The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1876-09-07
Tilden's Income Tax.

There seems to be a wide spread opinion
among all classes Of honest public men, that
the course OF Mr.. Tiltlen in first giving in a
fraudulent income, and subsequently, giving i'll
none at all, is Il crime OF such magnitude that
he cannot with any show Of deeency be contin-
ued as a candidate for the Presidency. 1t is
simply an insult to the moral sense of the Ma
ton to do so. His conduct is aptly compared
to that of the wiliskey m N who simply refused
to return fer taxation all their whiskey pro-
duced, and Mr. T'tlcn refused to return for
each case the dafra,ider cheated the govern
ment ont of part OF the tax due it. The whole
country has denounced the whiskey frauds, and
has asked for reform by which SUCH frauds
shall be punished and prevented i'll the future.
The Democratic party now put up VT. Tilden
to conduct these reforms, aud rally around
him Us the great reformcr. That, is they take
up one OF the men who has been committing
the frauds to punish and prevent the frauds of
the same kinds.
With reference to this subject, the New York
Republic, very able Independent paper, says:
ssWe incline to the belief that ss'riltlen and
Reform will not win. There is too much
Tilden and not enough OF reform. Indcpcnd-
ents have been inclined to give Til1en all the
credit he deserved, for the work is heavy and
workers few. But it will be the verdict of I'M
prejudiced citizens that no man deserves public
confidence as a Reformcr of whom such cllarg-
es can be sustained as those mace by the New
York Times against Mr.. Tilden. Ii Il man Is
to be trusted as q Reformer who made false
returns to evadc income tax, the fewer reform
crs elected the better. We do not take it for
granted that these charges cannot be met.
But they have now been made more than
week, by Il responsible journal, and the cxpla-
nations made by the friends of Mr.. Tilden
have been in the very last degree unjust to
him il those charges are in any essential par
ticular untrue.
10 treat this matter lightly, as one involving
no moral wrong will not help Mr.. Tilden. For
his success has from the first confessedly de-
pended upon support of a class of citizens who
do not think it excusable to defraud the gov
eminent. Is it in any respect more honest to
keep public money by refusing to make the
truthful return of income which the law re-
quired, than to keep public money by making
false returns as distiller, or by neglectlng du-
ty as an Official, Or by defalcation An honest
construction OF the law required every citizen
to make return of his actual receipts in excess
of those expenditures which the law allowed
to be deducted. If Mr.. Tilden did not do this,
and if, either by placing a false construction on
the law, or by making no return, he kept back
money which the law required him to pay, he
defrauded the Government. Tweed defrauded
New York by false returns and by neglecting
his duty as an official. Ifhis former associate,
Mr.. Tilden, defrauded the United States in
ways involving neither more nor less of moral
wrong, it would be absurd to elect Mr.. Tilden
President and leave Tweed fugitive in for
eign lands.