The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-07-19
A COMPARISON.
Minnesota is Plundered Worse
than Turkey.


claSSlned thus: 1.) One-tenth OF all
crops and fruits; 2.) four per cent of
the rental value of houses and lands;
81 five per cent on every transfer;
A. an annual cattle tax of 32 pence
on every sheep and q pence on every
goat. The taxes are vigorously col
lected.-St. Louis Globe-Democrat
To this it may be added that the
pachaS not only collect these taxes
once, but whenever the porte gets
short of money they raid again on
the wretched farmers, pocketing the
largest share themselves. It would
be improving for Donnelly and other
populist farmers to seek relief from
the robbery and slavery and imposi-
tiOn which they say is worse in our
country than anywhere else on the
globe and proceed to the Ottoman
empire and get taste of the genu-
inc article.-Minneapolis Tribune.
That is bad showing for. Turkey.
But let us see how it is in Minnesota:
***
"1D One-tenth of all crops and
fruits" Il
Does anyone doubt that between
the Wheat Ring and the Cattle Ring
more than one-tenth of all crops is
taken from the farmers. Last fall
the Wheat Ring stole from 30 to 40
cents off every bushel of wheat,
which, instead of being 10 per cent
of the crop was nearly so per cent
"The Big Four of Chicago broke
down the price of cattle one-half in
three years.
Turkey is nowhere compared with
these robberies!
"2.) Four per cent of the rental
value of lands"
According to the United States
census of 1890 the total mortgage
real estate debt of the state of Min
nesota was $l97, ,745, ,9S9, bearing inter-
est at 10 per cent on the average, or
$19,774,5 1913 annually-or taoenty millions
taken o,t Of the state each gear; besides
this there is the interest on chattel
mortgages and unsecured indebted
ness, amounting certainly to half as
much more: in round numbers, say
$3O,OOOOOO year, and this divided
among the 100000 voters of the state
makes the average burden of inter-
est for each voter $125.5O!
Now the total valuation of all lands
and town lots in this state, according
to the Blue Book, for the year 1890
was 1924 ,657 PA; 9nd on these there
are mortgages for $197, 745, ,9S9; or
within $S6,9l1, ,225!!!
The rate of four per cent taken in
Turkey would make, on all the lots
and lands in this state, a total of but
$5,3S6, ,2SS, while the amount really
collected is ten per cent, or nearly
twenty millions
Blessed republican party. You are
harder on this free people than =" the
unspeakable Turk" is on his subjects.
"3) Five per cent on every trans
fer. A. An annual cattle tax of 80
pence on every sheep and q pence on
every goat. The taxes are vigorously
collected"
Pshaw! That's nothing. Our tax
es are hundred times more than
that-paid to the nation, the state,
the county, the township, the school
district. And vigorously collected?"
Why our supreme court held, in the
Chauncey-Wass case, that after man
had paid his taxes, and had the re-
ceipt in his pocket. another man
could take his farm, his home away
from him, for the non-paymento of the
very taxes he had paid! Why the
Turk never thought of such Oppres-
sion as that. If he had, Mahomet
would have gotten up out of his grave
and beaten his brains out with his
shin bone.
x*x
And then superadd to all this,
the demonetization of silver, reduc-
ing all property values-as the high
est authorities in this country and in
Europe agree-from 25 to 80 per cent!
And then add to that the proposed
repeal of the Sherman act, advocat-
ed by the whole democratic and re-
publican daily press Of the country,
which will make silver worth about
twenty-five cents on the dollar, and
reduce ali other values accordingly.
Talk about black slavery! Why, it
wasn't a circumstance to the white
slavery the plutocrats are preparing
for the people of this country and of
the whole world. And what are you
going to do to defend yourselves?
There is but one resource. You must
rally around the peoples party of this
nation with it's million of votes and
it's fourteen hundred weekly papers.
You must 60 out on the highways,
like Cassandra, and shrek your
prophecy into the ears Of the igno-