"But
this theory of our government is wholly different from the practical
fact. The fact is that the government, like a highwayman, says to a
man: 'Your money, or your life.' And many, if not most, taxes are paid
under the compulsion of that threat.
The
government does not, indeed, waylay a man in a lonely place, spring
upon him from the roadside, and, holding a pistol to his head, proceed
to rifle his pockets. But the robbery is none the less a robbery on
that account; and it is far more dastardly and shameful.
The
highwayman takes solely upon himself the responsibility, danger, and
crime of his own act. He does not pretend that he has any rightful claim
to your money, or that he intends to use it for your own benefit. He
does not pretend to be anything but a robber.
He
has not acquired impudence enough to profess to be merely a 'protector,'
and that he takes men's money against their will, merely to enable him
to 'protect' those infatuated travellers, who feel perfectly able to
protect themselves, or do not appreciate his peculiar system of protection.
He is too sensible a man to make such professions as these.
Furthermore,
having taken your money, he leaves you, as you wish him to do. He does
not persist in following you on the road, against your will; assuming
to be your rightful 'sovereign,' on account of the 'protection' he affords
you. He does not keep 'protecting' you, by commanding you to bow down
and serve him; by requiring you to do this, and forbidding you to do
that; by robbing you of more money as often as he finds it for his interest
or pleasure to do so; and by branding you as a rebel, a traitor, and
an enemy to your country, and shooting you down without mercy, if you
dispute his authority, or resist his demands.
He
is too much of a gentleman to be guilty of such impostures, and insults,
and villainies as these. In short, he does not, in addition to robbing
you, attempt to make you either his dupe or his slave."
