Taft, William Howard, as Twenty-seventh President

Typed letter signed ("Wm H Taft"), 1 page (8 7/8 x 7 in.; 225 x 178 mm) on stationery headed The White House, Washington, Washington, 28 February 1911, to James B. Pearce, Colorado Secretary of State, acknowledging receipt of Colorado's ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment; lightly soiled.

Typed letter signed ("Wm H Taft"), 1 page (8 7/8 x 7 in.; 225 x 178 mm) on stationery headed The White House, Washington, Washington, 28 February 1911, to James B. Pearce, Colorado Secretary of State, acknowledging receipt of Colorado's ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment; lightly soiled.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The President acknowledges receipt of Colorado's ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment permitting a tax on income.

The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of 1894 attempted to impose a federal tax of two percent on incomes over $4,000, and was challenged in federal court. In the case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895) the Supreme Court declared that certain income taxes — taxes on income from property under the 1894 Act — to be unconstitutionally un-apportioned direct taxes.

The Sixteenth Amendment was passed to overrule the effect of Pollock. The resolution proposing the Sixteenth Amendment was passed by the sixty-first Congress and submitted to legislatures of the several states on 12 July 1909. The ratification process took almost the whole term of the Taft administration. Colorado was the twenty-first state to ratify.

Taft writes: "I have received the certified copy of the Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3, ratifying the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, passed by the Legislature of the State of Colorado, and have referred it to the Secretary of State."

This was the first amendment to the Constitution in 41 years. In 1870 the last of the Reconstruction Amendments guaranteed that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. "