Evening star., 1901-12-21

OF my opinion and ,my mind was that the
thffty days feom the 1st day of September
road 80 she Us as. aaS Of Tgctober, 1871. should be
read and construed as a continuing pro-
VISION OF thefaaw, and that there should be
read into the1stats,te for each subsequent
year aIter Jsine 3e, 1878. until repealed
l Snouid nave hesitAted to pass upon that
subject but for thu fact that the Court of
Appeals has fsuppfied that omission. That
court mas said that section 4 of this act
PROVIDES that IL one-half of the tax herein
iepiea upon the real and personal property
taxed by this act shall not be paid before
the lst day of December, 1877, said INSTALL
inent snail thereupcn be in arrears and de-
iihauent, andt thereishall then be added, to
oe corrected RS Sueh taxes, penalty of =
per centum upon the amount thereof, and
IKE penalty, on the first day of each sue
ceeding month until the payment of said
lnstaliment and penalty. And If said in
staliment shah not be- paid before the 1st
DAY of June, 1913, together with one-half
OF SAID original tax due before said 1st day
oL June, like penalty shall then be added
OH SAID last one-half of such tax, and the
Wnoie together shall constitute the deifn-
auent tax, to be dealt with and collected
IN the manner described by this act"
The Act a Continuing One.
And the Court of Appeals has said that
that section shall be construed as applying
to each succeeding year thereafter until the
act Is repealed. The act is a continuing one
1t Is a scheme of taxation, and for that
reason the provision that the board of as
SCISSORS should sit from the 1st day of Sep
tember to the 1st day of October should be
Construed as applying to each succeeding
year SO long as the act is in force. This
scheme or taxation gives to the assessors
the rlght TO assess property il 1t was re-
turned to them. and the right to assess it
as best they could il it is not returned by
the owner, and then the law gave to that
owner the right to appeal from the assess
ment so made, and likewise gave to the
majority of the assessors the right to ap-
peal from the act of any one assessor The
organic act of 1873 gives the right to the
commissioners to prescribe the duties of
the assessors under the act of 1877. and
the act specifically. provides that in making
up their valuations and in making their as
sessments the assessor could be governed
oy the provisions of the existing laws.
Law of 1878.
The organic law OF 1878 provides that the
assessors can do nothing inconsistent with
the law Of 1877 and links that act with the
Organic law itself as fully as if it had been
Incorporated into the later law totidem
verbs. That being so, what is the next
step? The. next step is that under the au-
thof1ty which Congress has given to the
Commissioners of the District. of Columbia
to reduce expenses by cutting off any offices
of the government that they shall not think
necessary to its proper management, the
Commissioners. have the right to combine
question is raised that this power to abolish
offices or to consolidate offices delegates to
the Commissioners the power to legislate
differently from what Congress itself had
enacted.
In other words does the power to abolish
and consolidate offices delegate to the Com
mSsfoners of the District Of Columbia the
power. to legislate? 1t seems to me that
there is no other question In the case than
the single. simple question, Has Congress-
by giving to the Commissioners the power
to abolish and consolidate offices, given
them the power to- abolish the whole
scheme of taXation? Congress had already
passed tag ylawsf 1t had provided for
three assessors. ut had said that ma
Jerity of them might act; that there might
be an appealqfromrthe assessment made.
Did CongRsss anean to delegate this
power of Legislation to the Commissioners
of the District of Columbia when it gave
to them the right to abolish or consolidate
offices when inf theft Judgment those offices
were no longer necessary?- Did Congress
mean to give the Commissioners the power
to strike doWps a. scheme of taxation recog-'
II the 2ganc aGt Under the guise Of
Congress mean forgive them the power to
say that one NAM should have the right to
assess propesfy and from his assessment
there sho.hebt be gne right of appeal? In
other words, afid Congress mean to change
the whole scheme which had been provided
as the mode ofsaassessing and Yalueing
property in. this District which Is ia ac-
cordances witid nearly every; similar law in
every! state; sfsltile y4Enion? Did Congress
give the C0nmis sioners the right to strike
down this Eaw? .. +
Objections Overwhelming.
at seems to me that the force of the
objections to this contention are simply
Overwhelming. If there can be any doubt
about the proposition in this case, have
failed to see a suggestion of it. The whole
contention is that Congress has given the
right to abolish Offices and has recognized
the abolition of these offices. and has recog-
nized this new scheme of taxation How
has Congress done SO? Simply by reeogniz-
ing the assessor of the District Of Columbia
by paying his salary and by speaking of
him by his official or technical name.
do not think that is the way important
legislation is made. Remembering the rule
of law everywhere in force, that no repeal
of a law shall stand by Implication EXCEPT
as a matter of necessity, it does seem to
me that there is nothing left to this case
There is nothing, in any act of Congress.
to suggest the thought that Congress in
tended to do away with the scheme of taxa
tion which it had set up.
Il believe that scheme is the law today.
and II there was any one to carry it out it
would still be in force In my Judgment
the law is absolutely and entirely constitu-
tional.
Il believe it is good law and a fair law.
and if there was machinery to carry it out
1 would unquestionably hold these proceed
ings could not be maintained. 1 went
into the consideration of the case with my
mind absolutely free. l had not considered
the law, but / went into the consideration
of this case with the firm determination to
uphold the right to tax personal property
II the law justified it. do not think the
law does justify it, for the reasons have
indicated. namely. that the District Com
missioners have abolished the very persons
that Congress directed should carry the law
into effect, and until they are restored the
law cannot be enforced"
Mr.. Hopewell H. Darneille the District
assessor, some months ago. in a report TO
the Commissioners. placed an interpreta-
tiOn on the personal tax law that was sim
liar in effect to the ruling just made by
Justice Clabaugh.z
The London Tailor.
From the Independent. -
Do you want some Clothes made in Lon
don? You go to first-rate tailor and are