The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-24
1900 Farmers to Be
Evicted for
Back Taxes
By EDWARD NEWHOUsE

BY EDWARD NEWHOUSE
FOR decades this engaging taunt
4 has been flung into the faces of
farmers all over the country: How
is it the Pennsylvania Dutch can
make go of it?
Well, they can't. You can quote
five thousand Bucks County farm
ers and thAr families on that.
Bucks County is the very heart of
Pennsylvania Dutch country. Tradi-
tionally, it is the land of the con-
tented COW, the Mennonite deacon
and the omnipotent hex sign. Polit-
ically it hrs been the breeding
ground of Joseph r. Grundy and q
hundred pale and soiled carbon
copies. It was above the signature
Of one Of these political stooges that
the official order robbing several
thousand families of their farms
and homes appeared in the last
days of July. Nothing more than a
form letter to inform the good
people of the county that unless
1881 and 1882 back taxes. ranging
around five, ten and fifteen dollars,
we're forthcoming, their properties
would be auctioned. Nobody seemed
to know exactly how many were in
volved. I asked County Commits
sioner Roberts and he said, God,
I don't know. Quite few"
but, Commissioner, you who
signed the order must certainly
know"
I'D say there was quite a few of
them"
Then the Doylestown Intelli-
gencer came out with the list. The
farmers were given until Monday.
August 9Th, when the sale would
take place at the courthouse. In
the event that no one bid. the
farms were to go into custody of
the county.
The Farmers Get Together
IN the same day, 1876 farmers met
" at Hagersyille and decided to
call general meeting of both del
inquent and paid up farmers and
workers to see what could be done.
The meeting would be held August
LIST on the courthouse steps. A
committee Of the United Farmers
Protective Association sat up
through the small hours, writing
two thousand postcards to a partial
list That cost twenty dollars. There
was no more money to be had This
organization, which ran off the first
successful penny sale in the coun-
try. has been fighting its way
through hardy and resisting soil,
but farmers look to it for leadership
in emergencies.
Every car available to the UF.
PA. was running all week before
the Doylestown meeting. Gas, oil,
wear and tear on the engine costs
about five cents mile and you
know what that means for a farm
er. Most of the people affected by
the sale had no way of getting
around. Even so, $50 Of them came.
The chairman was Wilson Pit
man. crippled veteran of the Span
ist-Amercian Wa. He opened the
meeting and Waldbaum. the LID.
lawyer, got up with a heavy legal
volume in his hand.
He said, This is the law. Monday
your farms and homes will be sold
and legally you will have no kick
coming. Unless you can stop this
sale by determined resistance in
the form of mass delegations and
mass action. you can say good bye
to your properties now"
Lewis Bentley farmer of Per-
kasis and president of the U.FP.A..
went up the courthouse steps and
outlined the situation. He is a fiery
and remarkable speaker. The crowd
laughed and hooted with him. He
proposed three large delegations,
one to Judge Keller, one to the
County Commission. and one to
Governor Pinchot. When he asked
for volunteers the crowd surged
forward.