The New York herald., 1878-12-01
TILDEN'S INCOME TAX.

AN IMPORTANT DECISION BY JUDGE CHOATE-
OPENING OF THE DEPosITIoNs-wHAT THEIB
CONTENTS AREA LETTER FROM Mr.. TILDEN.
Judge Choate. III the United States District Court
rendered decision yesterday on the motion made on
Saturday last in the case Of the United States vs..
part of the plaintiffs to have certain depositions.
which have been taken in the under section SG
Of the Revised Statutes, opened and fled The
sci for the defendant objected on the ground that
under section S65 each deposition only bl
opened at the trial unless by consent. After
view Of the argument of the defendants counsel
Judge Choate says:-I cannot find, either in the
terms Of the statute the decisions the practice
Of the courts in relation to dispositions taken de benz
esse any such policy of keeping the secret until
the trial. is claimed the part Of the defendant
On the contrary the rules of court well the de.
cisons assume that in respect to all depositions
taken before the trial the policy of the law is to have
them opened and made accessible to the parties in the
suit in order that all formal questions in respect ia
the Of taking may be disposed of before the
trial. Judge Choate then refers to the power thu
part of the magistrate limit the subject Of inquiry
to exclude any testimony from the record and says
that it does not afford any strong grounds for
Withholding them from publication in the clerks
Office prior to the trial to have been made the
basis for distinction in respect between such depo
sitions and depositons taken under the commission
and concludes follows:-"whe it is possible that
in some cases, the power to take testimony may be
abused for the purpose of publishing scandalous and
irrelevant matter yet, the other hand. the power
Of either party to forbid the opening of the depos
tions until the trial may lead to abuses much
worse. and to surprise and failure of jus
tice on the trial. Thus If this right has
existed under the act Of 1889 . party taking
deposition de bene esse. without notice. before
the recent change of the statute requiring notice.
might have kept this deposition secret till the trial.
and then have used the testimony of witness whom
the other side had not had opportunity
cross-examine and whose testimony he would have
no opportunity to rebut. These and other inconven
fences far outweigh the inconvenience and possible
injury to be done by publication and fully justify the
practice which has been referred to and is embodied
in the rules. Upon the whole. think the statute
opened in the OF the parties and their attor
neys in open court
After the announcement Of the above decision by
Judge Choate the depositions. which are very
Commissioner Lyman. All these Documents relate
to the Investigations that took place at Boston. Chi
cargo and Marquette.
The depositons taken in the Boston case are few
in number, and relate to the payment by the Union
Pacific Railroad Company in 1872 OF $25.0OO to Mr..
Tlden fees for professional services rendered by
him to that company The check in dated February
l3 1872. and s payable six months after date. The
check was duly paid and forms one of the exhibits
The Chicago depositions relate to the proof -
the amount of MIR. Tilden's income dervsble from
his services counsel the consolidation OF tho
Peninsuar Railway. of Michigan, with the Chicago
and Northwestern Road, in 1869.
The remainder of the depositions relate to the New
York Iron Mine Company. and were taken at Mar
auette Mich. and to the income derived by Mr.. Til
den as counsel for tho Pittsburg and Fort Wayne
Railroad.
TupENs FORESIGHT.
The following is extract from letter and forms
part Of the deposition, and is addressed to william
l.. wetmore. by Mr. Tilden from No. II Wall street.
and IL dated January 6, 1865
cannota this moment calculate with certainty thu
q financial and political tendencies On the
,Ss war which may an ndpcos 80 ~
from hand mouth aud the imagination of the people
snsy and as sS .nS s
hand % s's on be @ nsd for z
the Immense paper eircs,Gion unless = should BE In
more and borrowing per day than The
ssrn @ d @S.s
,heTe WIN b.s further issue of legal tenders which deem
ANY business ,S S y,,sy fes cmss, %s fully advise me
" =.
divide ths risk q The future sy making sale.
prices IT, probably, able At the time AK the
sas We may both he ready to act ys me n. prs
ideas which prevail =, 70 the demand for o,s II tho
slor landH
WHAT TrLDES's COUNSEL SAYS.
Mr.. Harland. of the counsel for Mr. Tien in
the income case. said that OF the dispositions
are of the slightest consequence contain any fact
which the counsel OF Mr.. Tildcn would not have
stated. which OF the least Importance unless
il be the deposition of wetmore.
Wetmore the mining agent of the New York
Iron Mine OF which Mr.. Tilden is the president and
principal stock owner. He the chief witness for
the government to endeavor TO charge MIR. Tilden
with nominal and unrcalized profits pretended
To be earned by the company. The truth
is the company able to squeeze ont
dividend until after the income tax was repealed
II had collected realized profits enough to
pay its debts from prior 70 1874 and II has been de-.
cidei and again In the United states Courts
that profits not taxable income until they had
been realized, that they had been divided or had
been capable of being divided