The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-05-07
ARGUING THE TAX.
Attorney General 0lneY
Closes the Governments
Case Before the Supreme
Court.
GREAT PUBLIC CALAMITY
Under the Constitutional Doctrine
the United States Sovereignty
Is Impaired.
GREAT PUBLIC CALAMITY

WASHINGTON, May Z. 1885,. THE SEC
ond days proceedings of the argument
of the income tax cases began in the
Supreme Court of the United States at
noon today, in the presence of greatly
reduced audience of spectators, lawyers
as well as the public in general. Among
the spectators who today attracted at
tention waz celoneI William lay, one
Of the counsel for the opponents of the
law. the grandson of Chief Justice Jay,
Who was a member of the court wtert
the first decision of the Court was made
on the subject of direct taxes, the cele-
brated Hylton case of 1794-although he
did not take part in the decision.
Assistant Attorney General Whitney
resumed his argument in support of the
constitutionality of the law under con-
Slderation. He reviewed the several
acts act passed by the British Government
the time of the adoption Of the Consti-
tuition, and the income tax law of Pitt.
which he said. was the model of all
her colonies. and in this country, and
which was. of course. familiar to the
Lawyers and publicists of the United
framed.
These. Mr.. Whitney asserted. demon
strated the truth of the fact that in
held to be duty and not tax.
Justice Gray Inquired if the Privy Coun-
was a tax and not a duty? He said he
spoke from general recollection only,
and asked the question because Mr..
to that decision.
Mr.: Whitney replied that he, was of
the the impression. mp not being familiar with
tinction sought to be enforced was with
reference to direct and Indirect taxes.
GENERAL OLNEY CLOSES
Attorney General olney closed the ar
gument on the part of the United States.
After .recapitulating the arguments ad-
vanced on behalf of the United States
at the former hearing. he again con-
tended that judged by the language of
the law itself it did not create a tax
Court, he said, dealt with the case as if
rents We're the only subject of the in
come tax law-as if all the rest of the
statute were omitted and it simply pro-
vided for assessing land owners accord
ing to their rents. That vas not. he
the matter. But suppose it to be adopt
ed, what follows? We then have a stat
ute dealing with landlords as class
taxing them because of their vocation of
landlord and measuring the tax by rents
actually received. Such a tax was per-
fectly legitimate and perfectly familiar.
1t was intimated that, logically speak
ing, if tax on real estate was direct
tax, so was q tax on personal property;
and that, if a tax on rents was tax on
real estate, so was a tax on interest and
dividends a, tax. on the capital produc-.
ing them. That the logical process was
without law he was prepared to admit,
and to concede further that, If the single
step already apparently taken was NOT
retraced, the remaining steps were soon
e Or later not 4 unlikely S9g to N2sI f9l9W PA
t'But,' he continued. 'T am unable to
agree that the result if fully achieved,
will be matter of eengratulation or any
iY1or hI1t mis-
To strike at the taxing power of the
Government is to wound it in the most
development M to the practically. efhete
doctrine of apportionment of public bur-
dens as between the States Is TO retro
tion, and tends IN the direction of disin-
tegration. To practically exempt. incomes
and personal Property, generaliy from
dens of Society, is to throw upon that
portion of the community least able 70
Support them and already bearing more
mo one will deny that in linkingsta
alton and representation inseparably to-
gether our forefatheFs aspired to a sys.
by the peoples own Tepresentativ es.
would be certain to distribute the public
burdens with the nearest possible aps
proach to justice and equity. Yet the
| irony of events is such that this very
principle is now invoked to nuliify g tag
the exact object ana purpose, Of WHICH
ties z GRfAT aa S1f''fS PS6BIie HGssS eSLAsfI4
be In fPefafore ne su5mt to suer
selves to be beguiled with the fiattering
unctiong that under this new constitution
not sustain serious impairment in one
of the most important attributes OF SOW
ereignty Theoretically Tg its taT1ng Ak power c,
up by the roots as to very large snare
of the wealth of the country. as to az
income and as to the great msss mass OF f az i
must nni be, viii, I firmly believe, when fully
comprehended by the American peoplet
be universally deprecated as a great puo7
seTtey have come to take pride in the
United States as the representative OF
Sovereign equal in authority to any
other on the face of the globe, adequate
to all emergencies foreign or domestic.
and having at its command for offence
and defense and for all governmental
| purposes all the resources of the nation.
it will be. an unWelcome aWaKenleeg e ,,o},, a4r,
faith and their pride is but a malmeq
and crippled creation after all. invested
with but fraction OF the most lmpor- ls-
est exactly where its strength should pc
| the greatest Nor will it lessen or mlti-
gate their surprise ian 70 hesn aean laned . to the
skies as the elimination and crowning
glory Of souIS PEOPLES fo faSatlon Se 90 @al con.
tSrived l. that. While accumulated wealth
shirlSs and escapes it's due share
arith 81 ne niIbiic burdens under cover of its
provisions. of aIs the less fortunate members Of
Society. whom the Government t,. reachess .s
Weer and ali other things they must
| have and must buy, are wholly without
| constitutional protection, and in the mat
| ter Of taxation are practically at the
| mercy of Congress.
BRITISH TRADE STATISTICS.