The Caucasian. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1874-1875, 1874-05-02

His uncle was a friend of Lincoln's.
He made war speeches-filled quo
tas-gave bounties and with his
stay-at home neighbors, voted big
bountics 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. Ney amounted to FIVE hun
dred dollars. Three hundred more
than / had bounty. I couldn't help
it, for while | was irr army it was
easy for those who did not g" to
mortgage.my farm in that way.
/ lost an arm. l earned less than
/ would at home. returned, l am
now working, Maggy, to pay my
self 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 a po-
litical influence while | was fighting,
not to restore the Union, but to ell
rich him.
It's pretty hard, Maggy. T don't
care SO much for me for Pm grow
ing Old, and it's little account poor
man is, dead Or alive. But you,
HIaggie-you are as dear to me as
Mrs. Bond is to him. Your lips
are as sweet to me, your bosom as
sacred, your eyes are as deep, your
voice is as good to me, your touch
is as thrilling as itrests Oh my tired
body, your kiss is.as welcome to me
as Miro Bonds kiss is to him. l
know we can't wear broadcloch nor
sitjls, nor have a clean pair Of un-
darned stockings every day, nor
clean white un,lerclotl,es every day.
Nor can we have such soft csc'pets,
nor such costly dishes, nor such a
fine house as Mr.. Bond has. We
listen to the robin, they to the can
ARK bird. They ride out with their
we walk ont to the grave
where ours sleep. We drink water
they drink vine.
And, Masgy, your hands are hard
with toll, but yonr heart is warmer
ana d6arer and truer than [ think
Mrs. Bonds heart is, for you never
fit your skirts in the faces of those
WHO are still poorer than are We
and stick UP your nose i'll disdain
OF poverty, as Mrs. Bond does.
| didn't enlist to get in an Office
when the war was over. Twould
have done me no good if / had, for,
of course, when | was away, l lost
the run of public affairs, and was
not fit when I came back; and ]
came back; and [ had no money to
win my election ifel had been fit.
And so l must work. You -and |
work. We must sell our early gar
den produce, our fresh butter, early
chickens, fresh eggs, SC, for these
taxes must be paid. The tax-gath-
erer does not stop at Mr.. Bond'0
He owns nothing but United States
bonds. @ They are green bills with
red figercs CO thcm---!ike tic green
fields with Ne bloot2L lost from my
arm, spattered and spilled thereon.
He has Il hundred thousand dollars
worth Of these bonds. He bought
them with the aoney he made out
of the war. And there are no tax
es to be paid on them. You aOd |
Maggy. with our little earnings and
raisings, with our old horse and
wagon, by working early and late
aby selling the best and using the
poorest, pay all the taxes. We pay
the interest OH the town bonds, and
we must pay the principal when
the time comes. w
We must build the roads.
3Yemust buildethe jails. o
We fIust build the bridges.
We must eSpct school-hot ses.
We must pay the town officers.
gNr. Bond, the bondholder, pays
nothing. The Government protects
him-but it ca9t project the poor,
ones armed farmer who fought to
save the Union.
It can't protect the poor men OF
the land as it did in Democratic
days.
Tile bondholder takes his ease.
He pays no taxes, for Congress
says he need not. SO he goes to
the bank and swaps off his coupons
for greenbaeks, and the Govern
ment pays the bank back for what
it paid out, and pays it for the
trouble. It's better to be a bond
holder than a soldiers It's better to
be dog than poor man-that is
a poor white man. The poor black
folks are fed. and it is you and +,
Maggy, who feed them, not the
bondholdcr. AS if the poor white
men of A5nerica were not of more
consequence than the niggers who
were freed that the white men