The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-04-28


is the real taxpayer; those who take
his $4,000 in exchange for other ser
vices and commodities are finally the
tax bearers. So with any other SER
vices or commodities used in main
tanning government.
Now, suppose that for all services
and commodities furnished the gov
eminent, those so furnishing them
1 were given paper receipts stating the
quantity of value delivered. Suppose
these receipts are good in hands of
bearer, transferable, and are empow-
cred by law as the only thing which
will be accepted in court of law in
cancellation of judgment, or by the
tax collector in cancellation of tax
lewis any man foolish enough to
believe that the original recipients
would have any difficulty disposing of
them to other persons in exchange fol
services or commodities?
1t would make no difference whe-
ther they were printed upon paper,
leather, gold or silver-there would be
an unlimited demand for them, tc-
cause every man is subject to taxa
ton In some form or other and may
be subject to court judgment. And
this is the essence of scientific money.
There could be no interest collected
upon the issue of money under such a
system; yet there would be nothing
to prevent one person from borrowing
from another and paying interest, If
he could not exchange commodities or
Iseryices for what he might need at
the time.
Under our present system. every
gold coin is a living lie, because the
original recipient rendered no SER
Twice whatever to the government and
furnished government no commodity
for it's use-except the substance upon
which to print it's fat and this ne
carried away with him. Every dollar
coined and issued by government
should represent an equal amount of
value delivered to government in the
form of services or commodities for
! its use-and this is not the case under
free" coinage Of gold or any other
substance. %ss
| Under our present system, too, So
called national banks are permitted
to coin their own debts and circulate
them as money-not complete money,
not full legal TENDER it is true, but
serving the purpose of money. 1t is
needless to add that not dollar OF
national bank notes ever gets into CIR
culation unless some person borrows
Lit and pays interest upon it. And
when. we consider that these notes
are predicated upon United States
bonds, payable in gold coin, and held
and owned by the national bankers it
is not difficult to see that the bank
ing fraternity has mortgage upon
every gold coin also and that none of
them can get into circulation without
the usury string attached.
This is the interest that the pro-
ducers of wealth must abolish. With
its abolition there will be no need of
so-called "usury" laws, because there
will be little need of borrowing; but
there will doubtless always be some.
The system Is not as complete now
as the banking fraternity wishes.
The "greenbacks cause some trou-
bic: the silver dollars cause some;
but II is now sufficiently complete to
justify the statement that practically
every dollar which gets into the circu-
latlon Is mortgaged several times
over. and the wealth producers are
compelled to pay tribute before they
can get TO use II.
The free" coinage OF silver would
not have solved the problem. II was
a. t..4