The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

432 THE FREEMAN Julybe accepted as the cost of thewar, but only if the currency hadenabled the Congress to bring theresources of the country to bearon the war effort. That, however,was emphatically not the case. Onthe contrary, the paper moneyplus the absence of significant taxationtended to disperse the resourcesof the country and theenergies of the people. Congressand the states were continuallyshort of money, whereas the populacehad an abundance. In consequence,the production, transport,trading, and provision ofgoods and services were concentratedon the civilian population,and the armed forces receivedshort shrift.Suppliers Refuse to CooperateIn the later stages of the war,as already noted, the army had toabandon the use of the paper moneysubstantially and turn to directmethods to get goods and services.This was not only an inconvenientand inefficient method of gatheringmaterial but also made peopleresent the army. For example, hereare reports of the situation in Virginiain 1781 - at a time when amajor British army was concentratedthere and Washington wasabout to win his greatest victory.An agent sent to impress transportreported: "I have been muchperplexed, for after having impressedthem, the owners of some,by themselves or others, havetaken, in the nighttime, a wheelor something to render them useless;and I don't recollect any lawto punish them, if it could beproved." The Quartermaster wroteto the war office: "Let me entreat,sir, that something may be doneto draw the people with theirmeans of transportation into theservice willingly. I find them soopposed to every measure that isoppressive that it is almost impossibleto effect anything of consequencethat way. Many of the'teamsters upon the late occasionhave deserted with their wagonsafter throwing their loads out atimproper places...."37Nor were taxes in kind a way toget goods where they were wanted.General Washington wrote to thePresident of Pennsylvania in1782: "A great proportion of thespecific articles have been wastedafter the people have furnishedthem, and the transportation aloneof what has reached the army hasin numberless instances cost morethan the value of the articlesthemselves."38 It is not difficult toexplain why this was so. The commoditieshad been taken withoutreference to a particular need, hadbeen stored where no army mightappear, except by accident, andwere often spoiled when they werewanted. By contrast with this poor