The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-07-11

It IL Severely Criticized by an Intelli
gent Farmer.

My only plea 1Or WasCnB Clme anu
money of your readers is because | am
so stupid I must ask for palmer intorma
ton as to the road law, SO recently passed
by "the brainiest legislature ever met in
Florida"
I may just as we'll STATE the causes
which have stirred my plow-brain to this
effort. They are only two, and as they
most alw .ys stir American patriots they
may be looked upon as part of my ex-
cuse.
First and mightiest is Pocket, an elias
tic term covering all ones possessions
Second, an intense desire have to serve
my country for honor, aud, of course,
perquisites.
| Pocket is short word, but so broad
that any Legislature can hit it with shut
eyes, and they certainly do it.
When | sit down to commence to figure
ON road tax, can't figure way up stand
ing. OF course take their limit, IS, be-
cause l know they can't go outside of it
until next time. Well, commence, $S;
why, man, 81 is as big as cart wheel
these times! Eight silver cart wheels! l
ride horse back over two miles Of one
road two times one day of each week.
! will have rubber tires put on my horses
hoofs next week; can't afford to wear out
roads paved with silver cart wheels.
Well, to go back to my figure%$9 for
me. am 81 years old, eight more years
before | arrive at the age Of freedom, As;
eight years time IS makes sG4, then
comes Henry up for ten years, $50; Jack,
fou teen years, $112; total, 1856. Cot
ton, three acres to one bale, one bale at Z
cents, $35; cost to raise, gin, haul, etc.,
500; net balance, Sc Great guns, six
into 2561, AZ bales Of cotton at present
figures to pay our three road taxes; then
come bad seasons, competition from
India, lower prices And yet we three
ought to say thank God it is no worse
Surprising, like neighbor SIS family, we
had all twinned when we we're born, or
our parents had all taken advantage of
the law and benefited the human race by |
new arrival every nine months during |
the past thirty-eight years, am really
too dense to figure it out, but some poor
OWLS will have to. But then, of course
the brainy legi latOrs went into all these |
foolish details before letting it pass But |
hub of this silver wheel will have. The |
national government teaches us that sur
plus is sin We already know sin is |
d ath, therefore it follows that to get rid |
of surplus is life to ones SELF ones |
fri~nds and ones party. But now see |
loop-hole lett for brainy mon and | lust
stumbled into it. If quietly pay g per |
annum and at the end Of my term apply |
to have it refunded on the plea of un- |
sound mind, certainly any jury would or
der it to be refunded but, as refunding |
is mighty Uncertain | will have to try |
the next clause: "A1 MANNED persons |
are exempt" Why, most anyone can
show damaged toe, finger or other
member, and it would be a heap easier
even to shed a joint than to sweat out |
nv part Of forty two bal of cotton, and |
certificate won't cost more than IS,
leaving balance of $61 in my favor No
ctor could justly refuse certificate al
lowing me to keep what l earn. when
they are issuing thousands to draw
money from the ma iOnal treasury in pen
sions to people who have earned very lit
tie if any of it and have no visible hurt
at all. The Cen ury for June quotes from
the Weekly Tribune for July 8, 1890, as
follows: "Half the entire revenue Of the
Federal government is paid to an eight
ieth of the popula ion at the per capita
rate of 224 year in p nsiors. Surely
am not expecting too much to be al
lowed to keep my poor little s8 which
work so hard for? You see l have been
reading up little. The hot sun shining
on my head in the corn field got me to
thinking il was awful hot, and from that
l sort OF dropped on to the idea if l had
bettrr tools / could get through quicker;
then the % per annum road tax set on
poor little c)rn stalk just in front and
paralyzed a couple Of acres Of corn and
l got mad and hotter and just cussed
right out. If tina - brany legislature
hadn't left part Of them behind they
would have encouraged The farmer, gave
h IN chance to live, let his tools be free
from taxes or something and settle up
the country that way instead Of trying to
encourage it by kicking out The immig'a-
ton bureau.
The three mills tax on personal prop
erty was, Of course, a joke If it had
been on real estate it would have struck
the big land owners and outside specula-
tors, whose lands border both sides of
the road and are of no value without the
roads, then the three mill tax would have
brought in some money; but to c elect
off our old pillow stocks, the family COW,
WORKOUT mule or OK, is too funny. Why
they must all be city gents who are not
taxed for the county roads and thought
we cotton pickers owned diamonds, fast
horses and bonds like them. But it looks
queer that most all the land is owned by
the city people and just rented out to the
county people Why, that les them off
from p 'y'ng any tax to keep up the roads
which MAXI their property accessible and
VALUABLE There af certainly snd were brains
low has only muscle and patience. 1t
looks to me that as soon as they got the
$8 business fixed sold on the country
planter they relaxed and joked all over
the bill. For joke the county commits
sioners are to appoint road overseer
whose only duties is to receive list of
names from them, to notify the unlucky |
owners to show up or pay up and bring
their own tools, to report all delinquents |