United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Robert Low Bacon

Black and white photograph of Robert Low Bacon on a ship’s deck, resting his left elbow on a secured rope, with a man standing to his left/tiles/collection/1/12891.xml
Photograph reverse with handwriting reading, “Robert L. Bacon, August 1933,” and maker’s information/tiles/collection/1/16914.xml
Black and white photograph of Robert Low Bacon on a ship’s deck, resting his left elbow on a secured rope, with a man standing to his left
Photograph reverse with handwriting reading, “Robert L. Bacon, August 1933,” and maker’s information
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Date

1933-08-00

Maker

Ray Viktorin

Dimensions

5 × 7 in. (12.7 × 17.8 cm)

Accession Number

2008.076.003

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

Robert Low Bacon, who represented a wealthy New York district, was a vocal opponent of tax publicity. After hearings in the 1930s uncovered evidence of widespread tax evasion, the Senate pushed to make tax and salary information public. But as soon as tax publicity became law, public fear surged: By exposing personal and financial information, affluent taxpayers might become the targets of kidnapping or blackmail. Bacon repeatedly urged Congress to make tax and income information confidential. In this photograph, he stands at left on the deck of a boat.

Rights and Reproduction Information

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Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov