COULD you tell a feller where he could borrow a little money to pay taxes with? Here it is June, and taxes are due agin—bridge taxes and all—and Jobe lacks $22.69 of havin enough to pay his share.

Taxes seem to stay up better than anything else. They really seem to be on the rise.

I wonder if a feller could borrow that much money from them county commissioners? They git their pay when they sell a bridge to the taxpayers—cut-worms or no cut-worms.

Them commissioners ort a have a little spare change by them, when they git pay from the people of the county for buyin bridges and pay from the bridge companies for sellin bridges.

Ime a hearin a good deal about that bridge bizness. About them iron tubes that we paid the same for as stone butments would a cost, and that sellin out of the Trenton bridge in pieces privately, so that it would bring more “commission,” and of them contractors that come down here and got paid for not biddin on another job, and all them things, and Ime a layin low for Jobe so that the next time he lites into me Ile pulverize him.

He’s been quiet for a day or two. He’s been out a tryin to borrow tax money, workin on the “gold basis,” as it were.

He ginerally is quiet durin tryin times. He dont know what minit he may need my help.

This tax bizness is a deep question, and seems to be a gittin deeper. How does it come that a feller what has a farm, and owes for it, has to pay the same tax as he would if he had it all paid for?

Now, here is Jobe and me. We have this farm, that haint worth more nor $2,500; we owe $1,800 gold mortgage on it. So we own $700 of its worth, and the banker what holds the mortgage owns the balance. We have to pay $51.80 a year tax on it. That is, we pay $51.80 tax on $700 we own. Haint that over seven per cent. tax on all we are worth? Now, if the banker is permitted to deduct his debts from his tax list, and the storekeeper and manufacturer is allowed to deduct their debts from their tax list, why haint the law-makers what Jobe and his likes has been electin to office made laws to allow the farmer to deduct his debts from his tax list? Why haint they, I say? Haint a voter what farms for a livin jist as good a citizen, jist as much entitled to the benefit of laws as the fellers are what lends money for a livin, or what sells store goods, or gits rich by makin things to sell to the farmers and sich?

If we only had to pay taxes on what we have paid on this farm, on what we have over our debts, we wouldent have to borrow any tax money this June. If anybody but them crazy Populists would offer to make sich a law, I believe I could git Jobe to vote for it. But them Populists are pizen to Jobe.

He is so swelled up and elated over the county offices bein filled with Republican officeseekers instid of Dimicrats, that I dont suppose he will ever vote any other ticket, even if doin so would put him out of debt or bring down taxes and interest and sich.

The second nite arter the cold weather drove Jobe in from the haymow to the comfortable bed of his lawful wife, I had a experience Ile never forgit.

We had gone to bed about the usual hour, and as neither was very sleepy we fell to talkin.

I had tried to avoid anything of a perlitical natur since that tryin mornin in the kitchen, and Jobe had got along with givin me a slur now and then.

Well, arter we had laid there some time we got onto the question of taxes, and I onthoughtedly said:

“Jobe, why couldent there be a law to make interest less and taxes lower?

“What good does it do you and your likes to vote the same party ticket year arter year, when you see they dont do anything to make things easier for you—when you know, or ort a know, that the men what runs your party only work for the money they can git out of the taxes you pay?

“What difference is it to you what party has the offices? Better laws is what you ort a look to.

“What satisfaction is it to you to have the Republicans in, anyhow?”

I hadent that last question out of my mouth until Jobe was up on his knees in the middle of the bed, layin it off with both hands. The moon shinin in through the winder made him look like a ghost, with his long gray whiskers and nothin on but his shirt.

“Satisfaction! satisfaction!” says he, loud and quick. “Betsy Gaskins, for forty odd years Ive been goin to that air court-house and have had to pay my taxes to Dimicrats—copperheads, if you please, rebels!—and do you suppose its no satisfaction for me to go there now and see a Republican in every office? Betsy, it was the happiest day of my life when George Sharp told me that the last office in that air court-house was filled by a Republican. Even the janitor, Betsy, is a Republican. Yes, sir, the janitor is a prominent Republican. Satisfaction! Do you suppose it is no satisfaction for me to go into that court-house and see a influential Republican cleanin them big spittoons and a sweepin of that stone floor? Do you suppose that when I spit in one of them large vessels, or throw a chaw of terbacker in one of them, that it does not give me more satisfaction to know that that terbacker what has been in the mouth of Jobe Gaskins will be handled and wiped out of that spittoon by a prominent, influential Republican than if a copperhead Dimicrat was to do it? Satisfaction! Betsy, you women dont know what real perlitical satisfaction and enjoyment is—thats one reason you haint got sense enough to vote.

“Do you suppose that Ive been a votin the Republican ticket all these years for nothin? No, sir.

“If the Republicans hadent a turned out the Dimicrat what was janitor, and appinted a tried and true Republican in his place, I wouldent a gone to the next election. Jist to think of all them court-house offices bein filled by Republicans—janitor and all—is enough to make any true Republican farmer rejoice.”

Durin all this time I jist laid there and let him talk. Finally he laid down, and, thinkin I was asleep, he muttered a few things to himself and went to sleep too.

Poor Jobe! If I had a knode it would be sich great enjoyment to him and his likes to knock the Dimicrats out of that court-house, Ide a been in favor of it long ago. I would, though Ime a Dimicrat.

Jobe says you can find lots of fellers, jist like him, standin around the court-house nowdays, chawin terbacker and talkin polerticks, jist to git to spit in them big spittoons and to have the satisfaction of knowin that it will be cleaned out by a strait, influential, leadin Republican officeholder.

Well, all Ive got to say is to let them enjoy their satisfaction while they can, for that is about all they git for the taxes they pay and the vote they vote and have been a votin for years.

Ime glad they have spittoons in that court-house. If they hadent, what would Jobe and his likes git for votin the strait ticket? What would they git, I say?

Susan Swaller is a goin over into Harrison County next week to visit her aunt, and Ime a goin along.

While Ime over there Ime a goin to find out more about the county commissioners of our county offerin to sell that county a bridge for much less money than they charged this county for the same kind of a bridge. If what I hear is true, Ile give Jobe names and dates and prices that will make him stand clear up in bed next time, moonlite or no moonlite, shirt or no shirt.