The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-02-14
Shiras, of the Supreme Court,
Comes in For a Roasting.
M'MILLIN, OF TENNESSEE, AND
DE ARMOND, OF CALIFORNIA,
SPEAK THEIR MINDS VERY
PLAINLY ABOUT THE ACTION
OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGE
WHO CHANGED HIS MIND AND
THUS OvERTHREw THE INCOME
TAN LAW.

on the sundry ci"il appropriation bill
gave opportunity for several speeches
upon radically different topics, ranging
from the policy of river and hurbor i'm
provements to Cuban independence.
The House at once plunged into
the consideration OF tho measure, it. hav.
ing been taken up for II short time Fri
day afternoon. The largest single item
in the bill is the appropriations for the
works of improvements of rivers and har
bors, amounting to about SIG, 000, GOO
and the rive" and harhor system naturally
came in for IL large share of discussion
After general speeches on the bill by
Cannon, chairman of committee on ap-
preparations. and Mr.. Sayers, the leader
of the minority on the committee, Dock
cry and Hepburn spoke against the con.
tract system for making the improve
ments and against the policy ITSELF and
Mr.. Catchings defended bouh.
Mr.. McMillin, responding to state
ment by Mr.. Hopkins, that under the Nc
kinley law the tariff produced revenue
enough to meet the expenditures of the
Government with IL surplus besides, crit
iciscd the decision of the supreme court,
which made the income Tux feature of the
Wilson law Ineffective.
'But, he said, ''the whole court ought
not to suffer from the action of one man
down the legislation, uprooted the dec-
sions of one hundred years and destroyed
The power of the Government to tax the
wealth of the countryxwas named Shiras,
and his name should always be remcm-
bered in connection with that rcprchensi-
BILE and ever to be. criticised decision
TO this Mr.. Grosvencr replied. lie said
he should leave the criticism of the
supreme court and of Mr.. Shiras, who
could not respond, to the gentleman from
Tennessee. He desired, however, to let
the gentleman have the full benefit of the
proposition that the Mckinley law was
Inadequate as IL revenue raiser, and the
Wilson law WAS IL splendid law. That
Would strike the country as something
remarkable.
''The Mckinley law" Mr. Grosvenor
asserted, produced not only revenue for
the expenditures of the Govrnement, but
II surplus as well, until God, for some
reason which He has not lnade known,
menaced the future of the country by per.
hitting the election of Cleveland and IL
Democratic Congress-
Mr.. De Almond, referring TO Mr.. Gros.
venor's reply to Mr.. McMillins Just
crtcsm,'' said ne yielded To The dccis.
ions of the supreme court that general
respect which every lawyer was taught
was due to the law tribunal of the ma
ton.
But he continued, II belong to Il
class OF people and represent eonstit-
uency who do not believe that any insti.
tuition of the country, or any person or
body engaged in administering the affairs
OF the nation is so sacred that it is not
subject to just criticism. One of the
greatest menaces to the prosperity and of
the republic lies in the usurpaton by
thc i'm hat i,
power which overturns the decisions of Il
hundred years, affects the elections of
Presidents and. makes strange laws by
strange methods.
Speaking of the reported action of Jus
tice Shiras, DE Armond said: ''He
changed his mind i'll such a. way as to.lft
from wealth II tax OF from forty to sixty
millions gear and transferred it to the
poverty and toll. Men may schange their
minds. but when forty to sixty millions
annually are in the scale, and II trained
Judge without further argument and adj
ditonal light, changes his mind, why
should there not he comment on it, His
name will be kept alive, not in honor. but
because the American people have been
outraged by him.
He would go further Mr.. DcA rmond
said, and charge that the crime of the
hour was that the power of the judiciary
was not strictly limited. There was Il
sentiment in the House and Senate which
tended to minimize the power of egisla-
ton and confer additional power to the
supreme court. There was every reason
why the executive power should he
strengthened that it might more properly
represent the people, and that of the eX.
ecutive. and the courts should be re.
stricted
Mr. De Armond closed with fervid
and impassoned appeal for intervention
in behalf of the Cuban revoutionists. If
asked upon what grounds the interview
ton should be made, he would say upon
the high ground that this nation OF free
men, sons of free men, sympathiZed
with those near our shores in their efforts
to become, themselves free men. The
CubanS, he said, had been lured il. 70 the
rebellion by the people of the United
States. Every wind from this shore car
ried to them messages of sympathy and
support. lie had hoped that this admin
istration woulds.respond in some suitable
way to the swelling sentiment OF the
country in favor of the Cubans, and his
hope now is that the incoming admins
tration would put itself in harmony with
the overwhelming desires of the people
(Applause)
Had the election last November re-
snlted in the election of William ,Jcn.
nings Bryan cloud applause) to the Pres
idency, have no doubt that American
sentiment would have heen fully carried
into effect upon his accession to power. -
Mr.. DeArmond with his usual vigor.