1869 November 19 Letter to W. H. Hooper

Title

1869 November 19 Letter to W. H. Hooper

Description

Brigham asks for Hooper's counsel concerning the aggressive actions of an IRS assessor towards tithing and the Zion's Cooperative.

Type

Correspondence
Financial/Legal
Government/Legislature

Sender

Brigham Young

Recipient

W. H. Hooper

Date

1869 November 19

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Number of Pages

2

Subject

Publications
Government
Tithing
Legal Matters

 

Salt Lake City, U. T.
November 19. 1869.

Hon. W. H. Hooper, M. C.

Dear Bro:-

I received your telegram of the 17th inst. announcing your safe arrival at Omaha, & had it published in the "Evening News," for the satisfaction of your numerous friends. 

A letter just received from Gen. T. L. Kane has the following:-- "I will expect the pleasure of being interviewed by your son. Let Mr. Hooper also see me." You will doubtless call on him early.

I wish to call your attention to the agressive measures of the assessor of internal revenue, Mr. Taggart. I am credibly informed, though from a private source, that he assesses the Tithing for the current year at $40.000.00 & now awaits instructions from the Commissioner at Washington previous to making the collection. Again,-- he has entered suit before the District Court against "Zion's Wholesale Co-operative Institution", charging fraud, because they issue orders (under the value of ten dollars) without revenue stamp. As you are aware, it has been, invariably, the practice of the Institution to stamp all orders of ten dollars value, or upwards but Taggart professes to have a ruling of the Commissioner that all <their> orders, irrespective of their value, must be stamped.

We would be pleased to have you ascertain whether such a ruling is legal, also, to what an extent Taggart is acting by authority from the department.

His course is not only highly objectionable to the citizens. but inimical to the interest of the department & unless he desists from his present arbitrary course, we will petition for his immediate removal from office.

We shall look for your answer with considerable interest.

Your brother in the Gospel
Brigham Young