Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1931-01-08
, This government has thousands of

his government has CHouSdAuS VI
acres of land that never was
settled. Our county, state and
nation, have thousands of acres
of tax delinquent lands that we
get no taxes from. And why don't
we get taxes from this land? 1t is
because it is non-productive. All
property is non-productive. Property
can be used only as tool with which
to produce wealth, and it is this
wealth after it is turned into cash
that should be taxed according to it's
value. Under this system each man
would pay taxes according to his
earning ability. If that is not just,
what is?
l have read many articles written
by many different men on farm relief
and unemployment, but to my judg-
ment l agree with you Mr.. Petersen,
that the income tax would be the tax
relief and cure for unemployment.
If there was no other tax, only the
income tax, that would be all the re-
| lief that the farmer would ask for.
That system would also be a cure for
unemployment. The people that are
unemployed would settle ON some of
our cheap and tax delinquent lands
and make a good living if they had
no property tax to pay, and the rest
| of the labOrers would have steady
jobs. The income tax system would
also to a great extent eliminate wars,
| for if there was no other but the in
come tax the wealthy people would
pay the greatest part of war expense.
There would be no profit in it for
| them so they would not stand for it.
During the 1928 campaign Mr..
Hoover, now our president, promised
us farm relief, and the relief we got
was that thousands of farmers were
relieved of their farms because they
could not make enough to pay the
taxes, the interest, and living be-
sides. Mr. Hoover also promised to
try and abolish poverty, but thus far
he has failed. The times are much
worse now than they were two years
| ago. The times are worse now for
the laborer, the farmer, and the small
business man than they have ever
been since Grover Cleveland's second
| administration when the unemployed
Coxey's army marched to Washington,
D. c., to ask the president to do some
thing for the people of his country.
1 see that a total of $126,S36,333
was refunded by the treasury during
the last fiscal year to federal income
was given by the heads of our gov
eminent to people who could we'll get
along without it. If that money was
used by the government to improve
our harbors, our deep waterways sys-
tenn, our roads, and public buildings,
and we would not hear quite so much
of unemployment and hard times.
There would be just that much more
money in circulation. Our greatest
national trouble is that we elect mil
| lionaires and their servants to run our
country, and they run it to favor the
rich, In their estimation a poor man is
not man, he is only tool which they
use to create wealth for themselves.
In olden times the people used to
worship the golden calf god, but in
our days the rulers and the lawmak-
ers worship the golden coin god.
Our nation could be likened to a
farmer that has a good pasture to
feed twenty COWS He has but three
COWS and yet he stakes them out on
short chain and when they have
| consumed what grass they can reach
| they go hungry until the farmer gets
time to stake them over again. Our
nation has plenty of gold, food, cloth
ing, machinery, and everything man
needs to live comfortably on and yet
some of our people live in poverty and
are destitute. That is true not only
in our country, but the world over.
Those who labor with brain and