Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-05-02
ANNEXATION.
THE TOPIC STILL A LIVE ONE ON THE


AN1 YIN A12Ek
ISLAND.
IL Cosby Summary of Opinions There
touching the Relations of That Country
and This-Other Notes OF Various Sorts,
A Cuban letter says:
There is the usual clamor here just now
against the prevailing outrageous method
OF assessing property. Real estate and
personal property are often assessed at
more than 100 per cent, and no one can
escape the tax gatherer. As the value of
land has greatly deprecated, many are I'M
able to pay either rent or taxes. Profess
slonal men, too, find 1t very hard to satisfy
the tax gatherer. Professional men and
men IN business are assessed as a BODY
and not as individuals, and in this way the
authorities are able in q measure to control
the several professions and trades. This
explains why there are no American COM
mercial houses here. j..
moreover, taxes once imposed will not
he reduced, no matter what legal stems
may be taken. When taxes are due. a
notice that they must be paid bv a certain
day appears in the Official Gazette. If
they are not paid by then, a large fine is
imposed and If they are not paid within a
few days the property is seized. 1 know
one case whore the tax gatherer followed a
sick creditor into o friends house and by
threats compelled the friend to pay the
taxes due. In the American consulate
here there are records of similar cases, in
which American citizens have appealed for
protection against these extortioners.
One case is that of an unfortunate
dentist, whose taxes for M year amounted
to 1920. The furniture in his house was
seized, but was found to be the property
OF an Englishman, who appealed to the
courts for protection. After spending
much money, he won his case. The tax
gatherer, however, ignored the proceed
ings and attempted to seize the furniture
again. The doors were closed against him,
and a second appeal being made, violent
action is suspended for the present
Ii Annual Assessments
amount to between $25, 900, 900 and $780,.
100000 and yet only about half of this
amount is collected. The Spanish bank
loans the deficit at a high rate of interest
and then farms out these arrears to un-
pr%incipled sharks at a percentage. Arrears
thus collected necessarily involve. a con-
fscation of property.
Accusations Against the Judiciary
Have been very frequent of late. La 1ri-
buna, for instance, openly arraigns one of
the highest officials in the country. "This
man." it says, has served Her Majesty for
six years at a salary varying from 81, 900
to $4,000. To-day he is worth 500, 900.
Through an agent he buys property ex-
tenslvely and secretly. Lawyers help him
and his own name never appears in these
questionable transactions. He was once
publicly charged with selling Justice, and
we do not hesitate to say that a prison cell
would be his reward if he were to demean
himself thus in the United States" Fo,
publishing this article the proprietors OF
La Irabuna were prosecuted and the paper
was suppressed.
Another paper, La Lucha, has also beer
suppressed, because it contained extracts
from a private letter of the late Capt. Gen
Salamanca to the minister of Ultra Mar
Previous to its suppression La Lucia an
nounced that the treasury intended to pre-,
fer charges against the clergy. 1t is al
legged that churches which have only on
priest and one %janitor have been drawing
salaries for three priests. AS the clergy
are very powerful these charges may not be
pressed, and even if a decision should be
given against them it is quite likely that
the court itself would be suppressed by the
government. The supreme court was re-
Gently suppressed because it found a YER
dict in favor of one Prado, who was
charged by the government officials with a
heinous crime. Sanchez Fuentes, presi-
dent of the court, was placed on the re-
tired list, Ramon de Armas was removed
and Valdez Pages was sent to Puerto
Principe to preside over a branch of the
court there. Prado meanwhile had been
rearrested and will be tried again on the
same charge.
The Pan-American Congress-.
The conservative newspapers here are
jubilant over what they term the shipwreck
of the Pan-American congress at Wash
ington, and their New York correspond
ents never fail to attribute the meanest
names to all Americans who nave taken
part in the congress-. These men pay no
heed to that article of the constitution
whiche authorizes the reigning monarch to
separate, cede or exchange any part of
Spanish territory and to incorporate any
other territory with the Spanish kingdom"
According to La Tarde it is perfectly law
full to discuss the expedlency of incorpo-
rating Cuba with the United States, and a
popular petition ought to receive attention
from the king and cortes. Conservatives,
meanwhile, denounce Anglo-Saxons and
the Monroe doctrine, and call loudly for
an Anglo Latin alliance. Opposed to them
are thousands of young Spaniards whom
modeln thought Is irresistibly impelIing
toward liberty and progress.
liberal editors are doing their work
boldly, in spite of arrest and impris-
onment. Many of these arrests are con-
trary to law, and the authorities have been
severely denounced on account of them. A
notable case is that of the editor of La
Itibuna. He has been placed in solitary
confinement, though it is claimed as yet no
charge has been preferred against him.
From all these facts you can infer how
this unfortunate island is governed at
present.