154 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



kept a separate and distinct account of their different transac- 

 tions. Again, if a worker in wood repaired a wheelbarrow worth 

 one dollar, and by so doing added ten cents to its value, the in- 

 creased value was taxable. But if, on the other hand, he repaired 

 a carriage or pianoforte worth five hundred dollars, no tax ac- 

 crued unless the value of the repairs exceeded ten per cent, or 

 fifty dollars. The following absurd case was presented for adju- 

 dication under these statutes : 



A wheelwright repaired a carriage to the extent of eight per 

 cent. The owner then passed it successively to a blacksmith, a 

 painter, and an upholsterer, neither of whom added repairs to 

 the extent of ten per cent, or knew the value of previous repairs 

 or the value of the carriage before it was repaired. The question 

 then was, shall the repairs, however extensive, go untaxed, or 

 shall the owner be taxed ? The construction of the law was, 

 that the tax must be assessed on the manufacturer, or persons re- 

 ceiving pay for the work, and that the owner could not be the 

 manufacturer unless he furnished the materials, in whole or in 

 part, for making the repairs ; and then the further question arose, 

 whether the subject of repair in the shape of the old carriage fur- 

 nished \>^ the owner was a material for making the repair, and 

 thus constituted the owner a manufacturer, and as such liable to 

 taxation. 



In another case the question came up whether the publishers 

 residing in one assessment district and having their books printed 

 and bound by contract in another, were to be regarded as manu- 

 facturers of the books ; or whether the printers and binders who 

 executed the work were to be so regarded and taxed. And in two 

 instances, in two contiguous districts in the State of Massachu- 

 setts, the law was interpreted in both ways, or in one way in one 

 district and another way in another district ; and the parties in- 

 terested submitted rather than incur the trouble and expense of 

 contesting the matter before the courts. 



In fact, it is safe to say that no more complicated and absurd 

 questions have ever seriously occupied the minds of educated 

 men since the discussions of the schoolmen in the eleventh and 

 twelfth centuries (as, for example, as to how many angels could 

 stand at once on the point of a fine needle), than were evolved 

 from the tax system of the United States during and for some 

 time after the war period. 



We have said that the people of the United States submitted 

 to such a system. They did more. For such was the fervor of 

 patriotism and the determination to push the war to a successful 

 issue, that they rejoiced in it ; and during the continuance of hos- 

 tilities there was no movement or protest against the system which 

 found any notable response among the masses. The country was 



