The independent., 1903-05-28
BOOK 2.-Chapter III.
All Rights Reserved.

1t is the first essential of all gov
ernments. The duty paramount OF
every person owing allegiance to
government is to pay taxes for It's
support. This duty lies deeper, it -
said, than laws; deeper than constl--
tutions, and is imbedded in the frame
work of our present state. The cltl-
zen must pay tax ievies. The law if;i
poses that necessity, and bases ltse'l
upon the bedrock of fundamental
necessity. The law also fixes and de-
termines the specific articles in which
those tax levies must be paid. When
citizen in the case supposed pre-
sents one of those certificates, he does
not by that act pay a tax levy; ne
simply presents that which the law
has declared to be conclusive PROOF
that the bearer had alre d y
paid in advance the quantity
of taxable value named in the certi-
ficate. And in the case supposed the
certificate would state nothing but
the truth. The bearer had either giy
en- the quantity of value expressed dl-
rectly to the government, or else had
given it in exchange to some one
else who had done so. Its presenta-
tion was by law made conclusive PROOF
that any tax levy against the bearer
had been paid, to the extent expressed
upon the face of the certificate.
On account of the power to perform
urgent beneficial service for men. with
which the certificates were thus en-
dowed by law, we have seen already
that men would voluntarily give ben
eficial service or commodities endowed
with power to perform such services.
in exchange for the certificates-mere-
ly as convenient storage OF perish
able wealth.
1t was also pointed out that where
all taxes are paid in the SPECIFIC ar
ticles taxed, implying the b Sc n ce
of co n, all claims between citizens,
whether arising out of contracts or
torts, would be discharged by the de-
livery of the same class OF articles
taxed, when agreed upon between
the parties, if the claim arose out OF
contract; and in articles subject to
taxation and capable of satisfying tax
levies, at the price at which they were
taxable, if the claim arose out Of a
tort.
In ether words, where taxes are ex-
clusi ely paid in the same articles that
are taxed, those taxable articles would
necessarily themselves pass cumbrous-
ly from hand to hand in payments and
exchanges in the same way that
;rb nac
and at the prices at which they were
able to pay tax levies.
1t is easy to see, then, how one per-
son who had possession of surplus
certificate, expressing the quantity of
value for which cow would be re-
ceived in satisfaction of a tax levy,
and who desired to pay another person
an obligation requiring a COW
to satisfy it, or who desired to obtain
possession of some other commodity
of an equal quantity of value, might
! for his own convenience, voluntarily
offer the certificate in payment of thai
| obligation, or in exchange for the
commodity sought, instead of offering
the COW.
| IL HI SuCu Case lie OluGI patty
would agree to his proposition, the
obligation would be thus discharged
or the exchange effected. Such a
transaction, like every other payment
1 before judgment, and like every other
1 exchange, would rest upon the agree
ment of the parties in each particula,
case. end would be purely voluntary
pCe tba nortifinato
Government officials, meantime
would observe that such certificates
were being sought for as safe stor
age and investment for surplus perish
able wealth, and were being voluntar
lily received in payment of obligation.
and in exchange for commodities en-
dowed with utility. Government
have never been slow or backward il
pushing their own interests. There il
among all governments resistless i'm
pulse which drives them to exceet
their revenues, and this results in
. perpetual deficit" universal whereve
governments have existed anon!
men.
The invariable result has Away
been perpetual flow of those certifi
Gates, issued and given in exchang
, for the services and commodities re
, ouired in governmental operations
!. And history shows that by slow de
: grees the laws have been manipulate