Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-02-06
Communicated.

curing the superintendent of census
to ascertain what percentage of the
people owned their farms. the number
of farms under mortgage and amount
Why are our millionaires in congress
opposed to such measure? Are they
afraid that the knowledge of indebted
ness would open the eyes of the people?
Macaulay said: 1.-The slavery in which
a debtor suffers, is the hardest OF all.''
The increase of national wealth shall
parade before the world in the report
of the census, but at the same time
| nobody shall know the Indebtedness OF
| our farms to the now ruling plutocracy.
The German Reichstag denied the
same question in the census report
some years ago, but Austria has
statistics about it, and the farmers get
| help.
1 inquired at the recorders Cf1ice how
| many mortgages on real estate We're
| cancelled since harvest time, and how
many sheriffs sales took place since.
The answer was mortgages cancelled.
| 3S sheriffs sales executed. If there are
no bidders at a sheriffS sale the
mortgage company makes nominal
| bid of say 5000 and she owns the land,
and if the mortgage was $1,000 still
| there remains for the mortgage yet Il
| debt of $500 and costs, although the
farm may be worth twice the amount
of debt. This debt hangs on the debtor
all his life, on his otherwise honest
name.
| Surely there is something wrong III
our statutes, and that is class le5is-
lation. Money and rent most always
brings its price, labor must always be
the looser. Tariff, taxes, interest and
freight runs the farmer and with the
independent farmer dies the farm
| So was the Assyrian farmer annihilated,
so will the middle European, and in the
course of time, the American farmer
by our landsharks and foreign. syndi-
Gates. To avoid the repetition OF this
| downfall of empires, we must learn by
| the history of the past; we must first
know the cause OF the evil; before Ee
can apply the remedy for it and such
a diagnosis would give us a census
report of Indebtedness and the cure
| would be the proper legislative en-
actmentS.
We ought to take lesson fron the
French revolution and inquire as to
the cause of it. Men like Necker,
Malesherbes saw in the future, but
their far seeing good intentions were
disregarded by the ruling and pos
sessing classes, the king himself was
too weak and undecided. The hatred
of the suffering classes grew worse
against the upper classes. who saved
themselves possessions and prerogatives
out of the medieval age and did live on
high style and luxury without paying
any of the burdens of the state. Noble
men and hierarchy refused, as their
right, taxes, hence a constant deficit in
the treasury of the state and finally
the revolution and the declaration OF
human right. The bourgeOisie. OF
/ GUlIu CdSt, CdHuC VIII LuCtI ~
the help of the state and asked for con-
| sideration hold of the government by
| representation. This created the
| third class, money power or plutocratic,
the now ruling all over power. the
whole civilized world, who uses their
power in the legislation to their benefit.
Tariff, taxes, trusts, mOnOpOlies, syndi-
Gates and other combinations are the
result of their ruling. Power, wealth,
luxury on one side, Misrepresentation
poverty and misery on the other side:
fortunes are free from taxation, or at
least escape it, while the small estates
are taxed to their full extent; instead of
direct taxation on income and III
heritence, we have indirect taxes by a
high tariff, which improverisEes the
people always more. Every tariff is
/ wrong, where the laborer has not a
just percentage, fixed by law, OF
the protected manufacturer. When the
third cast were in power the property
of the priesthood and noblemen was
confiscated and used for the benefit OF
the state. not to speak of the flow OF
blood The working classes all over the
civilized world belong to the fourth
cast now asking admittauce in the legis-
lative bodies and ask thereby hearing
of their complaints. The strikes are
La necessary offspring of a hungry
class, farmers alliances, trades and
labor unions, socialists. ask now for a
hearing by our legislation and if they
will not be heard the revolution is tile
next sequel and the fourth cast will be
the ruling power. and let us hope, that
they will not use it for robbery and
murder as the third cast did when they
overpowered the first cast
i Legislation in favor of one class
will not do for any length of time and
i retaliation viii sure take place some
4 time, or other. Aene tekel uphdrsim.
i DR. KLCBER.