The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-12
SEN. HILL MAKES A FIGHT.
HE DELIYERS 4 SPEECH IN OPPO-
 SIII0N TO THE INCOME TAX.

His Arguments Were Fortified by Quota
 tions From PubIicists-It Ought Not to be | Inflicted.
 Washington, Jan. 11.--The resolution
 offered yesterday by MT. Hawley, rep,
 of Connecticut, requesting the presi-
 dent to call the attention of the Nicara-
 guan government to the proper adjust
 ment and settlement of claims of United
 States citizens against it was presented
 and referred to the committee on Mica
 raguan claims.
 The urgency deficiency bill was then
 taken up, the pending question being
 on MT. Hil's, dem. of New York, amend
 ment giving United States courts juris-
 diction of the question of the consti-
 nationality and validity of the income
 tax, and Mir, Hill addressed the sen ate.
 He complained of the remark of MT. | Peffer, pop. of Kansas, yesterday inti-
 mating that he intended to fllbuster | against the bill, and said that nothing
 had taken place since he had been a member of the senate which justified | the insinuation.
 MT. Peffer denied that he had used | the word filibustering since he had been in the senate.
 "The senator" said MT. Hill, may not have used the precise word 'tilibus- tering, and I think now that he did not, but, nevertheless, think that the fair intimation from his remarks was, that in some way or other the senators from New York and Pennsylvania were go ing to defeat this income tax, if posso- ble, by some methods exactly In accord with the usual methods of opposition" Senator Proctor stated that in Yer mont everybody was so honest that the residents did not even lock their door upon retiring at night. T certainly did not mean that" MT. Peffer pro- tested Then I accept the senator's disclaimer" said Mir. Hill.
 This subject, MT President, is a most important one not merely the question of the appropriation of moneys to enforce the income tax but I,concede that other considerations are involved also
 'The secretary of the treasury in the discharge of his duty has made certain regulations for the collection of this tax, to which I propose to call the at tention of the senate and this country; and this appropriation of itself draws the attention of the country again to the importance of this legislation. Fl propose to review certain of the con alterations that arise out of it."
 Mir. Hill then went on to read an argument, fortified by quotations from the writings of publieists and the de- cisions of courts, to show that an in- come tax Is an excise tax; that the terms of the constitutions, and excise tax must be uniform and that the in- come tax provision in the tariff law is unequal, ununiform and unjust It was not uniform, he declared. because. among other things, 1t exempted all incomes under $4,000. He did not. he said, ask for a repeal of the Income tax law, as he recognized the imposslbiiity of having it repealed He should simply criticise the treasury regulations for the assessment and collection of the tax. And first he called attention to the taxation of rents of real estate It was conceded he said, tha.a .a1ngress had no power to levy a tax on land and call 1t an excise tax; but a tax on the in- come from real estate was virtually a tax on the real estate itself, He de- nied the authority of the secretary of the treasury to require citizens to make returns of the income derived from rents; and he denied the authority of congress to tax such income.
 If an 1SSnGSD1pOt Tvnrn iy,volid t1ooo,,.a not made by the officer designated by congress or made not by the process of law or because any other restriction of the statute was not obeyed, the en- forcement of the tax would be illegal and he contended that that would be the case under the treasury income tax regulations. He criticised some of the treasury regulations and said that he protested against the treasury inter- pretation of the law and against the interjection into 1t of instrumentalities not contemplted by congress. The in- come tax provisions themselves he characterized as a "slipshod piece of legislation" The citizens had under 1t next to no protection. Just as the basis of the levy of ad valarem duties was an appraisement, so the basis of the levy or the Income tax was an ap- praisement. If congress should decide. | or if courts should decide, that the re- l pealed machinery of former income | tax laws was revived, so that refunds | could be made by the treasury, then the | innumerable antiquities and contra dictions of the income tax law would | produce a pressure on all departments | of the government back the tax le- gally enacted; and it would be very dif- ! ficult, even under the most careful | legislation by congress to retain tax 1 against which the legal profession of | the country was prejudiced. For these l reasons it seemed to be the duty of | congress to reconsider the recent in- come tax legislation and to remove | those antiquities; otherwise 1t was req sonably certain that the experience of the war period as to the refun of the tax would be repeated, taxpayers and their agents would besiege the treasury department, congress and the courts. claiming the refund of the tax paid
 Mir. Hill Illustrated point against one of the rules by the case of the great newspapers of New York, organized as