Reports of the United States Tax Court

MR. CREWE, COURT EXECUTIVE: Ladies and gentlemen, the
dedication ceremony will begin. The Honorable Howard A.
Dawson, Jr., Chief Judge of the United States Tax Court, will
preside.

CHIEF JUDGE DAWSON: Please stand for the presentation of the
colors and the playing of our national anthem.

The invocation will be delivered by Dr. Edward L. R. Elson,
Chaplain of the United States Senate.

INVOCATION

REVEREND ELSON: Let us pray. Almighty God, our Creator, Redeemer and Judge, we thank Thee for this good land which Thou hast given us for our heritage. We thank the Founding Fathers who first received the law of Mount Sinai, and the law of Mount Calvary, and established the Nation's legal system upon the authority of Thy word. Teach the people of this Republic to observe both the laws of God and the laws of the Nation, while rendering to God the things which are God's. May we also follow the Master's injunction to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. May this place and all who serve herein reflect Thy majesty and glory, mindful that both men and nations are ever under Thy sovereignty, and constantly under Thy judgment. Rekindle in the hearts of all people a new awareness of Thy pervading presence, and of Thy coming kingdom. Make us a better people and a better Nation for a better world. In Thy holy name we pray. Amen.

REMARKS AND INTRODUCTIONS BY

HOWARD A. DAWSON, JR.,

CHIEF JUDGE

CHIEF JUDGE DAWSON: Please be seated. Fifty years after its creation by Congress as a national tribunal, the United States Tax Court has its own home. That seems like a long time but history tells us that it took almost 75 years for the Supreme Court of the United States to move from the old Senate Chamber in the Capitol into its own building.

We are indeed very proud and happy to welcome all of you to this magnificent building, created by a truly imaginative architect, Victor Lundy, in association with Lyles, Bissett, Carlyle and Wolff; built by the George Hyman Construction Company; and furnished and decorated by Hunter-Miller Associates.

In its measured and deliberate progress to this hour, the Tax Court has often travelled a circuitous route with many halts along the way. The trip began over a quarter of a century ago with former Chief Judges J. Edgar Murdock, Bolon B. Turner, and John W. Kern leading the way. But the strong dream and

hope began when former Chief Judge Norman O. Tietjens appointed our first building committee in 1962. The building project was pursued vigorously by former Chief Judge William M. Drennen in the years that followed.

Now the Tax Court's dream for its home is fulfilled. Congregated, as we are, in this grand hall, with our three beautiful courtrooms suspended above me to the right, and our offices and chambers to my left and in the north and south wings of the building, I recall the remark attributed to Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes when the Supreme Court building was under construction. He said: "I am afraid that we are going to feel like nine old beetles in the Temple of Karnak." The Judges and Commissioners of the Tax Court share that same feeling.

We are honored today by the presence of many good, great, and distinguished people: Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States; Circuit Judges of the United States Courts of Appeals; Judges of the United States Court of Claims; Judges of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals; Judges of the United States District Courts; Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court; distinguished members of the Congress, and members of their professional staffs; officers and members of Bar Associations, particularly the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association; Regional Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service; high officials of many Government departments and agencies, law school deans and tax professors; lawyers; friends; employees and former employees of the Tax Court. I think that just about includes everybody.

It would take far too long for me to introduce each of you individually, and I will not attempt to do so, although all of you are very important to us. I will present only those on the platform and my colleagues on the Tax Court who are seated below. Please withhold any applause until I have completed the introductions. Let me begin by presenting the Honorable Harry A. Blackmun, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court; Congressman Kenneth J. Gray, Chairman of the House Public Works Committee; the Honorable Elbert Tuttle, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and a former General Counsel of the Treasury Department; Mr. James D. Fellers, President of the American Bar Association; Mr. Richard H. Appert, Chairman of the Section of Taxation, American Bar

Association; the Honorable Richard Albrecht, General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury; the Honorable Meade Whitaker, Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service; and Mr. K. Martin Worthy, Past Chairman of the Section of Taxation, American Bar Association, and former Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.

