The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-04-19


The buri1m n pouuIax comuIainf ii
dis country 8 faxniiou. Ne imaeino our-
eelves burdened % So eayth vifk taxes
Ve left 1hem: W hold fax-eatherers =
pef16 ~ knemfess ~ make tsxntioa -
luus 8 tvery eleo1fpn Ne aro couo( ntIv
devisinx wan and means to reduce tax
stion. L nav help tie public 10 bear IL
burden With mons Of paSience ard eoua-
nimity TO know how Turks coIiecf texes
IA ahlicted Bulgaria. Turkish tyranny
dos moi nltoee(hcr expcnd itself 4, kill
ing. torturing and selling into hopeless
slsvery men, women and children. Tie
tax,gatherer despoils property. ravaees
5GIms, cOnnscates stock, and not only col
Ile11s taxes, but lives upon the people.
The legal TuYkish taxes are enormous,
ard consume largely Of The substance Of
~ poople. and arc 70 pernicious in prin.
49, ~ operation that In this country
~ N06Id raise . revolution. The legal
t1xn nueyoR. NJ. the lightest burdens
III ~ D91Eariale eufEer. The special
taxG5 ~ no arbitrary manner In which
dr. - enfogced arc the weight that Is
cfn1hinG fhese WTetched people. A cor.
respondent ~ u London Times, writing
from Philipporolis, calls attention to these
arbitrary ex1rffons which are periodically
enforced, al which treble the sum Of
legitimate 1a11tIon. During the past
year thu Bulg1fians were reduced to pow
ertY by plumber. lost their crops, and
their industry Mas paralyzed by war, and
yet when the war with Servia broke
out, . war contribution was levied
upon them, ostensibly Of q voluntary
nature. II was voluntary to this ex :
tent, that the rich were allowed to
name such sums as they pleased, but the
poor were compelled 70 pay down one
fourth OF the sum hey annually contrib
ute for direct taxes. In addition to this,
every peasant was forced to furnish his
bullock -carts, without remuneration, for
the transportation Of military stores, and
rarely. If ever. saw his cart or draught-
animal again. When The armistice closed
the war Between Turkey and Servia, ade-
cree for second war contribution was
issued, which ordered that every male
subject Of the Empire above the age Of
fifteen should contribute ten or twenty
piastres, according to his circumstances
Even the villages which suffered during
tie insurrectiOn last May were not ex-
empted, and places that had been subject
ed to complete sack, by regulars and ir-
regulars. were called upon to pay their
part Of their contribution. In addition to
all this, there is form of indirect taxa
ton which is producing equally disastrous
effects. The paper currency which was
issued six months ago has been steadily
depreciating in value, and now stands at
from thirty to thirty-five per cent. dis
count All the officials are paid in this
paper at its nominal value. Many shop
keepers have had to close their places, as
they cannot accept the paper for the price
at which it is offered, and in many places
business is suspended on this account.
Some shopkeepes who refused to take
the money from Turkish officials at its
face value were killed on the spot, but no
punishment was inflicted upon the muir
derers. To Kill Bulgarian involves no
more penalty than the killing Of q fly. These
officials, who are paid in this currency,
fall with rvdoubled rapacity upon the
villagers, and make up its full value by
compulsory contributions. One of the
principal burdens of the Bulgarian peas
ant and the chief cause of his discomfort
Is the practice of the "zaplichs'' or the
ax-cOllectOrs and all other Government