The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-04-10
THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF
THE INCOME TAX.
''NOw You See 1t and Now You
Don't See It,"
The Act is Constitutional If the
President Wants the Money:
And If He Don't Need It, it is an In
fringem:n of the Sacred Rights
o! Mankind-BOw! Wow!

T.
action of the treasury department Of
ncials today in stating that they would
be able to get along without the new
enue to be derived from the income
tax is one OF the best possible proofs
OF the DrrectnesS Of the report that
the suprcm, court is hopclessly divid-
ed on the question Of the cOnstitu-
tionality OF this tax. But there
is still better proof that this situation
exists. 1t is learned from reliable
sources that one OF the justices Of the
Supreme Court informed President
Cleveland today that the court stood
five against the tax and three for.
This fact has been stated several times
in prcviou; dispatches, but has been
questioned
1t is also said that this justice ex-
planned TO the president that the rea
son why the decision had been post
pOncd SO long was that the court
wished to discover whether it would
be possible for the treasury depart
ment to get along without the rev.
enue to be derived from income taxa
tlon. Several justices, it is alleged,
would be willing to support the conSti-
tutlOnaiity Ut certain features of the
law, among them that of direc taxa
tiOn of incomes, rather than embarass
the government; while if they were
satisfied that the treasury could man.
age without this source of revenue.
they would never consent to support
its constitntionality. This is the rea-
son why the justices were willing to
postpone the decision until MAY.
Should they decide the case earlier, it
Will be entirely due to intimations
from the treasury departmentt through
the President.
Isn't it rich! The Income tax stood
for years, during the war and after is
close. and no one doubted it's cOnstitu-
tionalitv: and now the Supreme Court
is seen, in its long black woman's-
gowns. hanging around the kitchen
door of the White House, while the
Chief Justice takes the President be-
hind the barn and says;-"See here,
you over-fcd old Boanerge, do you
really need that money? If you do the
act is constitutional. But if you don't
we'll see the constitution in sheol be-
fore We'll sign the bill; and no act goes
without our approval"
What a pliable, india-rubber thing
the constitution must be when its in
depreciation depends on the financial
necessities of the government; and
how happy we should be, if free gov
eminent is gone. to be ruled over by
such lot of elastic old buffers as that,
carefully selected by the great corpor-
ationS of this country?
Blessed is America to have fallen on
such happy times! But will some one
kindly send bottle of Painkiller to
the shades Of Washington and Jeffer-
son and John Adams and Patrick Hen
ry! Their yiScera must be in dis
turbed condition when they look down
and contemplate the government they
created going to the dogs headlong.
Unconstitutional If the President
wants itand institutional if he don't
want it.' Suffering Moses! Has it
come to that? The old hunter shot So
as ITO hit if it was deer and miss it
if it was calf" The American peo-
pie are the calf this time-all calf.
And it bellows out it's satisfaction! 1t
don't want to be anything but calf
raised on skim milk, sucking the fing-
er OF Plutocracy.
Three cheers for the gutta- percha,
double, back-action constitution of
the United States, which can always
be so construed as to let the million
aires escape paying their taxes. And
that Of course is the great end of gov
eminent. The poor pay and the rich
rule. Sixty thousand plurality for it
in Minnesota last year.