Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1889-03-06
"OUR INDUSTRIES" /"
DANDY JIM

communicated
-HT- Editor BY your permission
l VIII say a few words through Your
valuable paper on the above Caption.
1t - IL reply to Il very misleading
article IN last issue OF the Democrat
and Register by D B. II. In ap-
pearance and spirit the article re
ferred TO Is clever, but very hurtful
IN It's tendency. i recent writer
said that ''the business has COTTON
the start of the American farmer
4 more truthful saying would be
that business has never got started
at all with the farmer. He looks at
everything with distorted vision.
He makes every subject crooked, if
Ee can regardless of his own inter
est And with this peculiarity, If he
can't look NJ a straight thing IN a
crooked way he won't look at it at al.
The article IN question illustrates
what 1 have said. As not everybody
reads the Democrat, 1 viii be more
explicit than would seem necessary.
The writer states his syllogism IN the
following way. There Is such
thing As cEippling an industry by
taxing It. Peach growing Is an in
dustry- Here Is a monster axe to
grind regular savage tomahawk
OF an axe. The writer goes on and
speaks of this industry rs a grand
industry, "A boom to our county,
&c, that Is meant that 1t paws.
These men are leaving OFF farming
wheat. oats, &c, because they can
from ten acres IN peaches, realize
more profit than the best hundred
acre farm IN the county. A better
syllogism for the writer would be
this: Whatever don't pay ought to
be taxed Farming wheat don't
pay. Therefore the wheat farms
only of the county ought TO be taxed.
l infer from what he SAYS that not
only ought peach orchards not to be
taxed, but every body ought to have
a bounty for every tree he sets out.
Thus YOU see that ne would favor
law that would tax non paving farms
to bear all the burden and IN addition
tar them TO raise money TO make those
pay Sfiii better that are already paying
lreH. This is the very principle Of
trusts, monopolies and corporations
What n tomahawk, writer saws,
peach crop Is uncertain. Why sir
my dear sir, its the most certain
crop III the cOunty-in price and
quantity. 4 ten acre orchard with
the same attention that n crop Of
corn or wheat gets Is worth from
$500 to $500. This has been proven
twenty times over, vet the writer com
plains and thinks these same orchards
ought not to have been raised above
what they had been assessed and
that was yariously from three dollars
mp to ten dollars an acre-This Is
equal 10 a certain coal corporation |
that took its millions worth of coal /
from a single acre and was assessed I
at ten cents an acre and remonstrat- I
ed when its valuation was TO be .
raised. Ii would have crippled the .
industry If those on the west side /
VIII change their eve glasses things
won't look 50 blue. The famous
Of Thompsontovn hear
ing of this peach assessment remark
eel Its right in law and correct IN
principle But writer appeals to
the commissioners for relief and tries
to shake their bones by holding an
olive branch Of Palestine under their
ewes. am not familiar with the
Of taxation IN Palestine
and therefore confine myself TO my
own Country. l know OF a peach
orchard Of 200 trees that netted the
owner ST00 last wear and he paid
- 16 tax on 1t. 4 wheat farm near
by paid S115 tax and netted the
owner less than $500. VIII the
Commissioners begin 10 equalize by
stiu more upon the unpro-
ductive wheat farms IN the land
Land IN close proximity TO 8iifiiin-
town that costs the owners from $50
10 $500 an acre Is not now intrinsi-
caIly worth $50 per acre No farmer
can average per acre that amount
in corn, wheat, hay or oats And
peaches cannot be grown, the land
being too low. SEll writer would
tax these farms TO RAISE a bounty TO
pav for growing peach trees IN land
where such trees are sure TO weld $40
an acre. Then talk aboat the blues
and yellows. 1t would seem that a
farmer must be very green to get the
blues or yeiio,ES under such extra
ordinary circumstances Can any
thing be more Unbusiness hke-more
crooked c.