The Huttig News

THE CHIEF JUSTICESHIP.

President Taft during the first half of his administration has been called upon to appoint a larger number of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States than any other President in a similar period. In fact, there have been but few Presidents that during an eight years term have filled so many vacancies as have fallen to the lot of President Taft.

The death of Chief Justice Fuller, which occurred during the summer, necessitates the appointment of a chief justice of the supreme court. The outcome of the problems now pressing on that august court will have a tremendous bearing on the industrial and business life of the country. The great trust cases now pending, involving the Standard Oil company, and the Tobacco Trust, have been set down for hearing on January 3, of next year. In addition to this Congress has passed a law imposing a tax of one per cent on the gross receipts of all corporations. It is needless to say that the great trusts of this country, all of which are corporations, particularly, are anxious to see the income tax feature of the tariff bill declared unconstitutional, which will relieve them from paying that tax and thus deprive the government of many millions of annual revenue. Of all the provisions of the iniquitous Payne-Aldrich tariff bill, which is more heavily loaded with trickery, fraud and corruption than any other tariff measure that has ever passed Congress, the income tax provision is the only redeeming feature of the entire bill. In all its provisions its hand falls on the necessities of the poor, save the income tax, which alone falls on the rich.

It is well known that Associate Justice Harlan is heartily in favor of the law for taxing incomes of the wealthy. It is thought that President Taft could clearly show his sincere support of that tax by appointing Associate Justice Harlan to the chief justiceship of the supreme court, who is outspoken in support of an income tax, and indeed it would be the most popular act that President Taft has ever done. Also in appointing two other justices to that court the President can appoint those whose views are well known on that subject. So now, if President Taft is sincerely in favor of a tax on incomes it is entirely in his power to have that law affirmed, which was passed last year. If, on the other hand, the income tax feature of the tariff bill is declared unconstitutional by the supreme court the blame must be laid entirely at the door of President Taft and the country will then know that his alleged support of the income tax was a sham and a deception.