The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-23
SYSTEM OF SMALL
 HOLDINGS IN PERU

failed to irrigate at the appointed time, were punished. An invariable order was observed in the cultivation of the divi- sions. First the areas assigned to ths sun were cultivated, secondly those be- longing to the incapable, orphans, widows, the aged, and the sick, as also the hold ings belonging to persons absent on mli- itary or state service. Then the work CTS attended to their own lands, the neighbors freely assisting each other when necessary. Lastly, the lands which formed the property of the Inca were cul- tvated for the law was that the wei fare of the subject or citizen should in- variably take precedence of that of the sovereign. No one was allowed to buy or sell land, as 1t reverted to the state when ownership failed.
 In addition to his labor on the land each inhabitant was obliged to perform certain amount of work for the state, in the making of roads, bridges, temples, palaces, etc. Taxes were paid partly in labor on the land, as described above, and partly in the manufacture of clothing, shoes, arms and other articles for distr- button by the state to the infirm and incapable and to the soldiery. These ar ticles were made in the provinces where the raw material was obtainable for the law declared it unjust to demand from a taxpayer anything that could not be produced in the locality in which he lived. Begging was considered disgrace full and was prohibited under pain of pun ishment. Every man was required to know how to weave and make his own clothes and to supply his ordinary wants.
 With regard to the produce of the lands of the Sun and the Inca, it is not to be supposed that this was recklessly used by the state or devoted to the aggran- disement of it's -favorites. Great store
 houses and granaries were erected in each district wherein all surplus food products raised and all articles manufactured by way of tribute were stored These stores were drawn upon for the needs of the state under strict surveillance; they were also used in times of stress or famine when the supplies of the people became exhausted. The states control and dis tribution of these goods and supplies were marked by little of the corruption which often attends similar transactions in mod ern times. An instance of favoritism which met with speedy punishment is re- corded In Inca history, when certain superintendent was hanged sbecause he had ordered the land of a relative. a rich chief, to be cultivated before that of a poor widow.
 The laws concerning neighborly av sistance and intercourshe held an ...- portant place in the code. In addition to the system of mutual help between individuals. neighboring villages were obliged to render one another aid in harvesting and building, as Is the prac- l tice today among the descendants of | these people, the Cholos of the Andes | As to neighborly intercourse, 1t was enacted that the people of each locality | should meet and feast together every l few weeks, so that amity should be l maintained and relaxation afforded
 The work of cultivating the lands be- 1 longing to the Sun and the Inca was l looked upon as most honorable task
 and was carried out with feasting and rejoicing. Many ceremonies. too. at. l tended the various seasons. The tenn. 1 ples were maintained with the great l est reverence and care. and indeed tho l remarkable stores of gold which the Incas possessed at the time of the con quest were largely in the form of dec orations in their places of worship. Il The people, naturally. were not all equal in rank; there were numerous grades of civil distinction and position; and as large armies were maintained and were con
 stantly in the field. military rank was an important social factor. The noble fam lilies consisted of those allied to the roya house of the Incas and the heads of con quered tribes. But the great underlying tprinciple of the whole system was the
 recognition that every citizen had right ] to livelihood, and therefore a right tt Ia tangible portion of the land and its I resources. There was no unemployment Every man could receive in exchange fol
 whatever he made other artfcles which ht
 needed. Thus one man might make bread
 and another boots; and boots coull bt
 exchanged foy bread through the govern