Frostburg mining journal., 1880-08-07
WHOLE NUMBER, 46S.

seek 10 secure the enforcement OF the
laws. United action will be required
and / do not believe this assembly
of representative miners could do
greater good to their calling than to
lay the foundation for a thorough,
prompt and impartial enforcement of
the laws against truck.
l desire before closing to call your
attention to another law on the sub
ject, which, while not touching on
truck, does mort eifsctually touch
upon scrip"
Section 10 of the act Of Congress,
passed February s, 1875, says
"That every person, firm, associa-
tion, State bank or State banking as
sociation, shall pay tax of ten per
centum on the amount of notes Of any
person, firm, association, other than
national bank association, or Of any
corporation, State bank or State
banking association, or Of any town.
city or municipal corporation, used
for circulation and paid out by them"
Section 81 of the same act provides
"That the amount Of such circula-
ting notes and of the tax due thereon
shall be returned and the tax paid at
the same time and in the same man
ner and with like penalties for fail
ure to return and pay the same as
provided by law for the return and
pa Jment of taxes on deposits, capital
and circulation imposed by the exist
ing provisions of internal revenue
law"
Whether the scrip issued by the
coal and iron companies in Ohio cir
culates in the communities in which
it is issued requires no elucidation at
this time. The fact is indisputable.
10 march last ] wrote to the Com
missioner of Internal revenue to as
certain whether the law would apply
to checks issued for wages redeema-
BILE in merchandise, and in reply was
referred to decision or opinion CIV
en- by the Attorney General (Devens)
of the United States, short time be-
fore on the very came question. In
Wisconsin company issued scrip
reading as follows
STATE or WIsooNsIN.
The Knapp, Stout g. Co. Company,
Menomonie,
Will pay the Bearer on Demand
Five Dollars
In merchandise or lumber,
Payable only at the places of business in
Quinn and Barron counties-Wisconsin.
Signed by the Company.
The Attorney General says: "The
enclosures accompanying and refer
red to by you in your communication
establishes the fact that both these
forms of obligation circulate freely
and extensively in the vicinage of
their issue and these subserve all the
uses of money" Again he says:
"When it is considered that many 9TH
er persons and corporations in vari-
Gus sections Of the country are doing
the same thing, the extent to which
these notes are used as currency can
be understood. That these instru-
ments are all "used for circulation"
and as medium Of exchange is fully
proved. X
1T seems clear to me that these
notes come precisely within the lam
guage of the statute indicating what
notes are to be subject to taxation"
While the obligation solvable in
merchandise may not come within the
technical definition of a negotiable
promissory note as given by most
text writer's and courts, yet it is of
frequent occurrence for eminent
judges to speak Of an instrument call
ing for goods to specified value as
note.
"While, therefore, there is more
room for doubt upon this species of
obligation, I think these notes come
so evidently within the mischief in
tended to be remedied by the statute
that | advise an adherence by the
Commissioner of Internal revenue to
the construction subjecting them to
tax should be exacted as it has here
tofore been.
7 have never heard Of the collec-
tors of internal revenue in Ohio COL
lecting tax from the issues of such
scrip, yet here is the law and the de-
cision of the highest legal officer in
the United States. To me it appears
that if thc ",venue collectors done
their whole ty scrip would soon be
squeezed on yt Ohio.
am fnu i the opinion that leg
islation Cal, Z 40 more towards the
abolishmcnt # The system. and its
final exti il depends,
l. On Tie enforcement Of existing