Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-04
committee Of the whole on the mansion

committee Of the whole on the pension
appropriation bill.
Mr.. Foran's motion was lost-yess, 81;
nays, IA.
Tae House then went into committee
OF the whole Tor consideration OF the spe-
cisl order.
Mr.. E. B. Taylor OF Ohio said that while
the bill was important on account o. TIE
money involved in it the fscts.of the case
we're so simple thst he did not think al
EXTENDED dlscnssion was necessary. The
DILL proposed to reliuquish the smount OF
direct tax uncollectet and to provide for
repayment to states and individuals who
had paid any of the money. The matter
must remain as 1t WAS, unsettled, q por-
| tion Of the states and people having paid
their Iull btedness, another portion
having partly paid, and another portion
having paid nothing at eli; or the tax
must be collected in the states which hao
not paid 1t, or the plan proposed in the
pending bill should be adopted.
Mr.. Oates lof Alabama, il opposing the
Oil, said that the tax psid in the northern
states, with the exception of Delaware,
had been paid by the state assuming to
collect 1t from the people and retaining
10 per ceat. IS it was entitled to do under
the provisions Of the original bill; In the
southernistates, after the war, the tax had
been collected directly from the people,
There had been many Irregularities In
that collection. For the last twenty
years, though the law remained unre-
pealed, no attempt had been made to en-
force 1t. Seventeen million five hundred
thousand dollars hsd been collected,
leaving but SO, 500, 900 uncolected. The
TACT that about one eighth of the tax re-
NAMED uncollected was only pretense
upon which the passage Of the bill which
Involved Sl7. 500. 600 was urged. He
argued that uuder the constitution Con-
gress had the right and power to lay
direct tax, but he denied the
constitutional right Of Congress to
refund tax which had been
legally levied and applied. Democra,
was not entitled to be considered as such
when he legislated outside of the consti-
tuition. The fact that his state would get
a certain amount OF the money would |
never Influence his action where there |
was matter OF sound Democratic and |
constitutional geverOment involved. II |
the House was determined 70 pass this |
Dill 1t should include within its provisions |
one for the refunding OF the cotton tax,
which had been unconstitutionally levied |
because it wss tax which in the very
nature Of things could not be uniform |
the United States.
Mr.. Heard OF Missouri favored the |
measure. Nilsson i was not asking for
any favors. Her people h1d complied |
with the provisions of the direct tax law,
snd in view Of the fact thst other states
had failed to do so, she now asked that
the money she had paid into the treasury |
should be returned to her without inter
est.
Mr.. Wheeler OF Alabama regarded the |
legislation as more pernicious
than any which had ever before been
in Congress. 1t assumed that
one Congress- might levy q tax il
order to refund another tex levied by
preceding Congress. Mr. Elliot,of South
Carolina, favored the bill, and gave in.
stances OF Irregularities in the collection
Of direct tax in the southern states, men
tiOniDg the fact that the entire town OF
Beaufort had been sold for the payment
Ut the tax.
Mr.. Fl 'pkina, of Illinois, spoke IN ad-
Vocscy OF the measure.
PENDING further DEBATE the committee |
rose AMI the House took recess uutil 8
p. m Tia evening session to be for the
Of bills reported by the
committee of military affairs.