Evening star., 1924-10-26
INCOME TAX OF CIVIL VAR DAYS
RECALLED BY PRESENT FUROR
Congress Debated and Finally Recalled Legislation
Which Permitted ''ObnoriOus Publica.
tom of Business of Citisens

vided that the list of incomes in the
Office of the assessor and collector shall
be open to the inspection of the pubic,
but neither the assessor nor collector
shall furnish such list or any portion
thereof for publication. nor permit the
same to be copied for publication.
Garfield Defends Views.
Representative Garfield, defending his
amendment, said: Zone feature Of the
internal revenue law which has made 1t
very odious. indeed, in many parts of the
country, and perhaps justly SO. Is that
provision under which the business OF
every man has been dragged into pubic
view through the newspapers. This mas
very much disturbed the relations OF
business men toward each other. 1t mas
subjected mems affairs to what no man
would willingly consent. We all know
that the reason why in the present law
facilities were afforded for the publica-
ton of these lists was the apprehension
that there might otherwise be in many
cases a failure to make the proper re-
turn of income. But sir, 1t is believed
that the same object can be secured ny
providing that these lists shall be open
to the inspection of the public SO that
any man who desires to ascertain what
income return his neighbor has made
can have access to the list. but that the
list shall not be furnished systematically
for publication, and be paraded in the
press simply to gratify public curiosity.
Representative Trice of Iowa OBJ
jected to the afnendment. declaring
that revenues were increased by pub
lication of returns, that "if a man
makes a fair and honest return he
has no objection to its being made
known while ''if he does not make
fair and honest return, then every
body ought to know it,"
Humor in Debate.
Laughter was provoked in the
House by Representative Hale, who
remarked: 1T strikes me there are
two classes of honest men who may
have objection to the publication in
the newspapers of their incomes
the one class being those who have
large incomes and the other those
who have not"
Representative Morrill,. admitting
there was mo question that the pub
lication of these lists has a tendency
to increase the revenue" was opposed
to publication of returns. 1T is an
inconvenience" he reported. land
causes a great deal of complaint, not
only among the wealthy, but among
those who have moderate incomes
lf man has been doing disastrous
business either in mercantile or
manufacturing line, he does not quite
like to have the fact Immediately
published to the world. If. on the
contrary, he has been doing a very
prosperous business, he does not like
to have that fact published, because
it might lead to serious competition >
Along the same line of thought.
Representative Garfield held forth
this way: Suppose n man has had
serious losses during the year, SO
that his income would be smaller than
people expect it to be- Now, he
would not want TO let that be known
SO as to alarm his creditors and bring
them all down upon him when other
wise he would come out safely.
There is no reason in the world
unless the public interests require
that the private affairs OF indi, iduals
should be brought out and paraded in
the public papers"
Amendment Passes.
Following this debate, and when
several minor amendments 10 Repre-
sentative Garfield's amendment had
been lost, the vote was recorded as
follows: "The committee divided, and
the tellers reported-ayes st. noes not
agreed to-"
The Civil War income tax, though
roundly scored by its opponents and
the source of sharp controversy con-
corning the publication provisions
nevertheless is pointed to by histo-
rians as useful to the struggling Ma
tion in it's late war and postwar
days.
AS a whole the tax was very pro
ductive," according to Dewey, in his
financial history of the United States
collecting n total of s347 100000 in
the period of its operation up to 1873
This first tax on income was au-
thorized August 5, 1861, Dewey ex-
plains, lat a rate OF per cent on the
excess of all incomes above $500 per
annum. This was increased in 1862
and again in 1865, until incomes be-
tween $500 and $4,000 were taxed at
) per cent and above $1,000 at 10 per
cent. AS the immediate war necessi-
ties became less pressing, the limit of
exemption was advanced to 81. 900 and
in 1867 to $4,000. In 1872 the tax was
abolished"