The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-04-09

,nat no was oil opinion that the entiro
law should DO declared unconstitutional.
JUSTICE WHITES Dissent.
Justice White also announced a dis.
cent, 1t sccmid, he said. that long dis.
aents were y custom more honorcd In
tho breach than 10 tho observance. Ito
thought tho court'in 1t, decision to-day
had ovorthrown a long limo OF decisions
anu tho uniform practice since tho
foundation Of tho government. Tho
blll was, lie said, q prayer for injunc.
lion oil tho trust companies from max.
ing Its returns.
Tho practice hal been that an action
Tor injunction before the payment OF n
tax would not lie. II was an effort 10
accomplish by indircctton what tho
statute OF tho United States i6rbids Il
man TO do by direct process. While
tho main opinion asserted that there
were numerou, prcccdents lie called ut.
ten.ion TO tho fact that only two wore
cited. He thought, therefore, that tho
relief granted was In violation OF tho
practice Of tho court lie regretted
that this line OF decisions WAS to be
%ovorthrown for annulling Rn nc, OF con.
gross, which no considered in the limo
OF tho former opinions Of tho court.
lic affirmed that congress had a. uu.
limited power OF taxation as Ia exer.
cised by any government ID tho world.
lie said tho great question at issue was
whether tho Income tax was n direct
tax and that question had been, he
thought, decided q hundred year. ugo in
tho Hyl,on case, and In that case the
judgment practically decided that direct
taxes woro confined to lands and such,
md 10 capitation taxel.
lie said he considered that il there
had previously been any doubts they
had been set aside in tho Springer case,
and the question OF the validity OF an in
come tax established. IIo could not
see that there wa, a hairs breadth OF
difference between those Two cases aud
those nov under consideration. He
agreed with his colleagues that the tax
was unconstitutional as 10 state, county
and municipal bonds.
Justice Harlan followed JusticeWhite
IN q dissenting opinion and tho s
was closed. Nothing was said to show
how any OF the justice, stood save the
three who read dissents.
STORY OF THE CASES.
The decision applies TO three cases,
the frs. OF which was brought in the
courts OF the District Of Columbia by
G. Moore TO enjoin the commits.
sIoner oil internal revenue from tho COL
lection OF the income tax. while the
other two were those OF Charles POI.
lock VS.. the Farmers Loan and Trust
Company. and Lewis II. Hyde vs. the
Continental Trust Company, both ap.
pea!ed from tho United States circui.
court for the southern district Of New
York. Tho action in these two cases
was brought TO %enjoin q voluntary COM
pliance with the law in the paymen. OF
tax, aud when the circuit court sus.
tanned the law Pollock and Hyde ap-
pealed 10 tho supreme court OF the
United Statea. The cases were then ad-
varced on the docket and var argued
on March {. S, II. u and Is. Attorney
General Olney. James @. Carter, OF New
York, and Assistant Attorney General
Whitney appearing for the government
and Messrs. Choate, Seward, Guthrie
and ex-senator Edmunds for the trust
companies aud Moore.
The argument attracted more alton
ton than has been given 10 any case In
the supreme court for years. and the in
te!cst then manifested appears not to
have diminished since. The lawyers
for Moore and the trust companies at
lacked the cons;itutiouali;y OF the law
on broad grounds, while Me,sr. Oluey.
Whitney and Carter defended it.