The independent., 1903-07-09
Money and the Taxing Power
BY w. II. ASHBY,

ment, in his efforts at dominion,
plow which will wear out in ten years,
and then ceases to be; while the US
urer's implement, coin, is jast as new
and efficient at the end of ten years
as at the time of the loan.
The average life of horse is said
to be twelve years. To be of any
benefit to his owner, that owner must
Join his own toll to that of the horse;
otherwise, the horse Is worthless. Be-
sides, the owner of the horse Is COM
PEELED to incur the burden and the ex-
pense Of caring for the health, and
providing food, shelter, harness, shoes,
ETC., for him-all involving greater or
less care and outlay. And when all
has been done, the life of horse is
only about twelve years; while the
usurer's loan of coin renewS its youth
and lives forever.
The tendency of usury is to with
draw men from engaging in the pro-
ouction. preservation and distribution
Of useful things, thus to that extent
1etarding progress.
Another objection to it is its essen
tlal inequity and unfairness. No US
ury can be collected without the aid
OF the laws and courts. If, therefore,
lending at usury gives to the relative
ly rich an advantage over the relative
ly poor, it is because the laws to that
extent help the relatively rich against
the relatively poor.
None but the relatively rich can en-
gage in the business of lending for
usury. 1t is only one who has sur
plus of wealth which he can store up
and invest in coin, who can lend for
usury. 1t is simply brutal effrontery
to say, as the defenders of usury and
of national banks do: st is busi
ness open to all; if it is SO profitable,
why don't everybody engage in it,"
The reason is that nobody ca n
engage in lending for usury unless he
is comparatively wealthy and nobody
can set up a national bank without
possessing the required quantity OF
coin; and these conditions, thus Gre
ated, exclude the great mass of man
kind from engaging in the business
as effectually as if the statute empow
cred the rich alone, by name, to do
so. And as both are created and made
profitable by statutes, it is clear that
such legislation is favorable to those
who are relatively rich aud unfav-
orable and injurious to those who
are relatively poor.
1t reminds me Of the banquet pre-
pared by the fox, to which the raven
was invited. There was nothing OF
the banquet but soup in shallow
dish; and the raven, owing to his con-
formation, could get none of it. But
the fox, possessing the appropriate ap-
pliance of tongue, ate it all and, with
& hypocritical pretense of fairness and
of mock politeness, pressed the help
less raven to partake with him of the
banquet! s
1t is simply mockery to speak of
equal opportunities for all to profit
from lending at usury; and without
the aid of statutes and courts, usury
cannot be collected. The needy, who
constitute the victims of usurers of
the world, have no opportunity to
lend, because they have nothing to
lend and are compelled to borrow
because tax levies and judgments re--
quire coin; and coin is accessible
to no one unless he is the owner of
gold.
1t is asserted by the brazen, but IL
logical, defenders of usury that it is
the wealthy who pay the bulk of the
usury. They speak OF the great meT-
cantiie, manufacturing and transporta-
ton companies as constituting the
principal borrowers upon usury.
In the first place, it is not true that
these companies are the principal
borrowers. Add together the small
but innumerable sums borrowed by
the vast multitude of the needy, not
to engage in speculation or productive
enterprise, but to meet tax levies and
judgments or claims threatening to
become judgments, or to meet their
daily wants, secured by notes signed
by trusting friends, or by real estate
or chattel mortgages, or by pledg-
ing of valuables to pawnbrokers, and
1t far exceeds at any given time all
sums borrowed for business purposes
by the great establishments.
Continued Next Week.)
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