The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-02
THE WAR TAX CONFUSION
INDIGNATION AGAINST TELEGRAPH
AND EXPRESS COMPANIES.
Telegram from Senator Fairbanks
Package Carriers Violate the Law
Stamps Run Out.

The operation of the new war tax in In
dianapolis yesterday caused a vast amount
of confusion in business circles and stirred
up vast Indignation against the express
and telegraph monopolies.
D. NJ. Parry, president of the Commercial
Club, pressed by business men all over the
city yesterday sent the following telegram
to Senator Fairbanks:
Express companies are requiring senders
of packages to pay for stamping express
companies receipts. Our shippers are oh
jectng on the grounds that thus express
companies evade all war tax. How do gov
eminent authorities construe this ques-
ton?"
This answer came back:
1.-The law officers of the revenue depart
ment hold that the express companies are
Obliged. under the new law, to stamp their
receipts. c. w. FAIRBANKS"
The express companies yesterday were
stamping their receipts. but the shippers
were paying for the stamps.
When business began yesterday morning,
it being the first day of the effect of the
new revenue law, great deal of confusion
arose and bad feeling against the great cor
porations-the telegraph companies and the
express companes-was rife. Senders of
kilograms and shippers found the people,
and not the corporations, would have to
bear the tax. A man who is one of the
heads of telegraph company said he knew
the business men of the city were. very
angry at having to pay the tax. The local
telegraph offices, he said, could not help
matters, for they had received orders from
1.-The high seats" to make the senders of
kilograms pay for the stamps affixed. Even
the ''deadheads" of the railroad companies
had to be stamped.
The express companies with agencies here
the stamps used on the receipts They also
had received orders from their superior off,
GERS. An inquirer at one of the express
offices was shown an order from the mag
nate" which said shippers must pay for the
stamps. 1t further related that kilograms
are to be sent from New York to the press
of the country explaining that a test case
is to be filed and pushed rapidly by the Mer-
chants Association of New York against
the express companies for making their
patrons pay for the receipt stamps and
urging all minor litigation be waived until
the case is decided The local express man
said: IF we had to pay the tax it would
cost us something like $350O00 a year. AL
ready the express companies are taxed ex-
tremely high by the State in which they OPP
crate. It's a very simple question with us.
Ii we are forced to pay the tax we will raise
the rates about cents. If did this it
would hardly be noticed, but just because
trouble has arisen.
His remarks clearly indicated that the
express companies have combined in this
matter. They know they have their patrons
entirely at a disadvantage, and can force
them TO pay the tax either by making them
pay for the stamps themselves or raising
rates.
A prominent attorney put the matter in
this way The law specifies the maker of
the document taxed must affix the stamp
Thus, he who writes a telegram must pay
the tax on it, and not the telegraph COM
no In hVlC = ~fK,er I1n
ever, the express companies are the makers
of the documents; they write the receipts,
and, therefore, under the law must pay the
tax or become liable to the $50 penalty
which the law provides. Inquiry at the
office of the United States district attorney
yesterday resulted in the information that
nothing would be said about the matter.
Many callers had asked for information on
the point it was said, but Mr.. Wishard had
replied he had not read the law carefully,
and was not prepared to make any state
ments. He had received no instructions
from Washington in the matter
An attorney for railroad company said
the law was not clear enough in the sec
tons applying to express companies and
telegraph companies to avert a great
amount of trouble until the whole matter is
cleared up by the federal authorities
Notwithstanding all the opposition to buy
ing stamps for the express and telegraph
companies and the resulting stagnation of
business, it was not long until there was
By 10 O'clock in the morning the local rev.
enue office had run out of stamps of small
denominations, and at noon nothing but the
Accent variety was at hand. AT an early
hour in the afternoon none of the stamps
were left in the revenue office. A second
and much larger supply is expected this
morning from Washington. The stamp
famine caused more trouble. Business men
were loath to make documents because they
had no stamps to affiX to them. At the re-
corder's Office deeds were refused accept
ance because they were not stamped. Re-
CeiptS for rent were not made out because
there were no stamps for them, and those
who had not the money to pay rent with
yesterday were saved the embarrassment of
having to turn away the collectors. In in
Vulnerable details business suffered yester-
day, and it is believed it will be some time
before the new law gets to working quietly.