The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-01-17

VIC uatiOus ny Vic Stdu anu ~ VIZ '''-
inequalities nre generally the result OF
lobbyists in congress ard in legisla-
lures. among councilmcn and alder
men. A lobbyist is thing of the devil.
II "a an evil thing and IN evil continual
~. Talk about railroad lobbyists and
trusts and combines lobbying. The
lobbyists for all these things have
never been more indefatigablc, bold and
INSCRIPTIONS than mnny Of the lobby
lists who work and wait about the legis-
lative halls to get appropriations for
school or TO create additional offices
Cor hungry demagogues 10 fill and draw
their pay. Talk to me about economy.
Think of n man who stints his family
On both bread and clothes, who lives
hard and saves all he can. simply that
the tax collector may pick 1t up at the
end of the year. 1t is burlesque on
civil liberty and freedom. and death
blow TO honesty for government of
any sort to burden its people with taxes
and grind them down while the polite
nj economists and philosophers aro
preaching and teaching economy to the
people.
have said II, and stick to IL, that II
the business men and property owners
of the country do not turn their atten-
ton moro to the politics of this country
and do not quit their business on days
of election and vote and work for men
who are wise and true and Just to en-
force the laws of this country and ju-
diciously icgislate for right, the gang
will run things until liquidation will
end in communism and confiscation.
know what / nm talking about. There
are Inorc unpaid taxes to-day at the
closing OF the tax books in Georgia
than in any other period Of the history
of our state. These unpaid taxes will
issue into executions. and many man
this year will have his property sold be-
cause lie Is unable TO raise the money
to pay the burdensomc taxes, and vet in
the midst of these hardest times that
we have ever seen, both nation and state
are running up their appropriations
until the alarming condition OF things
calls for the most heroic resentment
on the part of the people.
Tall, to me about a government by
the people, OF the people and for the
people. 1t is government by Office
holders, of oilicc-holders and for Office
holders. Public trust means public
spells. Feather your own nest and
feather the ncst(of every fellow that
helped put you where you could feather
your own nest. / am not familiar with
taxation in all states. but l declare il TO
be n fact that l know own rs much
property in money value in Kentucky
ms | do in Georgia, and vet the state Of
Kentucky taxes me normally 500. In
Georgia on property that is not yalua-
bic in dollars and cents the taxes are
S265. Why should the state and county
taxes in Georgia be three times as much
as in Kentucky? In Kentucky they
have assessors; in Georgia we give in
and value it. Then talk about immi-
grafton, and the tide setting this way,
and ali that sort of tom-foolerv.
One million six hundred thousand dol
lars tc public schools in Georgia, be-
sides appropriations to the state col
leges, literary and chronological. God
knows l want every boy and girl in this
=
but l believe that no man has the right
to enter his children into free schools
TO he educated by the state unless he
first takes n legal oath that he is not
able to educate them himself. just as
Is the case with poor man when YER
| dict is rendered against him in court in
civil case. He swears that he is not
able TO pay the costs, and he can appeal
to higher courts without the payment of
costs. Make every man school, feed
and clothe his own children il he is
nble to do it, and if he is not able to do
IL let him show his disability with n Ic-
corded oath that such is the case. Ino
more believe in public schools to grad
uate boy or girl in Latin, French, He
brew and Greek than / believe in pub
lie clothing establishments and mllin-
cry shops to dress every hoy and girl in
this country in broadcloth, silks and
satin. We have got more literary men
than we have got places for them to
fill. and you have got more pegs than
you have holes to put them in, and
when you have got more pegs than
holes to put them in some of the pegs
will lie around and rot.
know that every man who has lob
bied for an appropriation, or who has
received the benefits of an appropria-
ton will sheer nt what have said in this
article. If all the pap-suckers and pot
politicians in this country disagree with
me then / know nm right. This much
| know: That hundreds and thousands
of tax-burdcned, taX-ridden people will
say that / nm right. And l do not care
what any man or set of men may say.
| will stand alone in the midst of the
7o,000,000 people of the United States
and speak the honest convictions of my
mind. We havn got to call n halt or
stop this srivcling, whining talk about
economy. l believe in the brains and
backbone of state and nation running
that state and nation. do not believe
that the man who labored and toiled
and accumulated should be left to the
D.,