The independent., 1903-11-19
Money and the Taxing Power
BY w. Fl. ASHBY.


ing with nature-attempt to get as
much as they can with the least ex-
Ienditure of energy, and the result is
mental struggle in which each party
attempts to overcome the adverse pos
session of the other.
Now, the struggle against nature
can result in nothing more than
supply of wealth, but the struggle OF
men with each other in exchange can
result in nothing more than the force
of demand-a force comparable to the
force of gravity.
Thus far nothing is known of such
terms as value" money" "coin."
etc. But in every society where vio-
lence is prohibited, there must be
some form of government; and no
government can exist without reven-
ues-in other words, such services and
commodities as are needed in carry
ing on its operations. These must be
secured from the persons subject to
the jurisdiction of that government in
some way or other. Equity forbids
that these services should be taken
from few of these persons, while the
tion must be adopted
Supposing this to be based on the
theory that all should bear the bur-
dens Of taxation IN pre- ortion to their
ability, and that the tax be levied I'm
kind" the indivisibility of many.prod-
ucts precludes an equitable distribu-
tion of the burdens, unless some scale
OF taxable equivalence be adopted.
SuppOsing this scale to assert that one
horse will be accepted as the equiva-
lent OF ten cows one COW for ten
sheep; and one sheep for ten hogs, in
payment of the tithes; then the owner
of horse might liquidate his tax by
rendering the tax collector a COW, or
ten sheep, or hundred hogs. The
logical result of such system would
be that all tax levies be computed in
hogs" regardless Of the character of
the property taxed. The horse owner
would be assessed as if he owned 1000
actual porkers. In other words, the
term "hog" would become tae unit
of taxation" The money" of that
jurisdiction would consist of the word
"hog"-not flesh and blood speci-
men Of the porcine species-and the
numerals.
Now, it is notorious that all .overp-
ments as rule use the services and
commodities necessary to carry on
government operations more rapidly
than the revenues come IN. A deficit
results. Hence, government must
anticipate the revenues" that is, in
duce some of the taxpayers to pay fu-
ture taxes in advance. In return for
this advance of necessary services or
commodities, the government-origin
ally some king or prince or chiefs
sues the taxpayer a receipt which
gives evidence that the holder has al
ready paid his taxes in advance of the
tax levy. Before the days of paper
making, it was natural tnat the king
should impress this receipt" upon
some such substance as leather or
metal.
This is the origin of "coin," as Cap
tain Ashby reasons it out. That "re-
| ceipt" for future taxes is coin The
act of issuing it is the exercise of that
royal prerogative, "the power to coin
| money" And the power to coin
money" in plain English, is simply
the power to anticipate the revenues.
Here Is where the wrong of free"
Coinage comes in: The government
stamps its money symbol upon the
metal of private person without hav-
Ing received from him anything what
ever In return. 1t gives him valua-
BILE receipt" for nothing. But by
statute has made that receipt" the
only thing by which a tax levy or
| judgment can be satisfied. Associate
Editor.)