Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-10-05

intervaIfoetween January and March, 1862,
any lawyer will understand that this could not
have called for much service, being the time
occupied by the running of the ADVERTISE
ment OF sale, etc. Furthermore, the pay
ments which give rise to the discussion,
were both made before the close of the year
1862, and it Is so stated in the answer.
Ii Irecollect rightly the Times has on a
former occasion referred to the date of the
agreement of first mortgage bondholders set
forth in the answer april Is, 1861 as evil
dence that the services were OF short con-
tlnuance. But this agreement was but the
final confirmation Of negotiations which had
been going on for three years. There was q
preliminary agreement, adopted at a meet
Ing of bondholders, September ~, 1859, and
modified from time to time, and this earlier
agreement was itself the result Of prolonged
negotiations, the affairs of the road being
almost hopelessly involved with conflicting
claims and interests. Pursuant to this pre-
liminary agreement, possession of the en-
tire railroad had been obtained as far back
as December II, 1859.
Tenth Item December 81. Fees dur
ing, year from Chicago and Northwestern
Railroad Company, $40, O00."
This item is totally false. Mr.. Tilden re-
ceived no fees, compensation or payments
from the Chicago and Northwestern Railway
Company in the year 1862.
Eleventh Item.-''Fees during year from
Toledo and Wabash Railroad Company,
$15, 0O0.'
The recklessness of this falsehood will ap-
pear when it is known hat the Toledo and
Wabash Railroad Company never, at any
time, was a client of Mr.. Tilden's, and that
he never in. the year 1852, or at any other.
time received any fees from that Company,
nor rendered them any professional service
whatever.
Twelfth Item.-''Share of bonds retained
| 81. n ursao ,,:- - -
reconstruction of the Chicago and Alton
Railroad Company, $25 900.
No bonds were retained or received for
such services in 1862, nor was so large
amount ever received, including expenses
and disbursements. Services were render.
ed, and no doubt they were taken into ac-
count in computing the gross earnings Of
the year.
Thirteenth and last item: ''Salary as
Trustee ant President of the Balance Dock
Company, 81, ZOO.
This item Of ST, 900 is correct except as to
the date, and is the only one of The whole
thirteen of which that can be said.
At the outset of these attacks on Gov.
| Tilden, in regard to his taxabl income for
1852, still another allegation was made, as
if on positive knowledge, namely, that he
had received from the st. Louis, Alton and
Terre Haute Railroad Company 500, 900 in
First Mortgage Bonds during that year.
This charge is unqualifiedly false; and,
now that it has been pointed out in the pub
lie journals that the complaint itself, in the
St. Louis, Alton and Terre Raute suit,
showed these bonds not used UP to the year
1854, the charge appears to have been aban-
doned, even by the Times, which news
paper, after asserting the fact in positive
terms, subsequently published a report Of a
committee of that Company, also antagonist
ic to Mr.. Tilden, but which showed that,
in 1870, these bonds were still in the hands
of the Purchasing Committee, and so could
not have formed any part of his income in
1862.
1t seems proper to say that a return made
under oath must be assumed to be correct
unless it can be shown to be false. This at
tempt has been made by the Times, and
growing holder from day to day its efforts
have finally eliminated in a specification Of
thirteen items, twelve Of which are wholly
or mainly fictitious. While the Times was
thus making excursions into the regions Of
fiction, it seems to have found it convenient
to overlook the possibilities Of lawful de-
| auctions such as expenses, rent, interest
and losses. The simple fact is, the amount
returned were the net result of income after
taking out the lawful deductions. For me
it only remains to assert, that every fact
within my knowledge confirms the good
faith and adequacy OF the returns which
were verified by the affidavit of one who for
more than a generation had lived a life so
pure and blameless that the breath of cal
umny had failed to touch him, until by the
voice of a great party he had become their
candidate for the highest office in the gift Of
the people.
In respect to the allegation that after two
years Of the income tax, Mr.. Tilden made
no return, hut left that portion of his tax
which was in excess Of the payments for his
account mace by the corporations, whose
bonds and stock he held, to be assessed un-
der the law by the estimate Of the public
officers, the answer is simple. The statute
gave the the option to take tina
course, and good and honorable reasons
existed why a %scrupulous man should ac-
cept that option. Mr.. Tilden received 20
favor from the Government officers, Ind
sought none. He did nothing but pay all
they imposed on him. Nearly all his income
corporations whose bonds and stocks he
held without allowance for the lawful de-
auctions. On the residue, after the lawful
deductions were made, he believed at the
time, that instead of paying less, he oftener
paid more than would have been the result
of a full, but troublesome accounting. He
preferred in that way to be exempted from
the difficulties incident to attempting a spe-
cific statement of the affairs in which he
was interested, and OF the corporations and
business in which ne was an investors; and
also to be exempted from the responsibility
of adjudicating on the facts and
the law applicable to uncertain and
fiuctuating elements, during rapid and yio-
lent changes Of fictitious values. The law
was unsettled; questions of real difficulty
existed. Constructions were set up by off,
cials which were often conflicting, unintel-
ligible or incapable of a just or safe applica-
ton, and it was not agreeable to make a re-
turn on a doubtful or disputed theory, or in
contradiction to even unmeritorious claims
made in behalf Of the Government.
r.tt'@f. Respectfully yours,
JAMES P. srNNoTT.