New Britain herald., 1924-12-12
WAR LORDS FORCE
 FARMERS ID PAY
Tilers Of the Soil Are OVer-
 bardeDed With Taxes

Paotingfu. Chihli, China. Dec. 12. - That the Chinese farmer. al- ready taxed to the limit of his ability to pay. is to be called upon to bear the burden of the present punativs expedition. is the conclu- sion forced upon anyone who ana lyses the present situation in North China. Closed schools suggest that educational funds are being d. verted: income from railroads is being seized. and even taxes for flood relief are being borrowed" 10 swell the war coffers, but 1t is plainly to be seen that the farmers who constitute three-fourths of The population, will be made to provide the bulk of the necessary revenues. No income tax. for example, hts been devised by the warlords to compel private fortunes to contri- bute. and it s notable that the patriotism of the private citizen does not prompt him to support the cause of the central government. The warlords are, therefore, driven to invention, and they invent one more atrocity.
 AS always, by the closing of mar kets, interruption of communica- tons and pillaging by soldiers, the farmer Is the sufferer. This year his crops hayes been ruined. He has been hoping for a little relief from the government. perhaps job on dyke financed by the flood relief surtaxes. But the taxes go for the war, and the farmer, when he is least able to do so, is asked to sup port 1t as never before.
 The warlords first move was a gentle one. He proposed to buy crops, but for these he set his own figure which was about half the market price. As the crops came in slowly at this figure each county was asked through its officials to produce a certain amount. Military pressure on the official, official pressure on the farmer. and the trick was done.
 The warlord needed carts, thou sands of them. There were muni- tions to be hauled many miles oyer trainess country. He turned to the farmer. A telegram to the civil of- fcial and the official assessed the county according to its population, anywhere from 100 to 800 carts. Tao county magistrate in turn as- se sed each village, according 10 s,lh, one 70 six carts.
 But the carts were to have ani- nals and the animals drivers. All this was in the military order, but no halt price nor half wage was of- fertd here. The carts, animals and cartcrs were to be produced in any way that would cause expense to the warlords So each village held a meeting to decide how 10 meet the demands. A favorite method with the village elders was to offer a given sum for volunteers. The actual sum paid in some villages is known to have been $200 to induce a volunteer" to go to the front with cart and two animals, and 1t was clearly understood that if cart, ani- mals or driver failed to return the village assumed no responsibility The cost to each village of it's cart outfits Is usually shared proportion- ately by the villagers on the basis of acreage owned.
 But the warlord still Is in need. He wants servants at the front to carry his ammunition and other equip rhent, to cook his food and to load and unload trains, to bury the dead and to perform other menial labors The number of coolies demanded was about equal to the number ol carters. To the credit of the mili' tarists 1t is said that counties badlj hit by the floods have been partially exempted, but the total number o' carts demanded from the province of ChIhli, with It's 12s counties, wal approximately s5,ooo.
 In addition 1t is reported that contribution Of $lo.000.000 in hart silver dollars has been demanded O Chthli province.