Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-06-29
ENFORCE THE LAW

The Duluth Herald of Friday,
June %, contained an editorial
on the lodging of federal income
taxes by Banker Charles E.
Mitchell of New York, headed,
when the Law is an ASS Ire
concluding sentence reads thus:
1.-The law is silly and should be
repealed" The Herald is play
ing with the interests that would
like to have all income taxes re-
pealed and in place of this have
general sales taXes-the tax that
hits all of the consuming public.
But read the Herald editorial
which follows:
Charles f. Mitchell, until lately
an eminent banker, was greatly re-
lieved, so greatly relieved that it sug-
gests great fear, when the jury ac-
Quilted him of beating the govern
ment out of more than eight hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars in
income taxes.
"Mr. Mitchell, it seems, wiped off
his income tax by registering loss
on his stock in his own bank great
enough to balance the tax due. He
accomplished this by selling the stock
to his wife. The government claimed
that she did not have the money to
buy it with, and anyway that it was
up as collateral and couldn't be sold
that way So the government said
that it was a fake sale and fraudu-
lent income tax deduction. The stock
was bought back from Mrs. Mitchell
later on at the same price.
There was a similar sale to a man
in another year, and there was an
item of S666, 666.67 paid to him by his
bank which he did not report as in
come. He accounted for that by say
ing that it was only a helpful ad-
vance which was to be repaid. Though
at last accounts it had not been re-
paid.
1.-The jury, after celebrating TWEEN
ty-four hours, denied all of the gov
ernment's charges, held that all OF
the Mitchell acts were legitimate, and
acquitted him. That's why he was
so greatly relieved yesterday. But
anybody would be. An acquittal beats
a prison sentence all hollow.
''As to the rights of these proceed.
ings, the jury heard all of the evi.
dence and should be in a position tt
know.
But as to the folly of keeping q
law under which men of large in.
comes can escape taxes so easily, that
is so palpable that it does not neeG
a jury to convict the law of stupidity
That law kept the boom going until il
blew up because profiteers wouldn't
sell because of the capital gains tai
they would have to pay. And ther
when the boom blew up they sold Sc
curities and recorded losses enough
TO offset their taxes, and got off scot
free. The law is silly and should be
repealed"
The law may need some tight
ening up here and there to catch
the tax dodgers but reading the
Duluth Herald editorial-no other
evidence is necessary-one would
gather that Charles E. Mitchell
is plain out and out crook, a
man who does not want to pay his
just dues to the government, and
man who will stoop to some
mighty small tricks to avoid pay
ing the federal income tax. One
would also gather from reading
the editorial that the jury was
either inundated, ignorant or
asleep.
Trainers of the federal income
TAX law were right in making al
1owances for capital losses-that
is no more than fair and just
but it was not meant to be taken
advantage of and to be played
with by crooks. If allowances or
deductions for capital losses was
not embodied in the law you would
hear much more of a howl from
those who are against this eQuit-
able system of tax gathering.
Their voices would then ascend
to the skies against injustices of
the law, but now that there is
an outstanding example Of a
wealthy man taking undue adj
vantage of the fairness of the
law and beating the government,
opponents of the income tax try
to laugh it out of court and ask
for it's repeal.
The fact Of the matter is that
much more is collected through
the federal income tax and the
Ioxu &C. IL