The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-04-10
(Toledo Blade.)
The Nasby Letters.
BIGLER AND POLLOCK INsTIGATE A MEET
ING TO PROTEST AGAINST HIGH TAXES.


CoNFEDRIT Y ROADS,
witch is in the State NV Kentucky)i
March ~, 1874.
The taxes at the Corners hev bin fer some
years terribly high, and this spring when the
time came to pay em, the people murmured.
We sed it is too bad 10 waste so much mouey
ON taxes when there Is so much hkker In the
land wIch money wood buy; and the nisgers
and others at the Corners ~ieh don't stimu-
late sed IT wuz a pitay that 80 much NV their
shood be taken In taxes Of wleh
they got no good.
Bigler and Pollock, onto whose heads Hte
cusses, ez yaosual, .ook up the cry and ekkoed
il. Ell we'd he'd the sense Nv a yerlin cali
we'd hev dropt IL the moment Joe Blgler
picked il up, tor when did he ever jine us en-
eep. To bring us TO eoniooshin?
But We did ekko Joe's words Bascom In
pertikeler-and undetermined 20 hey meetin
TO consider the question NV taxes, and % as-
certane whether or not We eoodn't redoose
EN- In some way.
And George Washington BaseOm, the IDIOT,
-ssassi~e-A sho wood " heal thc nan, xud tne
taller candies 10 lite it; thus fnrnNhln the
whip with wieh " scurge hisselL
We met at early eandle-litin, aad l wuz
made chairman Nv course. l stated TO the
meetin that taxes had risen 70 pint that
cfushcd rs~.-f s~t- --y~-ls-sa.-s - sAey Good
not be lessened should be compelled 10 qsss
the Corners
THANK Heyinr' involuntarily ejaekelaled
Deekin Pogram.
''Not that pay any taxis myself, but they
so grind the eitisens ez to make keepin me a
serious matter.
Aud continyood by invitin any one TO say
wat they he'd to say.
Bascom arose and remarkt that tax,s he'd
got 10 rooinous pint, and be pledged hisseif
to yoose all possible diligence 10 assertaiDin
the coz NV the high taxis. aud unrelentin Wig
gelance in rootin out the coz when be he'd
found it. He moved the adopshen Nv the fol-
lerin resolo0shen:
Resolved, That it is the sense NV this meetin that
the increase. year by year, taxashiou in the Cor
ners hez bin so great to eggscite the most serious
alarm, and that We pledge ourselves to yoose all pos
with.
The resolooshen was yoonanimously car
ried.
Then Joe Bgler rose, with Pollock behind
him, eggin him on and supportin him.
Joe remarkt that he he'd notid the regler
increase NV taxis each year with alarm, and
he he'd made some notes. feelin that he Good
show how it wuz.
And the cuss pulled out Nv his brest pocket
a lot Nv papers.
''Here, sed he, sT hev figered up-me and
Pollock-wat the county pOorhouse costs us,
and find it's terrible. Six thousand dollars
is the sum totle. Doorin the yeer, old Spig-
gins hez bin taken there, and his wife and his
ideot daughter, for Spiggins spent all his lime
and money at the bar Nv our esteemed friend
Bascom till he got to be SO demoralized ez to
be incapable Nv pervidin tor hisself. Then
Thompson's wife and children are there too.
Thompson, yoo will remember, got drunk one
mite at Bascom's and fell off the bridge on
I, &. ovxl n 1Al ThA.,
there's the Huggins children and Sammy
Smiths children, all Nv em provided for by
taxation. Let's see," sed this disturber,
s'Bascom, 700 hev Smiths forty akers, hev'nt
yoop
Then Pollock he riz.
don't agree with Mr.. Bigler," sed this ho-
ry-headed deceever, ''in ascrbin the high
taxes to our public charities. Nv course the
poorhouse costs money, bnt that is only a
small part NV it. Its the criminals that
squeeze us. / hev made a few .fggers wich
will show how il is. lou all know the CIR
cumstances NV the MackentOsh matter. Sam
Mackentosh got drunk at Bascom's, and
went home, and Mrs. Mackentosh not havin
supper ready Samyooel split her head open
with an axe, Sammy wuZ in Jail eighteen
months, wich we he'd to pay for--he wuz tri-
ed three times and finally hung. 1t cost us,
on ruff calkelashun, about six thousand dol
lars to hang Mackentosh, countin from the
time he got drunk at BascOm's, excioosiv NV
the cost Nv berryin his wife and takin keer ol
his children since.
9Th N 700 remember the Magrath trouble.
Sim Magrath and Tim Edison got drunk at
Basccm's."
"Why do yoo perpetooaly refer to our es.
teemed friend Bascom? ?" shriekt /, seein thel
G. w. wuz turnin ez pale ez he Good Il IN.
81 RELY don't mean to offend nobody, Dut
l must be historically kerrect. Sim MagratI
and Tim Edison got drunk at Bascoms, and
from there they went to Aliens place ana
auarrelled with Allen, and sot his parn on
fire. The Judge woodent take into account
the fact they wuz drunk, but sent EN- to the
nanitenshary. which cost us 5000 or $1,000
more. They sed they woodent hev done 1t Ell
they hedn't bin drunk" -
sSThen Sandy johnson who drawd knife on
Pete Larkn and carved him, they wuz both
a drinkn at Bascom's, when
II pertest agin all this kind o. talkp
shrieked Bascom, who by this time seed wal
they wuz drivin at. 81 pertestr'
'IIt won't do, G. W." retorted Bigler, "faz
is fax, and we must hev 'em out. l insist
that our charities do cost more than the Grim
inals, Mr.. Pollock to the contrary nOtwiih
standin. Does Mr.. Pollock remember the
Paddlefords? Old Paddleford wuz allu;
drnkin at Bascom's, then Seth his oldest DO,
got into il, and then Andy, and finally tn,
old woman herself, and the children are all a
the poor house. 1 say"
sWill Mr. Bigler pretend to say that tn,
Paddlefords cost the country ez much ez th
single case of Artemus Jenkins, who, afle
he got drunk at Bascom's, stabbed Absalur
| Parkir'sT'
"Wat did that amount to-" sneered Bger
compared to the cost the country wuz put I
al. 30 l-l. nxs- . h.,
dropped down in fit, and becarle-"
80 bosh," retorted Pollock, 81 insist,
But" l sed hastily, ''all onr taxes ,1na AN
for criminals and paupers, is they! 'ao'
A about yer roads?' 49,. ro.ds fo
\ "We aint spent a dollar on inc io"u' ~
i six years." retorte Pollock.
''And the skools p