72 - PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



could not prosperwithout the enjoyment of perfect liberty and perfect jus- 

 tice," said Adam Smith, "there is not in the world a nation which could 

 ever have prospered." But we should none the less seek to attain per- 

 fect liberty and perfect justice. 



THE JXST THEORY, DrRECT TAXATION. 



In endeavoring then to lay down a theory of American taxation, I find 

 nothing so just in theorj- as direct taxation. All other methods seem sub- 

 terfuges, attempts to take the money of the people without letting them 

 know it. It is little to the credit of the constituency that they themselves 

 encourage indirectness and punish common honesty and directness in 

 their representative, in the imposition of taxation. But I know no better 

 mea.sure of a man's ability to contribute to the purposes of government 

 than the amount of his property ; and whilst I would not demand the im- 

 mediate abolition of other forms of taxation, but rather perfect them, still 

 Ifeel that the ultimate method should be the direct and impartial assess- 

 ment of every property owner according to his wealth. 



" EXCEPT THESE BONDS," 



some holder of 5-20's may say, just so long as it will necessarily take our 

 government to replace them with an issue that shall be taxable like other 

 property, as these forms of securities are in other countries. Why make a 

 special privileged class of the holders of our national securities and then 

 insist on retaining them? Are our government bonds so undesirable that 

 the privilege of no taxation must be forever offered to capitalists, to induce 

 them to invest in them ? 



The practical difficulties in the way of assessing personal property, it 

 must be admitted, are immense and constitute the chief objection to direct 

 taxation. But in a great part of the United States no due care is taken to 

 ensure correctness. The office of assessor is degraded and regarded as of 

 second-rate importance, when we come to nominate candidates. Yet it is 

 an office judicial in its character, dealing with the grave question of taking 

 private property for public use, and should be filled by men of character 

 and influence, sitting as a court rather than traveling as an enrolling 

 officer. The assessment proper should be made by three such men, rather 

 than one, so as to secure a more intelligent and equalized estimate of 

 values. No due care, so far as I know, is taken to ensure publicity of as- 

 sessments so that each man may readily know how much his neighbor has 

 been assessed. This should be done, I believe, to the extent of publishing 

 the lists ot every township and ward. The whole work of assessing need 

 not be done so frequently but certainly can, without material change, be 

 done a great deal better. 



TAXATION OF INCOMES .AND RECEIPTS. 



In case we depart from the idea of taxation according to values, then 

 taxation according to income or receipts seems most equitable. Railroad 

 companies, street railway companies, gas and water companies, banks, in- 

 surance companies, etc., could be taxed on their receipts, not so equitably 



