The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-05-24
ON THE TARIFF.
suits to Tcet its LOCALITY Now Not
Improbable.
WHAT SOME ABLE LAWYERS THINK
III Wow OF tho Wrccking OF tho
Income rns-rhcy Say 1t Sniliiles
tho Entire Wilson Bll-Juytrr,
Harlan May bs tho populi.t Can.
didatc For tho Presidency.

W~AslliSdroS, May 23-Thcrc has
boon serious talk OF testing tho con-
s~tIlulionality Of the tariff law, as altered
by tho omission OF tho income tax.
There seems to DO no doubt that cases
involving this question will DO brought
ocloto the court as 500 as possible,
Tho importers who find tho duties OH
tho goods thoy import raised by the
law, and tho whisky mon with tho In.
'ernal revenue tax increased, may join
together to test 1t, while tho manuiac.
turors who find the reduction OF duties
IN almost eyory schedule OF the law in
tcriering with tho sale OF their products,
VIII probably combine TO fight tho tariff
law. 1t can DO seen that such conbin.
atoms would be extremely strong. At
n llrst glance II appeared rs II the state.
ment made by Chief Justice Fuller that
Tho decision did not iuvalidate the law
would preclude such n contest. How.
ever, tho dissenting opinions OF the four
Justices which brought this point w,
iiarlnn's particularly. together with tho
belief OF many eminent lawyers that II
tho exemptions OF rents. personal prop.
erty, and municipal bonds invalidated
tho other parts Of the income tax, DO.
cause those sections would not have
been passed Us they wero had il not
been believed tho tax would stay as an
ontirity, it necessarily follows they n.
validate tho tarilT aud tho othcr inter.
nal revenu schedules, because such
schedules woro prepared in line with
tho income tax aud duties were lowered
because OF the expected venue from
that tax. There arc many lawyers who
hold that there is here n good case md
several able legal lights arc painting to
enter into such n contest, hoping Tor
glory and remuneration.
references have been made to tho i'll
feeling among the justices over the case.
1t is now known their conferences wore
Mt times devoid Of judicial dignity and
very similar 10 4 scene in tho senate
wheen passion is aroused and feeling
run rampant. Fortunately in tho con-
fercnces there was no stenographer to
report them. The passion and feeling
and unjudicial name displayed by sey-
eral Justices during dependency OF this
case has hurt the court in the popular
estimation. as has tho political bias
manifested in the dissenting opinions.
l. is. however, regarded as fortunate
the decision was not in any sense n sec-
tional one. tho justices who overthre rev
the law being scattered throughout the
land-Field, California; Brewer, Kan.
sas; Shiras, Pennsylvania; Fuller, ILL.,
nois; aud GRAY, Massachusetts while
one northern mao, Brown, stood with
the soutierners in supporting the law.
Justice Harlan finds himself some.
what OF n hero in certain quarters. and
he 4 now hear the presiden ;ial bee
buzzing actively around his head. This
morning as lie walked down Pennsylva.
mia venue Oh his way 10 the court he
found his way obstructed By people,
some OF whom he knew and more Of
whom no had never seen, who insisted
upon grasring his hand and concratu.
lating him on his opinion. The Justice
was so clustered that he took n cao and
drove TO the capitol. populists are now
talking OF him as the logical candidate
OF their party. Another interesting
point raised by the decision is whether
the $40 0S, 735 81 paid the United
States under the former income tax law,
during the years 1868 to 1872. should
not,now be refunded. tho late income
tax, which was based largely on that
former tax, having been declared uncon-
stitutional. Two points would operate
TO prevent this-one being the statute
OF limitation and tho other the fact that
the former income tax law had been de-
clared constitutional by tho supreme
court then existent