Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1903-12-24
Lincoln Letter.
Lincoln, Nebraska,
December 21, 1908.

susceptible to enforcement, 30
sas the supreme court in an opin-
ion written by Chief Justice
Sullivan and concurred in by
Judge Holcomb and Judge Scdg-
wick. While the court has held
the act valid and refused to issue
a writ to prevent it's application;
it is not TO be inferred from this
that each and every section in
the lengthy statute has been
passed upon and approved. There
is still some doubt as to the right
of the Legislature to discriminate
against foreign insurance com
panies. Should test case be
made and 1t is found that rcstric-
tons may not be imposed upon
the corporations ofother states,
III d revenue law the remedy will
be plain and simple; all that will
remain to be done will be for the
Legislature at it's next session to
pass separate act providing for
an occupation tax upon outside
companies, and the court in this
opinion holds that the same
would be sustained by the law.
Judge Sullivan calls attention
to the fact that some 800 supreme
court cases were tried before the
old revenue law was clearly in
terpreted and he might have said
further that numerous questions
were still open at the time the
law was repealed. That the law
should be judically inspected and
placed in working order by the
courts within a few months of it's
passage, and when one question
only clouded in doubt, is a fact
upon which every taxpayer III the
state may congratulate himself So
and the Legislature which carpen-
tered the act together in a COM
paratively short time.
More gratifying still to the
friends of the bill, and still more
confusing to its enemies, is the
fact that the judges in writing
their opinions cannot refrain from
complimenting the act, not only
because of its legal strength but
for its fairness to all classes.
Critics Of the bill and of the
bodies which framed and passed
it should remain silent long
enough to peruse the following
taken from the opinion of Judge
Sullivan, a Democrat:
GAS a whole we believe the la "
to be a good one, and to have
been framed with the object of
reaching all property in this
state, and to impose upon all tax
able property its due share of the
public burden" That paragraph
of the opinion doubtless was
written in answer to some OF the
charges made in the. brief and
argument of Attorney Breckin-
ridge of Omaha, who referred to
the act as a chapter Of iniquity,'
etc.
Commissioner Duffy, who il
the trial before the commission
held adversely to the law, he be.
ing the only one of six jurists tc
take that position, now agrees
with the court proper that the
act is valid, and as to its Just
ness he has said, in a written
opinion;
eve believe the law to be not
only fair to the taxpayer, but one
admirably adapted to the equit.
able distribution of the burden
. of taxation among the property
owners of the state"
One Republican Judge, one Re,
publican commissioner, two lu,
sion Judges and two fusion com,
missioners have weighed and
; measured the law, and these are
their opinions, so it must b, con
coded that the bill won ont on
its merits, aud that the court;
have. been unbiased by partisan'
ship.
]. Forrest Marston, the psuedc