The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-03-02
Must Pay Tax on its Liquor.

Washington, D. c., Feb. 29.-The
Court Of Claims today handed down q
decision that the State of South Caro-.
lima stands in the same position as an
ordinary whiekey dealer throughout
the country, SO far as the payment Of
the interDatio 1al revenue dues is oon-
cerned. The decision is quite a set
back to claims of the State.
On June %, 1901, a petition was
filed in the court of claims to recover
sums OF money which had besn paid
by the State and County dispehsaries
to the United States as an interna.
tional revenue tax. upon the ground
that inasmuch as it was the exercise
of an instrument Of the government,
whereby the State of South Carolina
effectuated its power Of police regula.
ticn. q tax of any sort would be tax
upon the State, and hence violation
of the implied provisions Of the Fed.
eral Constitution. The claim was
made, first, that the word 'person" as
used in the Federal statute, requiring
all persons engaged in such ooeap.-
tions to pay these taxes, was not 1n-
tended to include Stats; sound,
that the Constitution Of the United
States contains no grant Of power to
Congress, expressed or implied, 70 Sax
q State for its instrumentalities of
government, and that the exercise by
Congress of the power was not ex-
pressly or impliedly granted by the
Constitution, is implicitly forbidden;
third, that the South Carolina dis
pensary system was o legislative ex-
ercise of the police power, seeking to
subserve the health, comfort and
morals Of it's citizens, and as such, was
not subject to Federal taxation, direct
or indirect.
The State was represented by Frank
lin q. Mackey. The United States
attorney contended, first, that the
provision of the Federal international
revenue laws were applicable alike to
natural and artificial persons, whether
engaged in business on their own be-
half or as agent Of municipal corpora.
tions Of States. Second, they relied
upon article /, section of the Fed
eral Constitution, which provides that
congress shall have power to Law and
collect taxes, duties, imposts, and
that all duties, imposts and excise
shall be uniform throughout the Uni-
ted States and he contended that i'm
munity from Federal excise tag could
not be claimed for South Carolina un-
der the police power Of that State. for
the reason that the Federal excise tax
ts levied pursuant to an exports grant
OF power in the Federal Constitution.
and hence is superior to the reverse
police power Of States. The police
power OF State cannot be set up to
control the inhibitions of tho Federal
Oonstitution or the powers OF the
United States government created
thereby. He further contended that,
the dispensary Law was not the exer-
,clse OF one Of the instrumentalities of
the State for the effeotustion of its
powers of COVER lment, but was merely
9 commercial enterprise, conducted
TOR profit and gain and that il the
State can engage In the business at
all 1t is not By virtue Of the exercise
of any government function, but
fnerelyiaa . corporation, and as such
1t ID amenable to the game excise tag
es is imposed upon the Individual en-.
gagged ia, the sano business. The
opinion rendered sustains the conten.
sions OF the United States and dis
misses the claimants position. It is
not know q whether the State will ap..
peal from the decision Of tho Supreme.
Court. 4 IS !! Eli} 5,S} !, 4. 71sl
CITY LoTs FOR sALEsituated on