Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-03-21
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
THE PEOPLES "suPERe coNDl.
TION.'

A few months ago Mr.. Chauucey NJ
Depew, while hobnobbing with other
nabobs in Europe, publicly declared that
the condition Of the American people i,
superb" From the standpoint of 9
| money king who knows little and cares
less about the real condition of affairs
in this country, it doubtless looks that
! way. Such men never probe below the
surface of society and try to find out how
| people live, what are their resources,
their prospects. their opportunities,
| their struggles for existence. With the
railroad kings, the Wall street gamblers,
and the great land monopolists, the con-
dition is generally superb" But how is
it with the toiling, struggling millions?
Let us, for example, consider the condi-
ton of the poorer classes, in the larger
cities of the United States. / mean
those who are honest, sober, and will
ing to work for a living. Mr.. Depew
must know. or he ought to know, that
ten or a dozen of our larger cities
contain hundreds of thousands of such
persons who live from hand to mouth,
and are constantly struggling with all
their might to keep starvation ut bay,
and whose best efforts bring results
only sufficient to prevent them from
becoming absolute paupers. The New
York Tribune says that in crowded dis
tricts of that overcrowdcd metropolis
hundreds of human beings are slowly
dying from lack of sufficient nours,hing
food. The Sun says that 10000 work.
ing women in that city are trying to
exist on wages so small that they will
in all proba blity be driven by necessity
to crime or lives of shame. In the tene-
Iii frief IN
the square mile are crowded into tene-
mcnts and compelled to exist in condi-
tons that are not conducive to physical |
health. moral culture nor intellectual |
development. In every one of our large
cities and in most of the smaller ones,
who have labor to sell find
the labor market glutted. In a land of
plenty there is want; in a land of in
dustry there is enforced idleness: in a
land of prosperity there is misery; in a
land of glittering wealth there is pinch
ing poverty: in land of boastful free
dom there is abject slavery. And es-
pccialIy marked are these contrasts in
our large cities.
And what is the condition of the
very numerous class, and n
class whose interests are ct the bottom
If all nationcl prosperity? y few facts
md statistics, gathered from trust
worthy sources. will tend to indicate
he superb condition" of the American
armers.
The Bankers Magazine is authority
or the statement that the farm mort
RACES of Kansas amount to S235. 900, 900;
hose of Indiana, S64O. 900, 900; of Iowa,
'567 200, 900; of Michigan, 500. 900, 600:
# Ohio, 81. 431 900, 600. At 6 per cent,
zoo, 900, 600 would be required TO pay ;
he interest on these mortgages. as the ,
otal in the five States is 81, 43l. ZOO, 900.
sy little figuring l find that this ,
rand total of mortgage indie btedness on ,
arm property in only five States exceeds !,
" 81 $40 900. 900 the entire national ,
ebt, principal and interest, as ,
eported at the close of the fiscal year ,
nding the 30th of last June. What a .
superb condition." and what glori- .
us outlook for the farmers of those
tatcs. And their circumstances are a
air sample OF what prevails in nearly
IL the ether agricultural States. Sta !
istics of the agricultural bureau of =
illinois show a decrease in the value of !
arms and farm property in that State 8
uring the past year of $4,000, 600. Gov {
rnor Campbell, Ohio, who is a farmer, p,
avs the depreciation OF the same kind :
f property in his State, in the past ten
ears, aggregates $50, 900, 600. The
anth census showed that the Unite., a
tates contained one million and TWEEN
y-five thousand tenant farmers; and ;,
urely the number has increased rather l.
nan decreased since 1850. Hugh Nc :
the great Republican tinan- .
Ter. who was Secretary of the Treas .
nv under two administrations, declares -
, -f while in cities and l.,rt l.,
OWNS are steadily increasing. agricul- :,
Ire has become SO depressed that good ~
arms offer no inducements to tenants :,
hire them at a rental of per cent =,
n one-third of their assessed value. h
An in this connection it is pertinent -.
inquire, who owns and controls most a
the available land which rightfully !,
elongs to all the people? Largely it y,
in the hands of wealthy landlords,
-eedy spectators and grasping syndi
ties. The Schenley estate owns 2.0G0
res within the limits OF Pittsburgh .,
nd Allegheny cities. from which the ~
,irs draw $1,000, 900 rent annually. al
anderbilt owns 2, 600. 600 acres, Murphy, e
California, 1000, 900 equal in area to 6,
C State of Massachusetts,; Disston. of ~
1000. 600; the Standard =,
i Company, 100000, and railroad -
own 210, 600, 900. Then there -,
e 1000, coo owned by foreign noble v,
en-. who are not citizens of the United =,
ates, owe no allegiance to our gov T.,
and spend their money else 81
here. A striking instance of this 10
nd is Lord Scully, of Ireland, who n,
ens according to our laws 90, 600 ~
res of farm lands in Illinois. These -
nds he parcels out to small tenants,
no work like slaves for bare living,
d turn over the bulk of their earn
Us to their foreign landlord, his in
me from that source being $500, 900 io
r annum. In 1860 the producers of 1",