Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-04-13

Gan Incore Tax Unconstitutional"
The New York papers have taken the alarm
over the fact that the Committee on Ways and
Means has decided by vote OF six yeas
against five nays in favor of an income tax 1t
is noted that all the six who voted for the in
come tax are western or southern members,
and the deduction is made that the movement
L favor of that tax is a western and southern
ATTEMPT to shift the burden of taxation upon
the east. The argume 1t thai an income tax i s
one OF the most unfair and unequal modes OF
raiSiny reveI ue Is again brought forward but
the Hero raises another Objec ion, which. it
I links, will perhaps prove ia al whenever the
question shall be adju Heated by the Supreme
Court. That objection is that an income tax
in this country is unconsttuti onal. This is the
way the Herald puts it.
"A tax on incomes, being direct tax, is un-
constitutional unless appOrtiOned among the
states i'm proportion to their population. The
provision of the constitution Is that repre-
sentativeS and dir ct taxes shall be appOr-
toned among the states which may be included
within this Union according to their respec-
tive numbers Originally two fifths were de-
Quoted for slaves, but since the thirteenth
amendment representatives and direct taxes
must be in proportion to the whole population,
excluding only Indians not taxed Accord
ing to all the elementary writer's tax on in
comes is direct tax, and if so it is uncOnSti-
tutiOnal unless distributed among all the states
IN proportion To their population as returned
by the census During n the civil war
atty of the income tax by carrying the queS-
ton up To the Supreme Court lest his loyalty
should be suspected ;butif the tax is reimpOsed
this restraint will not operate. Besides direct
taxes the constitution authorizes duties. i'm
posts and excuses An income tax obviously
falls under none OF these three heads, and it
is clearly a direct tax because levied directly
on the persons who pay it; whereas the other
enumerated taxes are collected on cOmmOdi
ties and are ultimately paid by the consul
merS of the commodities as part of their
price. If tax on incomes is not direct it is
difficult to conceive what a direct tax is
----> ~s~-~---------
morning cOtemporary is In error in say
ing that the House yesterday, on motion of
Mr.. Foster, cOncurred in the Senate amend
ments to the deficiency bill, including the
amendment advancing $4,000 for the support
Of the public schools. The House voted to non
concur in all the Senate amendments and Mr..
roster, TO cllnch it, moved to reconsider the
vote, and then to lay that motion on the table,
which was carried. So the amendments will
Eayet To 90 to a committee of conference. where
probably some of them will be dropped as they
increase the amount of the deficiency bill as it
passed the House some SlOO,0J0: but the $1,000
item for the schools will very likely be retained
as 1t provides only for an advance OF money to
that extent, to be returned to the Treasury
from the District revenues
The recognition of the DiiZ gOvernm ant BY
the United States, abruptly announced after
long delay in deciding the natter, is on SIN all
scale, after the pattern of one of the dram ltic
surprises of Lord BeacOnSfield'S diplomacy
Serious effort by Mexico towards suppreSSing
lawlessneSs on the border, has been, il is be-
lieved, one of the conditions attached by our
government from the first TO its entrance into
official relations with that nation. The num-
Der and aggravated character of these border
offences and the impOSSibity of checking
them without the hearty cooperation of our
southern nelghbOr, may have Justified oar
government In an attempt to make bargain
oil This KIND; but ii was not unreasonable
that the Mexican authorities should resist it.
even II their Intentions TO fulfill international
Obligations were the very best. If they We're
hrmly established in power, they hid a
right to recognition from that very fact
without any condition whatever; if on
the other hand the United States suS-
pected that their authority was weak, it
Should not have attempted to trade on their
necessities, nor have required them, when still
further injured by the blow at their stability.
which the refusal of recognition involved to
do what no other government of Mexico had
ever been able to effect. 1t is not known I'M
der what, if any, conditions the recognition
has been now obtained. III the protracted ne
gotiatiOns on the subject have OccaSiOnei or
will occasion more thorough cooperation by
Mexico in the work of checking the border
outrageS, by impressing upon her our firm de-
termination to put a stop to Them they will
not have been entirely in vain, even though
Mexico has made no formal siipulatiOns.
The steam street cars which have been run
ming in Philadelphia for more than a year.
were withdrawn from the tracks today The
experiment of using steam for this purpose has
proved success, but the expense necessary
in attending the three in Philadelphia, which
was as great as if they had been twenty five, is
announced as the reason for the withdrawal
giant eight feet high has been discovered
who steadily refuses to make his fortune by
exhibitg him eli This fact makes him all the
more of a curiosity.
News comes from Paris that the eating and
lodging house keepers of Paris are putting up
prices from twenty-five TO fifty per cent. for
the summer in view of the approaching inter-
national exposition. The French ought to take
warning from the experience of the AuStrianS
IN this matter. That is the thing that broke
down the Vienna exhibition a few years ago
and made that citya stencil in the nostrilS of
travellers ever since.
Cold 1907. Better knock of the triiing
fraction and call it square.
Glover Is having a rough tim, as an invaSti-
gator. The class of assistants aud experts he
has employed, and the peculiarities of their
operations have served to put him and them
III the position of subjects for Investi gation
-~~O
compromise solution of the Chinese prob
lem, which has several times been suggested |
Is now being put in practice. Under this plan
the Chinese are to leave unapprecIative |
American shores and wend their way to Peru
and other South American states where no
antipathy against them exists, and where in
fermarriage is possible. The industrious Chi
nese are expected to improve the indoIent race
OF prest Mt inhabitants. There are 5000 i'm
Peru DOW, and arrangements have been IN lde
TO bring IN 10000 more from California. We
may perhaps look forward to a time when
there viii be great Chinese world to the
south OF US, and when, startling thought mil
HOpS 0f Cinnamon drill