Now, it is my great honor to present to you the Judges and Commissioners of the Tax Court. On the podium, former Chief Judge William M. Drennen and Judge William M. Fay. To my left, Judge Arnold Raum, Judge Bruce M. Forrester, Judge Irene F. Scott, Judge Theodore Tannenwald, Jr., Judge Charles R. Simpson, Judge C. Moxley Featherston, Judge Leo H. Irwin, Judge Samuel B. Sterrett, Judge William H. Quealy, Judge William A. Goffe, Judge Cynthia H. Hall, Judge Darrell D. Wiles, and Judge Richard C. Wilbur. And, to my right, Judge J. Gregory Bruce, Judge Austin Hoyt, former Chief Judge J. Edgar Murdock, former Chief Judge Bolon B. Turner, Judge Craig S. Atkins, Judge Allin H. Pierce, Commissioner Randolph F. Caldwell, Jr., Commissioner James M. Gussis, Commissioner Joseph N. Ingolia, and Commissioner Charles R. Johnston. We regret that former Chief Judge Norman O. Tietjens and Commissioner John H. Sacks were unable to be with us today. We also regret that former Chief Judge Eugene Black, Judge Graydon G. Withey, Judge John E. Mulroney, and Judge Russell E. Train could not be here.

On this occasion, made memorable by the interest displayed by representatives of the tax bar who have come here from every part of the country, we hope that, from this day forward, this building will symbolize the power, the dignity, and the integrity of the judicial branch of our Federal Government. As Harry Truman said: "Justice remains the greatest power on earth, and to that tremendous power alone will we submit.'

Let this building also symbolize our abiding concern for the welfare and interests of all the citizens and taxpayers of this great Nation, whether they be large or small, rich or poor. Let it symbolize the independence of the Tax Court as a judicial body. Let it symbolize the national ideal of justice in our area of activity, the interpretation and application of our Federal tax laws and the adjudication of tax controversies. Let it be the temple where right will forever prevail and where there will always be equal justice under law. And let it serve as a place

where our Judges, our Commissioners and our employees may work in harmony and in happiness in the discharge of their public duties and responsibilities, and where lawyers and litigants alike will always be welcome.

The General Services Administration has supervised the construction of this building. We have with us today Walter A. Meisen, Acting Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, who is substituting for Mr. Arthur F. Sampson, the present Administrator of General Services Administration. The construction engineer on the project is Charles A. Bellam. He has done an outstanding job along with all of the other General Services employees who have contributed to the construction of this building. It is my pleasure to introduce to you the Honorable Walter A. Meisen, who will officially present the building to Judge William M. Fay, Chairman of the Tax Court Building Committee, and to Judge William M. Drennen, Vice Chairman of the Building Committee and former Chief Judge of the Court.

REMARKS OF MR. WALTER A. MEISEN,

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

MR. MEISEN: Congressman Steed, Congressman Gray, Chief Judge Dawson, other distinguished members of the judiciary, and guests: I am very pleased to be here representing the Administrator of GSA because I think that it is a very appropriate occasion that we dedicate the new United States Tax Court Building. As you know, 1974 marked the 50th anniversary of the Tax Court. In 1924, Congress created the Board of Tax Appeals to handle cases arising from the Revenue Act of 1913.

The United States Tax Court has grown and developed over the past 50 years. As a result of its progress and its increasing workload, it was determined that the Tax Court should have its own building rather than continue sharing space with other Federal agencies. In this regard, we at the General Services Administration are proud to be of service to the Court. Two years ago, at the ground breaking ceremony, we pledged that the General Services Administration would complete this building in time for the 50th anniversary. Today's ceremony is proof of the fulfillment of that pledge.

At this point I would like to send Mr. Sampson's personal regards to Judge Drennen. As I was leaving to come to this

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Reports of the United States Tax Court, 63. sējums