have it abated as erroneous, making two
points against it in giving the Mormon
view of the case: First, that the trust
fund was raised by filling and was vol
untary offering, and consequently not
taxable as income. The next point was
that if it was taxable they he'd been re-
lieved by the act of July74, 1870, giving
exemption te every five persons living in
religious communities, holding property
in common. The point Of voluntary of
fering was decided against Brigham
Young as trustee, because of the
fact that punishments, such as ex-
communication and otherwise, are
me;ed to those who refuse to pay
tithing, whice deprives said offerings of
all voluntary character. On the second
point, in which they claimed to come
within the law exempiing common pro-
petty, it was shown by the government
that the property was not held in COM
mon, as required by the terms of the law,
which says: ''The property from which
the income arisss and the income shall be
held Jointly and in common. The mat
ter has been pending in the Internal Rev
enue Bureau for very nearly one year,
and has been decided by Acting Com
missioner Douglass, in favor of The gov
eminent as to the tax, but relieving Young
from the penalty. Instructions will be
sent 10 Collector Hollister, in Utah, to
collect the tax at once.
The state Department..
The Secretary of State seems to be the
only Cabinet officer under the government
who is relieved from the annual
anxiety of wiring q report, and then
having it stolen before he even reads the
proof sheets himself. For this great re-
lief he is truly thankful, and as token
thereof, furnishes grstuitously some in
teresting statistics relating to his depart
ment.
The pay roll of our national represen-
tatives abroad for the last fiscal year foots
I'D as follows: Salaries, 1908, 742; con-
tingent expenses, $54,6S1; loss by ex-
change, 81, 907. Total, $670, 281.
There have been several reforms in the
Consular branch of the service, and it is
now more than self-sustaining.
During the last fiscal year the total