The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-09-28
Gov. TiIden'S Income Tax Return
in the Year 1862,
CHARGES OF FRAUD DISPROVED,
An Accurate Statement from the
Governors Law Clerk.
THE SWORN RETURN A JUST One,
A Complete RefutatlOn Of the Charges
Of the Times.

To THE PUBLIC: The New York Tines which
for years prior TO 1875 had been the eulogist o
Governor Tilden, Immediately after he became 9
formidable candidate for the Presidency began q
series of assaults upon his private character. Al
length these assaults eliminated in the charge o.
making false statement of his income Of 1862
BY dint of reiteration and fabricated specifica
tionS of items and details, having the semblancC
of actual accounts some well.meaning persons
were disturbed. II therefore occurred to me tc
apply to the Secretary of the Treasury for certi
fed copies Of the income returns Of Gov. Tilden
and of Gov. Hayes, and on the I'd day of septem'
Der m, de such an application. The copies APP
piled for have not been furnished, nor indeed has
my letter received the poor courtesy Of an ac-
acknowledgement. Meanwhile the adversaries OF
Gov. Tilden have apparently had free access TO
these returns, and have even been permitted to
photolithograph so much of them as suited their
purposes. ] submit this fact to the American
people without comment Receiving no reply
from the public authorities, who seem 10 regard
the documents in their custody as held in trust
for the Republican party, and not for the whole
people, / addressed a note TO Judge James T. Sin
not, who was the confidential law clerk of Gov
Tilden during the whole period in which the law
imposing an income tax was in force, asking him
to examine the pretended account of Gov. Til
dens income during the year 1862, published by
the Times and furnish me with such explanation
in regard thereto as is necessary familiarity with
the details wtul / enable him to supply. have
this day received his reply, presenting full and
entirely satisfactory refutation of the chargse of
the Times.
His answer herewith submitted to the public
shows that out Of thirteen pretended items of In
come amounting to $4,000, eleven items amount
ing to SS4 OC0 are wholly fictitious, while of the
other two only one Of 81 900 is entirely true, and
the second of S25, 900 is only partially true,
There is therefore, no ground for the assertion
that the sworn return was not just and accurate
statement OF the net income Of Gov. Tilden, after
making such deductions for losses, interest paid
and other charges, as the law authorized him to
make,
If exception be taken to Judge Sinnots letter
on the ground that it does not contain detailed
statement of the several items upon which the re-
turn of 1862 was made, it is proper to state that
the regulations Of the Department did not require
such detailed statements, and very few profess
sional men made such statements, or could now
recall the items or have kept the memoranda
upon which their returns were made.
IfGOv. Tilden were not in nomination for the
Presidency, do not know of any man in this
community whose mere statement Of fact would
have been more generally accepted as the truth
and l fail to see why the eminent position in
which he has been placed by large body of his
Fellow citizens should be held to detract from the
sanctity of his oath
ABRAM S. HEWITT,
Chairman National Democratic Committee
New York. Sept 90 1876