Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-09-01

HIum tno NoW 1Otk llluoS.
The first income tax law was passed IN
August, 1861, and imposeda tax upon the in
comes Of that year, to be collected in the
Spring Of 1862 Amendments were made
in July, 1862, and at various later periods.
As is well known everyone was required 10
make return of his income under oath and
with considerable detail On December 20.
1868, Mr.. Tilden swore to a return, under
oath, in which he said
I hereby certify that the following is true and
faithful statement OF the gains, profits or IN
come OF Samuel J. Tilden, Of the city OF New YORK
whether derived from any kind Of property, rents,
interest dividends, salary, from any profession,
trade employment or vocation, or from any other
source whatever. from the lst day of January TO
the 3st day of December &c., both days inclusive
and subject TO income tax under the excise laws
OF the United States Income from all sources
s7,lls.
In other words, in December, 1865, Mr..
Tilden swore that his entire income liable to
tax during the year 1862, was SI,llS, and
upon that sum, and that sum alone, did he
pay any tax. But in his answer to the
complaint in the circuit court of the United
States in the suit of the St. LOUIS, Alton
and Terre Haute Railroad Company against
himself and others. which answer was filed
few days ago, Mr.. Tilden swore under
oath as follows
That for such services the defendant Tilden made
a charge of $4,000 against said second mortgage
bondholders an the said charge was paid by or on
behalf of said second mortgage bondholders; oeto-
Der II, 1862; that the defendant Tlloen'
for a part of his services Aforesaid. also mace
charge Of the like sum OF $1,000 on account OF pro
fessional services rendered to the drst mortgage
bondholders and the receivers, which was paid to
him by the SAID Azariah Z. Flass. anu
which payment appears under Date OF NOV. q, looS'
in statement annexed to the first report Aforesaid
as having been recepted for by the SAID Iilueh'
''on account OF professional services
In other words, having sworn, in 1868,
that his entire income for the year lo62.
from all sources liable to taxatien-counsel
fees, dividends. rents. profts-was only 81
lis, he, in 1876. swears that during the
same year, 1862, he received from two
sources alone-his services TO single COM
panv-S20, 600 By his sworn admission,
therefore, Mr.. Tilden stands indebted to the
government in a considerable sum for I'M
paid income tax for 1862, and we have two
Oaths by Mr.. Tilden, utterly inconsistent
with each other. And yet this man Is the
honest man, the reformer of the country
But it is clear that in 1862 Mr.. Tilden
must have had much income other than the
500 900 he admits having received from the
Terre Haute Railroad Company. His pro-
fessional income from other sources in that
year must have been large. Moreover, that
be had a considerable income from other
sources is rendered certain by the fact that
in 1868, whan he made detailed statement
of his income for that year, he disclosed an
income Of nearly Sl3 900 from dividends
and interest on investments. 1t seems TO us
that it would be well for the Government to
give Mr.. Tilden chance to explain matters
under circumstances where croSs-examina-
ton would refresh his memory.
Mr. Tildens answer in the Circuit Court,
to which We have referred, contains other
pregnant evidence of still greater profits of
his, which escaped taxation. The COM
plant in that case charged that there was
about $3.50 900 of mortgaged bonds and
S49l 900 of stock of the Terre Haute, Alton
and ST. Louis Railroad Company, which
were issued to Mr.. Tilden and three other
persons As trustees, and which they had
failed TO account for. Mr. Tilden's answer.
in effect, admits the charge Of the receipt Of
the stock and bonds, or some portion Of
them, but saws they were received by him
thar ora property, in return for risks as
sumed and services rendered. II this be 80,
and Mr.. Tilden certainly cannot hereafter be
permitted to deny it, here was ailarge
amount Of profits made during the period
when the income tax was in force, which
should have paid tax, but did not
How much stock and bonds Mr.. Tilden
personally received We cannot say. but the
report Of the committee of the directors Of
the Terre llaute Railroad Company, which
We published Saturday, shows, by the state
ment of Mr. Bsyard, who delivered them,
that out Of :Sl3l 600 of first mortgage bonds,
which formed portion Of the aggregate,
Ny. Tildcn received $4,000. He. more
over, received from Mr. Bayard about SIS
600 Of interest on thoseibonds. Mr. Bayard |
says that lie received something from the
other securities. but he thinks he did not |
get as much as Mr.. Tilden and the others.
We hazard nothing in saying that Mr.. Til
den certainly got his full share Of the plum
der
Can Mr. Tilden produce any reason why,
IN this statement OF facts, he should not he |
branded a. a swindier and perjurer