Weekly New Oregon plain dealer. (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1866-1867, 1866-10-05

lTlcllu VI l1lllCOlll >. ne HlduC wal
spceches-flled quotas, gave boun
ties, and with his stay-at-home
neighbors, voted big bounties, and
escaped all the calls and drafts.
They gave two bonds. These bonds
ran me in debt, for they were mort
cages on our little farm. They
amounted TO five hundred dollars.
Three hundred more than [ had
bounty, I couldn't help it, while
I was in the army it was easy for
those who did not 60 to mortgage
my farm in that way.
I lost or arm. ! In"1~-l ; '-,.,r j T r
7 would at ho,an. fetuf heo-l
am now working, Maggie, to pay my
self 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 |
was fghting-not to restore the
Union, but to enrich him.
It's pretty hard, Maggie. | don't
care so much for me, for I am grow
ing old, and it is little account if a
poor man is dead or alive. But
you, Maggie-you arc as dear to me
as Mrs. Bond is to him. Your lips
are rs sweet to me, your bosam as
sacred, your eyes are as deep, your
voice is as good to me, your touch
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 can't wear broad-cloth-
nor silks-nor have clean pair of
unlarned stockings every day-nor
clean white undcrclothcs every day.
Nor can we have such soft carpets
nor such costly dishes--nor such
fine horses-nor such fine house
as Mr.. Bond has. We listen to the
robin-thcy to the canary bird
They ride out with their children
we walk to the grave where ours
sleep. We drink wat er, and they
drink wine.
And Maggie, your hands are hard
with toll, but your heart is warmer,
and dcarcr and trucr than I think
Mrs. Bonds heart is, for you never
dirty your skirts in,the faces of those
who are still poorer than VIC are,
and stick up your nose in disdain Of
poverty, as Mrs. Bond does.
didn't enlist to get an office when
the war was over. 'Twould have
done me no good if | had, for of
course when | was away [ lost the
run Of public affairs, and was not fit
when came back-ard had no money
to win my election if | had been fit.
And 50 | must work. You and l
must work. We must sell our early
garden producc--our fresh butter
early chickens--frcsh eggs, &C., &C.,
for these taxes must be paid. The
tax gathcror does not stop at Mr..
Bonds. He owns. ---
They are green bills with red fig
ures on them--likc the green fields
with the blood I lost from my arm
spatter and spilled thereon. He
has a hundred thousand dollars worth
of these bonds. He bought them with
the money he made out Of the war.
And there are no taxes to be paid
on them. You and l, Maggie, with
our little earnings and earnings
with cur old horse and wagon--by
early and late--by selling the best
and using the poorest, pay all the
taxes. We pay the interest on the
town bonds and we pay the pri11ci.
pal when the time comes.
We must build tbe roads.
We must build the jails.
We must build the bridges.
! We must build the school-houses.
/ We must pay the town officers.
! Mr., Bond, the Bond Holder,
pays nothing. The government
protects him-but it can't protect
the poor, one-armed farmer who
fought to save the Union.
It can't protect the poor men o
the land, as it did in Democratic
days.
The Bond Holder takes his ease
He pays no taxes, for Congress say
he need not.
So he goes to the bank and swap
his coupons off for grcen.tbacsss, an
the government pays .ire bank bac
for what it Paid ont, and pays
G.. a