Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1870-07-01

the honorable Senator TO it. The first act
ppovides that all stocks and other s,suri-
ties oi the United States held by individuals,
corporations or associations, wilhln tue
United States, shall be exempt lroniAxstion
by or under State authority" In the other
laws the exemption clause is in these words;
land all the bonds, Treasury notes, or
United States notes lssued under the pro-
visions of this act shall be exempt from tax
alton by or under State or municipal au-
thOrily"
Mr.. SHERMAN. The honorable Senator
is perfectly correct in supposing that the ex-
emptlOn from a discriminating income tax
does not grow out OF the old law; II grows
out OF the provision IN the Constitution OF
the United States by which all taxes must
be equal.
Mr. BAYARD. understand that practi-
cally there would seem TO be some difficulty
in devlsng tax for the occasion. do not
say that an income tax on the bonds is the
only one that may be levied, because my
ingenuity has never been racked to discover
whether there be other means OF taxing
them. You may call 1t an income lax, or
what you will but what l mean to say is
that the language by which this exemption
was given to the favored holders of these
securities excludes, by its just construction
and Interpretation, the fact that the United
they see fit. II is an ordinary rule of con-
slructiOn, never doubted or departed from,
that tue expression OF one thing is the ex-
clusion of others; and when in this act you
have expressed the fact that from two sour
ces OF power, to wit, municipal power and
State power, these bonds shall be exempted,
what have you thereby signi1ed That they
remain subject TO the taxing power which
you have not expressed; exempted them
from what power is that? Under our Coy
ernmeut but one; the power of the United
States TO tax that property in their just aud
proper discretion. That remains undisputed;
and that power propose to put in force.
The honorable Senator from Ohio said,
and he made this invitation to those OF us
who never have believed that this vast ac'
cumulation of property In this country
should be exempted from its fair share Of the
national burden:
"Now, sir when here is a property, that Is exempt
from all other taxation viii you repeal this, the only
tax, that this class Of property, amounting In
this country to l.o00,OO0OoOf ask Senators when
have complied with our stpulaons to the bondhod-
ers In every particular, when have the conceded
right the income derived from the bonds, shall
now, In the face Of the public comor made In this cotn
against this exemption, exempt them all from the only
tax that can be consttuonally levied upon them3 II
you must expect meet popular claor the camor
Manufactured in the daily newspapers whose receipts
are large and productive, not the camor that
from cities, om the Union League, composed Of
ge tlemen among the abest and best in this country
| whom respect personally, but you will hear camor
coming from the mass ofihe people who viii complain
Of injustice wrong and their voice. although not
ten heard in the way Of petitions, when il you
is more mighty than the waves Of the sea-"
This was the language of the honorable
Senator and 10 bis proposition that this
vast amount Of property should not escape
most heartily respond. AT the proper time,
and after the various amendments proposed
/ by the committee have been acted upon, and
ale, as trust, the three sections continuing
this income tax upon all persons and pro-
| pefty and upon all income of every nature
and whencesoever derived shall have been
stricken out, shall then propose that this
vast accumulation Of wealth which is put
beyond the reach Of all State or local taxa
ton, shall be called upon to pay II just and
fair proportion OF those public expenses
which are incurred for its protection, and to
the existence of which alone it owes its life.
l shall propose, aud now read for the in.
formation, an amendment which at the pro-
! per time l will offer
That hereafter there shall be annually deducted and
retained by the Treasurer Of the United states FIVE per
debt Of the United States the being hereby
posed as tax upon the property represented by the
States.
This proposition is in direct response 10
fsa-ss------aa - Esnn-na
| Committee. consider that we are not call
/ co upou W luIoW -uel hIOuuu hli kllus
OF property in our country, which is sub
jected to its due and proper share of local
taxation elsewhere, and to its due and pro-
per share OF other taxes imposed by other
laws OF the United States and OF the several
States. l propose TO take that portion OF the
property whose escape from taxation is so
heartily deplored by the honorable Senator
from Ohio, and subject II to that due and
proper contribution which the income tax of
I oil 10 Ia hot e,A
intended to embrace. 1t was tax upon the
accumulated wealth OF the country, and
there that mass of wealth stands represented
by bonds for than 81, 900, 900 900, easily at
tainable, easily measured, and collected
without the cost OF a single additional officer
in the Government service. l trust that
when this measure is proposed, as it has
been, in direct response 10 the suggestions
OF the chairman of the Committee of FL
nance, it may find favor IN the minds of
those who desire TO see collected proper
and just public revenue, and yet not violate
those principles both of justice and OF con-
stituti0nal law which have been so ably ad-
vocated by the Senator from Pennsylvania
who preceded me in this debate.
This income tax which the country hns
been laboring under for the past eight years
was levied as the honorable Senator from
Ohio stated, in the interest of the bond
f holder. II was, to use his own language Ia
the debate of yesterday, "a guarantee to
the bondholdeTs that for that time at least
they would have the security of the income
tax" This is the statement OF the chair
man of the Committee on Finance as to the
reason why the tax was laid and he stated
further, "That law, which did pledge the
faith OF the Government 10 a certain mea-
sure, was to continue the tax until that time,
and no longer"
Then we tind two propositions first, that
this tax was created in the interest Of tho
boud-holders and as a guarantee 10 them Of
their interest upon the public loans; and we
, also find connected with that the proposition
, confessedly that it was temporary tax Ia
terminate within a specified period. AS tue
honorable Senator from Ohio stated most
truly, all the favor and all the good faith
D suggested by the acts of Congress at the
: time Of the creation of this debt have been
most fully performed by the Government O
E the United States. Sir, the favor to this
: class of prOperty-holders has been marked
9 aud great. The whole operations OF th,
: Treasury of the United states and the COZ
s dnct Of the finances Of this country hay,
E deem directed in the interest OF that mos
\ favored class Of our people. The system re
}, sorted TO by the present Secretary OF th'
d Treasury since the commencement OF thi
. Administration has been-what II ha
e been, by buying up these securities at al
+ enormous premium, TO advance their marke
e price until-what do we now find The
e bonds that were bought at forty To sixty pei
e cent OF their par value in gold arc to-1al
) worth more than their par value IN gold, o
e at least fully their par value. l believe tina
e to-day the market price Of the United State
IS six per cent. bonds Of 1881 is five or six pc
v cent. beyond their par value in gold
J. SO, sir, bonds which were bought by til
i most favored class at small sum have
n thanks first to the native wealth, power, an,
10 strength of this nation, the fact Of its capa
II bility to pay all that it ever promised to pay
| ...aa Al ~