Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-28

neighbors. II 1t refused to make the return
and pay the tax the collector Of the dis
trict. II he did his official duty. would make
the return for the company, the tax would
be assessed, and warrant OF distraint is
sued for Its collection. Notwithstanding
any Judgment made in the case by any
court.
Third. The plaintiff has ample remedy
at law, therefore is not entitled to the
equity of injunction. Were any such pleas
made or any such issues tried as between
I ever heard Of Assistant Attorney Gen
eral e. B. Whitney, who on behalf OF
Attorney General Olney appeared in the
Supreme Court for the government on this
These corporations have ample remedy
at law. by paying the tax under protest
and suing the collector to recover the
amount. Pollock would be sufficiently pro-
tected by decree restraining the corpora
ton from voluntarily paying this tax, yet
the bill does not allege that the corpora
ton intends to pay voluntarily. No
the e t.s been To- tn. limited
States government. It is regarded as I'm
portant not to break the chain Of prece-
dent
"But he followed that with this: These
objections are not jurisdictional in the
strictest sense ceases clted) and are not
taken by the defendant. In view Of the
great public interest aroused. and Of the
fact that no cases in proper form are
now pending, these objections are waived
on behalf of the government so far as
It Is In the power of its officers to waive
them
"Is there a law student in this whole
country approaching graduation who does
not know better than he knows how to
pray that the constitutionality of that in
come tax law could no more be inquired
into in that case so as to affect the col
lection OF that income tax than could
the question of the size Of the shoes worn
by the collector Of that district affect it.
The Government Not a Party.
1T is important to remember that the
United States was not made a party to
that suit, nor was any officer representing
1t. Counsel below seemed to have some re-
spect for their own regulations and for the
principles and traditions Of the law. 1t
could not have been made a party, and
never became such. Then we find that
the government, If bound by that decision,
stones, organized and prepared specially for
crushing purposes.
mo government can be sued except in
the manner it itself provides by law for
such suit. No court has inherent juris-
diction over the government or its acts, and
no consent appearance by anybody on
earth can make the government a proper
party to any suit; need that proposition be
suppose would become of a government
that would permit itself to be sued by
every whipper-snapper who felt aggrieved
by Its act, or what would become Of its
revenues If held I'D by Injunction proceed
tngs in the various courts of the land, or
held up in suits between individuals.
In the Pollack cases, and this Is the COM
plant I make. the internal revenue bu-
reau was not consulted. either as to ap-
pearing in the suit or it's management, nor
were the other lawyers of the Treasury
Department. Somebody, l do not know
who, and hope 1 never may know, feebly
attempted to enter the appearance of the
United States and tried thus to confer
Jurisdiction in the court over the subject
matter and over the government by con-
sent.
Legally that cannot be done. Was the
question of Jurisdiction ever decided? In
the first decision the Supreme Court SEEM
tngly for the very shame of 1t says:
=" And the objection of adequate remedy
at law not having been raised below or In
this court, and the question Of jurisdiction
having been waived by the United States
50 far as 1t was within its power to do
So proceeds to announce its opinion.
Who Could Waive Jurisdiction
Il again ask so as to call attention to it.
Who could waive jurisdiction on behalf of
the government Of the United States?
What Caesar had grown so great and upon
in the same opinion: And the relief sought
being to prevent the voluntary act of the
trust company, and not in respect to the
assessment and collection Of the tax, ETC.,
etc.
Il will not say anything about that para
graph, but do think that voluntary is
too good to be overlooked. We all know
how the wealth of the country and espe-
cially New York corporations, were volun-
tarily rushing to the tax-receiving window
Of the United States treasury and forcing
this feeble and defenseless government to
take the taxes they wished to separate
themselves from.
ANY further comment might be consid-
cred criticism Of the Supreme Court. In
the rehearing the court said by the chief
justice, May 6. 1895: In these cases ap-
pellants made application for rehearing
as to those propositions upon which the
court was equally divided. whereupon the
Attorney General presented suggestion
that If any rehearing was granted, it should
embrace the whole case. Treating this sug-
gestion as amounting In itself to an appli-
cation for a rehearing we set down both
applications to be heard today before a
full bench. etc.
Ran Like Whipped Ours.
THE administration withered and fell like
a shaking paralytic, struck with a bot Of
lightning. 1t destroyed by fire the returns
that had been made and ran from the law
and Its execution like whipped ours from
an angry mastif. If have stated facts and
quoted the law correctly It follows that
there is not now and never was an opinion,
judgment or decree of the Supreme Court
of the United States. which even attempts
to restrain. hinder or to delay the govern
ment from the collection Of a tax on in
comes, and there will never be, because that
court obeys constitutional, statutory laws
and have heard Congress say in section
1924, Revised Statutes, that no suit for the
purpose of restraining the assessment or
collection of any tax shall be maintained
in any court.
mo one not a party or privy to a suit can
be bound by the judgment of any court and
Congress would be entirely within It's rights
and duty to extend the provisions of that
law (yet unrepealed), to any time it saw fit
to, or to enact a new one properly adjusted,
had the provisions of the act not been Am
tied as to time expiring January /, 1900.
President Roosevelt could order his officers
today to proceed. assess aHd-colect that
tax, notwithstanding the opinion OF the
court in the Pollock cases, and do SO, too,
without any disrespect to opinions hereto
fore expressed by that greatest of all trib-
unals. He could easily do SO. his Treasury
Department and his INTERNAL revenue bu-