Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“In 1862, Abraham Lincoln doubted his authority to free slaves held in the Confederate states by executive order (the Emancipation Proclamation), and, according to then-congressman George W. Julian of Indiana, ‘used to liken the case to that of the boy who, when asked how many legs his calf would have if he called its tail a leg, replied, ‘Five, ‘to which the prompt response was made that calling the tail a leg would not make it a leg.’ That line, usually quoted using a dog rather than a calf, comes to mind for me every April as millions of Americans arrive at line 37 of the standard US federal income tax return form, the 1040: ‘This is the amount you owe.’ Calling a demand for payment a debt doesn’t make it one.” (04/12/25)