The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1898-08-25

sion is ample to fortlfy the Legislature in
its act OF 1897. exempting personal proper
ty as follows:
The personal property of each person
liable to assessment and taxation under
the provisions OF this act. of which such
individual II the actual and bona fde
owner. TO an amount not exceeding five
hundred dollars"
But the law is sustained. notw!thstand-
Ing the adverse decision OF the Supreme
Court, by many OF the ablest and best in
formed lawyers of the state II Is not
pleasant nor. "a the experience OF some
has consplcuously shown. always profta-
BILE TO crtlcise the decisions of a State
supreme Court. The limits within which
this may be done with propriety and safe
ty are not broad. However ones sense
OF justice and American fair play must
always find voice where free speech and
a free press enjoy constitutional rights as
they do and must continue to do, in this
country and IL Is just as well TO define
the situation here and now and to state
that the judicial sanctity" of the SUI
I preme bench. as an institution OF govern
ment, II not as to its personnel. shall
not escape It's just share Of disapprobation
touching this matter IN this campaign
silence concerning IT would be a libel on
public opinion and suppression of just
and popular Indignation.
tht
This is the time and place for locat-
Ing the blame for the personal property
tax exemption blunder and the personal
property tax outrage where II properly
belongs. and so long as the truth, and tho
truth only is adhered to the whole truth
may be told fearlessly. The status Of tho
controversy may he stated in a nutshell
The Republican Party sought to reverse
by means OF the Supreme Court the ope-
ration of a most riyhtpOnc nrnyiSiOn of fh IL
revenue law OF 1897
Its defeated and condemned ringleaders
smarting from the lash OF popular indig-
nation applied with all the force OF po-
litical reform avalanche in 1895 seeing no
hope for revenge in the executive and
legislative branches OF the government.
had the brazen hardwood, the bold and
degraded enrontery to carry their unholy
schemes TO the judicial branch of the
government the political party COM
plexion OF a major portion of which was
yet In harmony with their party alliances.
Even had the law been technically UNI
constitutional. such a course could not
have been justified in face of the facts
that by overturning It innocent people
would be made to suffer, and that they
themselves had given the same class OF
persons partial relief under the same al
legged unconstitutional procedure.
1t may be said in attempted Justification
Of tho move to wipe out the personal tax
exemption that the revenues were in
creased thereby. That Is a most aggra-
waiting plea to the minds OF those who
believe in policy of placing the bur
dens of taxation where they rightfully be-
long, and not on the shoulders of tho
poor. Such an excuse Is far from justin
cation. 1t is mockery. In short the
judicial crime of 1897, here referred to, for
which the Republican Party must he held
to account, placed a load of taxation
chiefly upon the shoulders Of the poor.
amounting to hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
How They Did Their Work.
In order to overthrow the law which the
Fusion Legislature of 1897 enacted, and 10
let loose the flood gates OF taxation upon
the heads of the poor and struggling class
OF the population with a view to rails
ing a tide of popular Indignation against
the present state and county admnistra-
tons. but which will now rightfully re-
act to their own condemnation, the Re
publican Party, through it's subservient
tools, carried two test cases into the Su-
perior Court almost Immediately after the
passage of the act one was brought in
Spokane County before Judge l.. H.
Prather, who held the act unconstitution-
al and was affirmed by the Supreme Court
to which the case was appealed, on May