The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-01-27
Look Beyond the PIow.
Essay read at West Grove Farmers
Club, January 81, $780,

plow, that he may straighten the crooks,
anticipate distractions. The good hus-
bandman looks beyond and above his
harrow and his cultivator, that he may
make timely note of the difficulties that
surround his business, or seize upon adj
vantages that lead to profit and success.
In my younger days. when we led our
mowers into the field of ripened grain to
lay out portion for the days harvesting
we opened swath, straight and true, by
ever and anon raising our eyes to fixed
object at the other side of the field. The
man who goes through life with eyes al
ways bent upon the ground, will make
many blunders and stumble into many
pitfalls We have duties as men, duties
society and of our churches, and last but
not least, we have duties as citizens of a
great republican government. And each
and all these duties are becoming more
and more multfarious and exacting, and
require greater intelligence and manhood
to meet them The demand today is for
individual responsibility and individuality
of purpose and effort 1t is a true saying
chat in union there is strength" but a
weak, leaning upon union, will be ener-
waiting and be a menace to liberty and
progress. Some burdens and many
duties must be self borne and cannot be
cast upon the shoulders of our churches,
of our parties or our party caucus
Look at our representatives at Harris
burg this week Are they veritable rep
resentatives, or are they men herded like
sheep in pens, guarded by the bosses? A
regular Punch and Judy show, where the
gyrating Punch may one day show Quay's
face to the people, and the next day
Magee's face, but always the same old
Punch and the same old string pulled by
the bosses.
The whole disreputable mess of party
caucuses, party machines, party bosses
and Punch and Judy shows should be
cast to the dogs, and the people by an
intelligent, untrammeled vote elect their
Senators direct
Again let us look beyond the pillow and
see if our class-we farmers and the com-
mon people, are equitably taxed. Two
thirds Of the common taxes are upon our
farms and other foruls of real estate, and
Attorney General Mccormick, in a late
report says, that many corporations are as
much as ten years in arrears in their
taxes and other sources of taxation are
escaping wherever they can.
With the farmers tax is fixed debt,
whose payment is as certain as the COM
ing day. On our little property here the
taxes amount to the butt end of one hun
bred and fifty dollars, which is about
equivalent to 5000 dollar lien against
orr property. and no probable reduction
in rates of taxation in view. The late
revenue taxation, or war tax as it is
called, is very serious increase to our
burdens in this line. 1t is tax largely
paid by the producing classes. Take
Adams Express Co. for instance. They
boast of their patriotism, and cover their
offices with American flags, but quietly
dump every cent Of the revenue taxation
upon the producers and shippers, and no
matter how low the price or how small
the profits on our flowers, or our mush-
rooms, or our dairy products, these great
corporations never change their rates in
our favor. Then look at our Banks.
The war tax levied upon the checks and
discounts of these institutions was surely
intended to be paid by them instead of
the poor devil, who is forced by circum-
stances to use these banks for loans and
accommodation. And let me say right
here that the rate of discount is too high
for the times No farmer can pay E
per cent discount for the use of money to
buy a COW, to make 20 cent butter under
conditions such as exist at present Our
legislature should change the legal rate
Of interest at once to per cent and then
the Banks would make more money than
any legitimate business in the country.
And yet the Banks want more privileges
and more power, which trust they may
never have My friends it is true beyond
peradventure that the producing and con-
suming classes of our people pay the
taxes, while the people who are accumu-
lating the money of the country, pay
comparatively little.
Let me read you partial list of some
of the great trusts and combines whose
enormous incomes should be paying,
under judicious income tax law, large
part of the tax burdens now borne by the
common people. There are twenty five
in this list.
The Standard Oil Trnst S1OOOOOOOO
New York Gas Companies 900
Federal Steel 2O,OOOOOO
Carnagie Company 100000
The aggregate earnings, or rather takings, of
these twenty-five freebooting concerns in the
year 1898 was 1927 100000. The second list is made
up of ifty-two millionaires. The five leading
ones are
J. d. Rockefeller $4,000 600
Cornelius Vanderbilt 20,0OOO goo
X. Vanderbilt 2O,0OO0OO
Russell Sage 100000
Hetty Green 100000
The next is a select list ofthe big Industrials"
Their accumulations in the unrivaled year OF
prosperity, 1898, are; -
Railways of the United States Si00OOO,OOO
National and State Banks 3O0OO0,0O0
street Railways 2O0OOO000
Oil Companies outside ofNew York l50OOO,OOO