Columbia democrat and star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1867, 1866-07-18


| brother, whose leg was shot off while under
orders confscating cotton for his general,
was home sick, helpless, and you were sup
porting him because he was my brother
1t was a sad day, Maggy, when | came
home. I CAME back Door found Mr..
Bond had grown rich. He had contracts -
His brother was in Congress. His uncle Yas
friend of Lincoln's. He made war speeches
filled quotas, gave bountles, and with hls
stay-atshonie neighbors voted big bountles
and escaped all the calls and drafts They
gave town bonds. These bonds ran me In
| debt, for they were mortgages on our little
| farm. They amounted to FIVE hundred dol
| lars Three hundred more than had boun-
ty. I couldn't help It, for while | was in the
army it was easy for those who did not go To-
mortgage my farm in that way.
| / lost an arm. [ earned less than would
at home ] returned-I am now working,
Maggy, to pay myself for going to war, for
losing my arm, to keep Mr.. Bond at home
so that he could play with his wife and babies.
speculate and get political Influence while
I was ighting-not to restore the Union, but
to enrich him.
It's pretty hard, Maggy, don't care 80
much for me, for I'm growing cid, and its
| little account poor man is, dead or alive
| But you, Maggy-you are as dear to me as
Mrs Bond is to him. Your bps are as sweet
to me, your bosom fsas sacred, your eyes are
as deep, your voice is as good to me, your
touch, IS as thrilling as it rests on my tired
! body, your kiss is as welcome to me as Mrs.
Bonds kiss is to him. know we cant wear
broadcloth-nor silks-nor have a clean pair
of undarned stockings every day-nor clean
| white tnderclothes every day. Nor can we
have such soft carpets-ner such costly dish
! es-nor such fine horses-ior such fine
house as Mr.. Bond has. We listen to the
robin-to the canary bird They ride out
with their children-we walk out to the
grave where ours sleep. We drink water
they drink wine.
And, Maggy, your hands are hard with
! toll, but your heart is warmer, and dearer
and truer than think Mrs Bond $ heart Is,
for you never flirt your skirts in the faces of
those who ere still reorer than are we, and
stick up your nose in disdain Of poverty, a5
Mrs. Bond does.
/ didn't enlist to get in an Office when the
war was over. 'Twould have done me no
good if I had, for of course when l went
away, lost the run of public affairs, and was
not fit when | came back-and had no mon
ey to win my election if / had been fit And
so l must work You and L must work.
We must sell our early garden produce-our
fresh butter-eerly ehickens-fresh eggs,
&c, g. for these taxes must be paid. The
tax gatherer does not stop at Mr.. Bonds.
He owns nothing but UnitedsStates Bonds.
They are green bills with red figures on them
like the green fields with the blood [ lost
from my arm spattered and spilled thereon.
He has a hundred thousand dollars worth of
these bonds. He bought them with the mon
ey he made out of the war. And there arc
no taxes to be paid on them. You and /,
| Maggy, with our little earnings and raisings
with our old horse and wagon-by work
| +ha hac av,4
using the poorest pay all the taxes. We
pay the interest on the town bonds-and We
must pay the principal when the time comes.
We must build the roads.
We must build the bridges.
We must erect school-houses.
We must pay the town officers.
Mr.. Bond, the Bond Holder, pays moth
ing. The government protects .him-but It
can't protect the poor, one armed farmer who
fought to save the Union.
E 1t can't protect the poor men of the land,
as it did in Democratic days
The Bond Holder takes his ease He pays
no taxes, for Congress says he need not. So
he goes to the bank and swaps off his cou-
pons for greenbacks, and the government
pays the bank back for what it paid out, and
pays it for the trouble, It's better to be a
dog than poor man-that is poor white
man The poor black folks are fed, and it is
you aud l, Maggy, who feed them-not the
Bond Holder As if the poor white men of
America were not Of more consequence than
the niggers who were freed that the white
men might be slaves How / wish the good
old Democratic times would co1fe again,
when the rich Bond Holder wotild not be
fastened upon poor people tor support. SO
much for Republican blessings to the pee
pie !
There is Cfie man-one editor in the coun-
try who thinks as you and do, Maggy /
wish every editor in the country thought so.
| wish all the papers of the country would
say with you and ], Maggy, that it is wrong
to favor herich and doppress the poor. There
is one man in the country who dares talk
boldly, as he does, when he says that it is
cowardly, wicked, unjust and damnable to
build up a Bondocracy at the expense of la
bor 1t is cowardly to send-to hire-to
drive-to entice poor men to war-to buy,
barter and traffic on their poverty and their
wants-to send them to the harvest of death,
and while they are gone steal from them
what they had-to bring them back slaves,
bound in debt. Call you this equality2 Is
this the realization of the promise of Liberty
gave? Is this what we gain by forsakng
Democracy and building up an accursed Re-
publicanism which grinds the life out of poor
men! Oh, it is a shame-a di>grace-an in
suit to white men-a dishonor to the soldiers
of the Unions burning bitter wrong to the
poor white women of America, that the only
true patriots should be, by aRepublican Con
gress, made the toiling slaves of a cowardly
Bond holding aristocracy who dance, and
ride. and sing, and dress in fashion on the
blood and sweat of toiling millions. Oh,
would that some man would dare lead the
way to remedy for this damnable disease,
for the hardy sons of toll viii not long be
slaves-God never gave to white coward
the right to grow rich from and supported
by the earnings of those whose only crime is
poverty. Give US equal taxation or repudi-
alton!