“Mr. Ulman pondered this question for some minutes before he replied, as though hesitating to convert his general charges against the Tax Department into a direct personality. But once having made up his mind, the counsellor sailed into the senior member of the Tax Commission--Mr. Thomas L. Feitner--with surprising vigor, handling him without gloves, and winding up with the suggestion of an appeal to Mayor Grant for his dismissal. “‘The fact of the matter is,’ said the counsellor, ‘Mr. Feitner is the entire commission. The two gentlemen associated with him are comparatively new to the department, and are pushed into the background and kept there, by this all-wise Pooh Bah. “‘The Chief Justice and his associates on the bench of the Court of Appeals have had occasion to chide Feitner in their decisions, but Feitner will tell you that the Court of Appeals does not understand tax laws, and that its rulings are not good law. “‘Special capital is his special prey just at this time. Under the laws of New York it must be contributed in money and the amount advertised. This renders Mr. Feitner’s raid upon it a matter of very simple procedure, and he levies his assessments upon it whether the status of the property in which the capital is invested is in Spain, Africa, or New York. Nor does it matter if the money is invested in imported goods in original packages, although, by the constitution of the country, such goods are removed from the jurisdiction of the State’s taxing powers. “‘But this does not trouble Feitner. He puts his assessments upon capital so invested, compelling the owner to submit to a taxation of from ten to fifteen per cent. of his money or go into court by certiorari and obtain a release at an expense of more than the amount of illegal tax. “‘If Mayor Grant desires an equitable and proper administration of the Tax Office he will dismiss Mr. Feitner and appoint a man to fill his place who, to say the least, has a knowledge of commerce, the needs of business, and can understand the plainly written law when he reads it. “‘There is another point in this matter which furnishes food for reflection--namely, the very small number of persons in this city who are assessed for taxation--less than thirteen thousand out of a taxable population of nearly one hundred thousand.’”