Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-02-12
What made the people SO poor ASKED

AcioO W Pcly Cuc Icnt, ludb tuc greedy lduU.
lords may live in ease and luxury in some
foreign city, where he cannot see or hear
of the misery he causes While the thrifty
farmers, like neighbor Jones, who have
their own homes, must pay their own law
full taxes and portion for my Lord San
ders beside"
"Why man how do you make that outs"
asked the duke. "Your neighbor has i'm
proved his lands, while Lord Sanders has
not, that makes the difference"
"That is just where the injustice comes
in. If Lord Sanders had to pay taxes on
that naked land and not on the improve
ments, he would soon be willing to sell
some of his hundred thousand acres. But
while he can shirk out of the taxes and re-
ceives a good rent, he will not sell any of
his broad fields, though offered five times
their real value"
You are rather hard on the land
owner" said the duke. eff you could
carry your theory into practice you would
make fine mess of the finances of your
country. 1t might benefit the small farm
ers, but it would be hard on the landlords
who hold large estates.'
"Well, sir, we would be willing they
should suffer little. They have bled the
people long enough. Beside, the lands of
this country were intended for the many
not for the few. l would like to see the
man who owns the lands live on them and
use them himself, and not have the power
to grind the life out of the unfortunate
man who has not been blessed with rich
relations, fat offices or lucky opportunities,
by which he can buy or steal titles to lands
that God made free as the air we breathe,
for all to enjoy and use, not to monopolize
and abuse"
''Then you would make null and void all
titles to lands?" asked the duke.
Gas means Of wealth and speculation ]
would, but not as means of life. I be-
lieve laws should be made, by which titles
to lands would be granted for use and &C.
cupation only. And that all taxes should
be levied on land values, but nothing on
improvements. Why, as it is now, there
is a premium offered to the man who can
hold the most land and make the least i'm
provements. AS it is now, if you build q
house you are taxed for it. If you plant a
tree or shrub, or do anything to add beau
ty to your home, you must pay for the lux
ury in additional taxes. Lords Sanders
knows how that is. He will not even put
coat of paint on that old shanty or dig a
well for fear of his taxes being heavier"
"Are there many of your opinion in this
settlements" asked the duke.
eyes, sir, nearly all the tenants and
farmers generally believe as I do. But we
tenants are not free to vote as we please.
We must follow an unprincipled agent
and vote with him or be evicted. Talk
about freedom and progress! We are not
free, but we belong to class of serfs and
slaves. We are slaves of the foreign land.
lord all because he has been allowed to in.
vest his wealth in American soil. But it
| will not always be So" said the man with
warmth. ''TheSe foreign landlords he
continued, 'think they are riding an ass.
but they may yet find the beast to be an
enraged tigress instead. They cannot bind
us body and soul forever. The Farmers
Alliance clubs that meet in almost every
county in this state and in the United
States are putting new thoughts into OuI
heads and new impulses into our hearts
which inspire us with new hopes. If we
only unite in our efforts we will yet crush
out this great land monopoly and defeat
the foreign landlords. The Alliance sends
good reading into the tenants homes and
children viii learn that the greatest crime
of the nineteenth century is this alien
iandlordism! I say God bless the Farm
er's Alliance! And may he send US wise
law-givers so that just laws shall be enact
ed and fairly administered and human
equality enjoyed. We want government
OF the people, by the people and for the
people! Then we can defeat tyranny at
home and abroad.
I'VE have no need to import 1andlordsl
They are of no more use to us than pack
OF wolves in a flock of sheep. They pro-
duce nothing. They do not even spend
the money they obtain from US in this
country, but it goes to England or some
other foreign nation. Why, Lord Sanders
makes his boast that he receives from his
tenants in America two hundred thousand
dollars every year. Good day, gentlemen,
L must go on with my work." said the
man, starting for the field with his team
and cultivator.
We visited five other tenant families
that were living on Lord Sanders estate.
One was an Irishman, When the duke
asked him if he liked living in America,
he said:
"Och, and it's bad luck to me that I liver
came to America at all! for | am under
the self-same old master as I was in Ire
land! woe be to him! He evicted me
theren'
what do you mean?" / asked.
"Lord Sanders had hundreds of us
turned out at once, like pigs in stye; ye
see he wanted the land for CATTLE But we
made him sick of it, and he sold his land
there and bought here. Bad luck to himl
And Pm one of his tenants again I left
Ireland and came to free America to get
me a. homen'
Every tenant we visited was discomfort
ed and eager for change. But they did
not dare to leave for fear they would not
find another place as good Hard as it
seemed and discontinued as they were,
they all realized that there were plenty of
ouiier inen waiting 10 get even CHANCE ou
place. Nearly all were hopeful that
times would sometime be better, and that
they could then make something for them
selves. Some even thought that a law
might be made, whereby my lord would
be forced to sell his lands, and then they
expected a chance to purchase. They
needed the stimulus of hope Want and
encouragement was visible in every home
we visited. The shanties and cabins were
as clean as possible, yet the one ROOM
summer and winter, must hold the whole
family, whether few or many These
shanties We're always cheap, rough and
implanted. They were uniformly exposed
to the chilling winds of winter or the broil
ing sun, without the kindly shelter of tree
or shrub.
AS we left the little settlement, with on
~ a few farmers who had any show of
comfort said:
II see the same conditions here that we
have in Ireland, except that here we find
intnllig gent DeOnla who make an effort tc