Arizona republican., 1910-03-14
WEEK
 MAY DECIDE. Fate of Corporation Tax
 Law SEVEN CASES ID BE HEARD One From Vermont, Before Highest Court in Which It Is Claimed Law in Five Ways Violates the Con stitution
SEVEN CASES TO BE HEARD

 docketed for hearing in United States supreme court tomorrow seven cases, to be heard as one. in which the con stitutionality of the corporation tax feature of the Payne-Aldrich tariff law is attacked. It was intimated tonight that the cases might not be heard before the middle of the week. There are three other similar cases before the court.
 One of those set for hearing today is known as the Vermont case. It makes q more comprehensive attack upon the law than any of the others.
 The decision in the Vermont case it is declared. will affect q great ma jority of the corporations in the Unit ed States. Mrs. Stella P Flint. of Windsor. Vt. instituted proceedings in the federal circuit court in Yer mont, as general guardian of the prop erty of Samuel N. Stone Jr, a minor. against the Stone-Tracy com pany, a general retail mercantile cor poration of Windsor, Vt. Part Of the property of the minor consists of shares in this corporation. It was sought to enjoin the corporation from making a return of its net income, as required by the corporation tax pro- vision. and from paying the tax. if levied The Vermont court ordered the bill dismissed.
 The case has reached the court in record-breaking time. An injunction was sought in the United States court for Vermont. a demurrer filed the same day and at once sustained and the case was hurried to Washington within two days of the time it was filed.
 The principal objections to the law as urged in this case are as follows:
 First-The tax is a burden upon franchise granted by the state of Yer
 
 and function of sovereignty belonging to the state and never relinquished.
 Second-It is a violation of the fifth amendment to the federal constitution, which protects a citizen against being deprived of property without due pro- cess of law. in that. through the pub licity of its business, the privacy of the corporations affairs will be large ly destroyed and its chief competitor, a general store operating as a partner ship. and all others, will be able to gain an intimate knowledge of the company and it's trade secrets. while no corresponding publicity will be permitted to the corporation. By req son of such unjust advantage the cor poration is dangerously threatened, and will be compelled to surrender it's charter to the state and go into voluntary dissolution.
 Third-Tke tax is unconstitutional because the private property of the corporation will be taken for public use without just compensation and without any compensation whatever, in that it's private books. records, etc, are taken for publication by the col lector of internal revenue and given to the public. The corporation will have no right against unreasonable search to disclose it's trade secrets to competitors.
 Fourth-It is a violation of the tenth amendment to the constitution in that it is a burden and a tax upon and an interference with the power of the state reserved to it to charter and incorporate corporations.
 Fifth-While it is designated in the law as a special excise tax, it is not in reality a special excise tax with respect to carrying on business. but is a direct tax, and is not apportioned among the states according to popu- latiOn. Neither is it uniform, as re- quired by the constitution, because it leaves free, from tax all individuals. firms and partnerships engaged in the same kind of business as corpora tions.