The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-02-04
RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE.

We had the honor of introducing the
other day the following resolution in the
State Senate:
RESOLVED. That The committee on judiciary
are hereby instructed to report bill to pro
State have been actually unable to pay their
tares through damage from grasshoppers, OF
hailstorms. Or failure Of crops, or high rates OF
TRANSFORMATION, or low prices OF their prodnc- |
tions, or any other cause whatever, that oil m
terest. fines and penalties be rensitted, and |
reasonable time gived wherein to pay the pfln-
cipak sum Of such taxes.
The resolution was voted down by .
vote Of II ayes and q nays.
It seems to us that in this time Of great
pecuniary distress the State should be
satisfied if it receives the principal SUM
of its taxes, without enforcing fines and
penalties. But there are some gentlemen
who seem to think that the great end Of
government is the collection of taxes
and that poor man who caneet pay IS
little better than criminal. We have
known men in our own county who had
to mortgage their homesteds to pay their
taxes: and in the frontier counties we
hear Of others who have had to sell
their last COW for the same purpose.
We have always been taught
that the great end of government was the
happiness of the people; net an overflow
ing public treasury, wrung from the suf-
erings of the people, to be loaned to bank
ers at four per cent. per annum, or to be
souandered in reckless and wasteful leg.
islation.
Minnesota is passing through her dark
est epoch at this time. Taxes should be
reduced to the minimum, and the collec-
ton made as easy to the people as pos.
sible.
: We have hard times, small crops. low
prices, high taxes, and general distress
The counties Of LeSueur, Nicollet, Rem
Vile, Sibley, Mcleod, Wright, Sherburne
Benton, Stearns, Mile Lac, &C.. contain
!, billions Of grasshoppcr eggs, waiting to1
the return offspring to hatch out; there
is every probability that they viii
) when Matched, not only sweep these coun
ties clean as threshing floor, but over
flow into the surrounding counties, ant
$ reduce the wheat crop of Minnesota one
, half. One can only shudder when he con
= templates the condition in which this vii
$ leave the State.
n And now comes the S Paul Pioneer
:, of the 3lst of January. and claims tina
despite the vast sums wrung from tn
people last year underI'the iron.clad ta'
{ law" the State Treasury is now bank
< rupt. 1t says:
5 twill be seen then that at the very bes
IS there is but about $50, 900 Tith rhich to met
:. the demands upon the Treasury. The appro
priation OF s2U, 900 for frontier relief cannot
e paid until the Legislature provides the mean
70 10 get the money, and this cannot be done NTH
out borrowing The amount appropriated &c
frontier relief, if ii is to do any good, should
Y forwarded at once.
We presume the finance committees of tn
d. Senate and House are aware OF this condltio
s. of the Treasury, and are prepared with meas
;, ures TO meet the emergency; but II they ~
not the above suggestions may be worthy
lc their attention. One OF two things Is certain
,e either the railroad companies must pay tn
amounts due from them at once. (which the
N canno, do, or the State must go into tAs mar h
re and borrow money to nasd the SensSnds Qf Il
Treasury.
i. We labored and struggled last wintt
r. to prevent the wasteful and reckless a
.. preparations rushed through the Legisl
d ture by the Republican majority, aad v
n we're denounced for talking too much.
c-l The Pioneer says:
~ The Legislature OF last winter anticipated
: probable receipts of the Treasury and MAJ
Us reneross appropriations, fully covering the r
2; oeipss, thus reducing the dinerent funds to
:. low balance.
:. And now We have the results OF the
!. generous appropriations an Impove
!. ished people, and bankrupt State Urea
urv. Let the State borrow. 1t is bett
e for the State to borrow At seven per Ger
per annum than for The people to borrt
=. at one, two or three per cent. per mont
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