The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1910-03-02
LEGAL QUESTION
CAUSES DELAY
Enforcement Of Corporation Tax
Law Necessarily Must Be Put
of for Some Time.
APPROPRIATION NOT IN ORDER
Must b Specific, and Congress viii
% Called On 20 Make Il Regular
-Prooressives Fear Nuliifica.
ton Of Law.

Neutrality-suspicious. the approprt
alton Of 100000 tor the enforcement
Of the corporation tax law did not con
form to the requirements Of the aci
OF 1882. which says that approprta'
tons for clerk hire to be ezrr enAad n
the District Of Columbia must be spe'
cihc, the president has discovered that
It will not be possible to give force
and effect to the publicity features Of
the law. unless there be a specific ap.
preparation Of $4,000 to pay for the
clerks needed to properly file and In.
dex the returns.
The president made known his
Views in the matter in a letter to the
secretary of the treasury. Because
they fear the laying open OF their
affairs to commercial rivals men inter-
ested in corporations have for months
been importuning the president and
congress to bring about a modification
Of the publicity feature of the corpora.
ton tax law. The president and the
attorney general have been at work
upon the matter and while the presi.
dent desires to uphold the publicity
feature of the law. he, at the same
time. was moved by the complaints of
these business men, and in his let
ter he clearly pointed the way to
avoid the enforcement Of that fea-
ture,
The PresIdent's Position.
In his letter to the secretary Of the
treasury, the president explains that
under section 4 of the act Of August
s. 1882. the secretary Of the treasury
is prohibited from using any part Of
the special appropriation of 100000
for the employment Of persons within
the District Of Columbia.
I'm my judgment, the failure to
make a specific appropriation for the
purpose was an oversight, due to the
supposition that the 100000 might be
applied In part to the purpose under
and that 1t was. as already
said, the intention Of congress to make
these records different from the ordi-
AaAy MtOAA04 40VVAuO 4VVVAO0s 0Au
really subject to general public in.
spection. But with the situation as it
is nothing remains to be done except
for you to state the case to the house
of representatives where appropriation
bills are properly introduced, and to
suggest that If the construction which
seems to me to be the right one Is
to be carried into execution, there
must be an appropriation of $4,000
for the specific purpose, and with a
further statement that if no such ap-
preparation Is made, the only course
open to those who are executing the
law in the department will be to treat
the returns as other internal records"
In the letter of Charles D. Martin.
acting secretary of the treasury, to
the speaker of the house, submitting
the estimate for the appropriation.
this significant language occurs: In
the absence of the appropriation
above described, the secretary of the
treasury will treat the corporation
tax returns as other internal revenue
returns are treated"
In the letter OF r. E. Cable, commits
sioner OF internal revenue, to the sec
rotary Of the interior, of same date
as that of the acting secretary of the
treasury and of the president, this Ian
guage is used: III it was the intent
OF congress that the returns made un-
der this section of the tariff act were
not to be open to general inspection,
this appropriation need not be
granted
As Congress Looks at It..
Members OF congress regarded this
as an invitation to them not to take
action. Immediately there arose all
kinds of objections to the adoption
Of legislation making the appropria-
ton. Chairman Tawney of the appro-
priation committee said there need
be no rush and pointed out to sew.
eral members that such legislation on
an appropriation bill would be sub,
4nnf IN a ,,nir< ~ Duln~ o.. A.