THEM PROMISES.
JOBE took what hay he could spare to town yisterday and sold it to
Billot, the miller. He dident git any money. He took Billot’s note, due
ten days before our semi-annual interest falls due on our mortgage.
Jobe says he would rather have Billot’s note than the money. He says it
haint in style to pay cash durin a gold basis.
[Illustration: “Jobe took what hay he could spare.”]
Our hay crop wasent nothin to brag on this year. We got $19 worth of hay
off from five acres of medder, and a little doodle for old Tom.
Now, I haint a goin to complain any more till arter fall election, but
when Jobe come home and told me that $19 was all he got for his hay, and
that what he did git would have to go for interest, I jist thought that
it would not be so hard to give what you raise to somebody else if you
got anything to show for it when you did give.
But arter we sell our hay and thirty bushels of wheat that Billot said
he would take at 60 cents a bushel, and the Lord only knows what else,
to pay that $63 interest in October, we will still owe jist as much as
we did before.
[Illustration: “They are kept so busy legislatin.”]
Now, if my dream had been true, and we had borrowed that $1,800 from the
county treasurer at only two per cent., instid of the banker at seven
per cent., our semi-annual interest would a bin only $18 instid of $63.
With $63, then, we could have paid the $18 interest to the county and
$45 on the mortgage—and that would be encouragin.
I wonder when the Dimicratic, or Republican party either, or both, will
begin to do somethin to make it easy for people to buy homes, and pay
for them, by makin it easy for people to borrow money when they need it,
by reducin interest and taxes and sich.
Every election since Jobe and me was married, fust one party and then
the other has been promisin to do somethin to help the people git along
in the world, but I declare to goodness I have nearly got discouraged
waitin for them to do it.
They seem to be so forgetful arter election. I guess they are kept so
busy legislatin and makin laws to help the rich that they jist dont have
time to do anything for the poor.
By the time the law-makers git all the laws that the railroad-owners and
street-car companies and bridge companies and bankers and bondholders
and monopolists and other milionairs want, they haint got any time to
look arter the farmers and mechanics and merchants and mill-hands and
coal miners and sich; so they jist let the people’s bizness go, until
the next election, to make promises on. And as the voters seem willin to
wait, jist so they git to vote the strait ticket, I guess I will have to
do so too.
[Illustration]