The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-11-10
AS OTHERS SEE US.
ooh wad some power the giftie gle US,
To see ourselves as ithers see u.s."

Burns.
have seen many people in many
lands, but I have always been careful
to have the Stars and Stripes with me
to look upon for inspiration. l have
been profoundly shocked at seeing
gross IT. 1ztice heaped upon the fella
heen of Egypt; but that was not as
pitiful as the abi 9ct way in which they
received their h~ardships, blows and
cuff. I have never seen such magnl-
f1cent wheat and other crops as l saw
in the valley of the God giving Nile;
vet l have never seen q people so miser-
ably housed and fed. In Jerusalem,
Damascus and Constantinople [ have
had TO go to the historic money chan
ger" and buy change, small denomlna
lions of money being so scarce as TO
command a premium. I could not
help wishing that these people could
look at themselves and their country,
particularly their government, through
my American eyes.
When I returned in August, 1898, l
COuAO AO4 RCU -H4I A4SA4OL "a ~ S1S
bank in which I had placed it, although
the bank claimed at that time to be,
and still is, a solvent and highly re-
spectacle institution; and, bless you!
1 had to buy Cpay a premium tor) cur
rency with which to pay duties to the
United States Government! l began
to see that I need not go so far as the
Orient to find imperfection in govern
ment that we have all seen in the past
two years need not be reviewed.
l thought that these distant people
would be benefited if they could be
brought to see themselves as l saw
them. Would it not be as desirable for
us Ito see ourselves as others see us2"
Let us try it for a column or two.
Hon. A. D Willis, Of New Z9aland,
says:
IN travelling through this country
and Canada I am greatly impressed
with your condition The fabulous
wealth of some of your corporations
and citjzans, while almost in the shad-
ows Of their mansions live people who
have not the bare necessities Of life,
are conditions made by Legislation
You made a grave mistake when you
gave so much of your land and other
natural resources to private corporal
ions which have become private mono
poliesand who will drain you wors and
worse every year until the end, which
no man fully knows. We made the
same mistake, bat years ago, through
the teachings Of John Balance, dis
covered it, and now have that mistake
= almost rectiied. Ia our country we
have two parties. viz the Liberals
and the Conservatives. The Liberals
are the class who belle e in legislation
for the beref5 of the poor and letting
the rich take care Of themselves, while
the Conservatives hang around the
van and shout, No! No! You'll ruin
the countryY We have killed the mo
~nopolies, and, therefore, have no cor
ruption in high places; a dishonest act
by a public eff 3er not having been
heard Of for years. The government
owns and operates beth the railroads
and telegraph lines which are run en-
tireIy in the interest of commerce
without profit to any London Or New
York a%ristocrat.
THE land, too, is practically free
from the land monopolist, as we have
a graduated land tax which exempts
homesteads, to a certain number of
acres, from taxation. Every acre,
taxed, and the larger the holding the
higher becomes the rate of taxation,
Ali lands not in use are also taxed, the
government stands ready to buy land
of any character at it's assessed val,
uation. 1t is then cut into homesteads
and sold for the same price to any one
who wants to buy, provided they pay
six per cent. per annum, of which one
per cent. applies to a sinking fund and
pays the entire principle in thirty three
years. The government will always
loan money on real estate to individu
ais to the extent of three ffths of the
valuation Of such real estate at the
rate of five per cent per annun. We
also collect a graduated income tax,
and have given the option to cities to
practice single tax. We have no mo
nopolies, and, better still we have no
paupers. This may seem strange to
you, but nevertheless it is a fact. Il
a man becomes destitute we set him to
work on a five acres of land in one of
the throa tsvillapesn reserved for hat