New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-09

Your Honors come to crafty our prayer oy
striking out also the income from persona Rrop.
erty. how much will there be left OF II! "na'
Will there be left or tl o..
This was n general scheme OF income tax. 10
bear uuon the whole people who could not pro-
cure their exemptions In Que season n" yuh tn.
hands Of the committees OF Congress. what
Wa tho object of IL? II was 10 strike NJ the
accumulated wealth Of the old seaboard states'
n Your Honors please In the DEBATES OF Sum,
gross tho name Of one man. conspicuous apove
oIl tho rost was said 10 be tho object STRUCK ~
because he lived abroad because ne owned nc,es
and square miles OF income-yioldng rea, rs'a. ..
because he used nothing In America WHICH was
Tho subject of an indirect tax. ana therefore
there was no other way or rcaching MN. An, an"
he slipped through their hands unuer our nm
nrs der,alon and everybody In the same cate
cory has done she like. Can you sec mat CON
gress under the circumstances, would nave
agreed upon the passage OF me ,b law NJ vas 70
oscnno 4, bv the unconstitutionality OF It's CHIEF
provisions.
WHO ARE LEFT TO PAY?
Again who are left? Landholders have es-
caped bondholders have escaped. We believe
Your Honors will be constrained to hold that the
receivers Of incomes from personal properly wiz
escape Who are left to be taxed? we are ieit
the bone and snew and brains and nerve
scattered throughout THIS great co,nihu IN -,
70 600 900 people. What was intended 10 De TAX
upon capital turns out TO be tax upon Iapor.
How long do you suppose Congress IN Which
the balance Of power was hea 10 give h ~ p .me
ples Party would have consented to levy TAX
upon the people. only emitting all recourse 10
the accumulated wealth Of the country ana us
income? s,.,s
We cannot enter into the bosoms ana breasts
of Congressmcn for their views. but Wnen those
views are announced by the authorized repre-
sartatives of the Federal Government from It's
Executive Department. we can take them INTO
consideration They fled their briefs here
that IL is an income tax levied upon small
body of picked men-a selected class OF very
wealthy people. Now. those, the heaVles!, 'ne
richest the biggest fish which were intended 10
he caught in the net, have got out through the
rent that Your Honors have made IN the meshes'
There is another matter-the OBJECT OF the TAX.
They sav the object of the tax Is not this alone;
that Congress would not have thought OF max
ing this tax by itself. What is 1t? They say
there is an inequality, and this IS one OF thei'
great arguments; Your Honors heard II IN stem
torlan voices here on former argument IL ~ 10
qualify reduce limit. cure Inequalities produced
BY the indirect taxes. because those fall on tne
moor and middle classes. The Governments rep
rasenta;ives divide US into classes. and they say
they want to qualify that. That object falls
them.
CONTRAVENINC THE CONSTITUTION.
Then did those who passed the law who in
spired the law have another object In view!
Did they think to get away from that original
branch Of the compromise and the compact that
was not expressed literally in the Constitution,
namely that Il direct tax should be levied only
In times Of great emergency ana great necessity,
and that in the MAN. for the ordinary expenses
OF the Government. the United states would rely
upon indirect taxes. they generally haV, done
until this new departure was MADE!
Did they think that here was an experiment
for avoiding tina; condition IL the future, hrst
gradually and then more rapidly, ana tnally
making direct taxes for all the ordinary o.-
casiors Of the Government A substitute entirety
for Indirect taxes? Then did they mediate IN
creasing by a future law. the exemption IRON
the 81 900 10 the $1,000 TO 10000, and increis
Ing the tax from per cent 10 10 per cent or 10
20 per cent and so establish new theory Of
constitutional government for us, namely, mat
I'm the future rapidly as we can attain tnat
position may run this Government. not on
the products ~ the imposis as was originally
understood but dispensing with those and gam
Ing whatever political. economical Advantage
thereby can be gained. thrust it all upon the
property Of the and?
Whatever way you look at it. whether II the
manged condition of the law. the failure u lis
purpOse it's Incidence just where the people VINO
passed IT, the legislature did not intend IL
should fall. or the purpose. actual or declared
and avowcd. or possible and only 70 be guessed
nj tha, they had IN v!ow-l say that whatever
wav YOU look ut H. within Justice Shaws def
milton or any definition over laid down which
car be called authoritative. this act as IL now
stands nangled by the pruning KNIFE or the
Constitution I'm III. hands of this Court, Your
Uonors carnot that the Legislature ever
would have passed in this form. On the contrary
YOU can 500. and unless YOU shut your eyes u
absolute hllndreeF YOU must see that the Legis-
lati,rc never y nd have so enacted H.
Mr. choa,e finished at l5s O'Clock. and the
until Monday May 90