The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-01-01
BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW.

in later wears and in other lands, in
Guiding our own. The methods Of get
ting something for nothing vary In
artistic quality, but the result is al
WAYS the same The object sought is
to do the trick, not only so as to de-
ceive the victim, but to make him feel
a sense Of obligation towards his de-
spoiler. Those old Egyptians were
very raw and brutal in the means they
the fruits of his labor.
In later years the government i'm
posed tax on its members. which, in
itself, was not particularly improper;
but, as is not unfrequent even now,
there was a Joker carefully hidden
away in the statute. The function of
gathering the taxes was farmed out to
certain of the "boys" on a sort of per-
centage basis. OF each $3.50 collected
from the citizen, the tax farmer re-
tanned SO to pay for his ability" and
"enterprise'' in pulling down or land
ing the job! How else could there be
any incentive for him to use the
brains that he had given himself?
However, the world moves and we
have vastly improved on the rude de-
vices of our forefathers, as will ap-
pear from the following illustrations:
Miss Mary Jones is school teacher
and at the end of the month took her
voucher to the county treasurer ex-
pecting to draw her SIS after she had
rendered service to the community.
She was blandly informed that there
was no money, but that she could have
a warrant bearing 8 per cent interest
and that it would be redeemed-some
time. WELL" Mary innocently
thought, papa owes the county SIS
taxes and the county owes me SIS.
will step into the tax collectors office
and turn in my warrant on the taxes
and save the county the interest, while
we will have the tax matter off our
minds Alas, poor little maid! You
little know how the wise ones do bus
mess. She is gravely informed that it
is against the law and that she must
go into the market and buy some
money from the dealers and then come
and pay her taxes. She goes into the
place Of trade and there discovers that
though her warrant bears per cent
interest money and eggs have riz in
price and the money merchants will
give her only $40 in real money"
Even then the chances are about a
hundred to one that the stuff she gets
is not legal tender, but merely an
just as good" in place Of the real thing.
Could anything be more perfectly
idiotic, senseless, unjust and dishonest
than the community refusing to accept
it's own paper in satisfaction Of it's own
obligations when it would save both
money and labor by doing so? The
idiocy and senselessness of the transac-
ton calls for little comment, but the
injustice and dishonesty may not be
so evident.
The first is seen in the fact that it
compels Miss Jones to work nearly two
days longer before she can pay her
fathers taxes on the farm. She has
not even the poor satisfaction Of know
ing that this extra labor inures to the
benefit of the community but is merely
a little graft Of the "tax farmer" The
county has forced her to complete her
tale of bricks while refusing to sup
ply the needful Straw" It robs one
of it's own members of S. and hands
the rebate" over to the money changer
a la Rockefeller! The head of the So
cial family compels the weaker child
to stand and peaceably submit to the
spoliation at the hands Of a stronger
one. In effect the community steals
from a worker and hands the booty