The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1878-07-18

thizers desire the cessation Of legal
lied stealing, gifts of bonds, squander-
ing the public domains, and score of
dew ices whereby men get enormous
wealth without earning it. The
tramp is the cast-of servant of rep
rehensible manufacturer, or capitalist,
more often willing to work but not
finding remunerativa labor, and needs
to be cared for as ward of good
government American communism
is the legitimate result of the insatia-
BILE greed of those who became enor-
mously rich out of our unfortunate
civil war and its entailcd degradation
and venality. The misdeeds of this
class, and their confreres, are SO nu-
merous that the people seem to weary
at the very enumeration, and recital
of them.
OF the first magnitude is the buying
and inveigling the peoples represent
atives into special legislation, where
by few become extravagantly rich at
the direct expense OF the public. Our
Congress gave the two chief roads of
the State lands worth from sixty to
hundred and sixty thousand dollars
mile, beside n subsidy in government
credit, and now they charge us from
two TO eight hundred per cent. for
freights and fares in excess of roads of
other States, and our own special rep
resentatives have not been able to re-
duce them to legitimate rates in all
these years. They receive railroad
pass and save themselves an aggre-
gate of, mayhap, hundred thousand
dollars, while we pay the bill at a cost
of probably two millions, and yet,
knowing all this, we cannot concen-
trate sense and energy enough to over
come it. By the time our petty re-
sentiments are cancelled aud our boy
like vaporings about party are over,
the roads are secure from change.
These acts raise storm of just indig-
nation, but each man cools his ardor
by individual denunciation. Unfor-
tunately there is no concentration of
action and organization in the defense,
while mathematical rule obtains in
the assault. Could the total public
understand and act in concert, redress
would be swift and certain. We can
afford to spend money as State this
winter and try titles with these roads.
What itemized facts have we tax
payers of Kansas for complaint and re- |
redress? 1t is past dispute that much |
of the money loaned in this State pays |
no taxes here, being claimed to be
owned out of the State. Put it down
on your schedule TO demand of your
coming Legislature just and equita-
BILE law concerning ali moneys loaned |
here, and let them pay their share of |
taxes.
The greatest misfortune Of Kansas
has been borrowing money on mort
cages at such rates as to preclude the
probability of any considerable num-
Der of them ever being paid.
l firmly believe our lands to be
worth only one-half as much to-day
on this account alone. In my observa-
tons it has brought more disaster
than all other combined mishaps.
The space Of newspaper article
forbids more than few passing sug-
gestions but, learn one thing 1t has
long been demonstrated that there is
peril in borrowing at over to 10 per
cent, according to locality.
You have already had an excellent
newspaper article concerning uniform
lty and cost of school books. Don't
forget it: there's hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars loss or gam in it, as
YOU will.
Let rich and poor bear their legiti-
mate burdens before an eq nal and just
aw, and it will be long ere commun-
sm will plague us in Kansae.
WUITFHORN