Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

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THE WHIRLPOOL 17 wooden plows and oxen ; the children swaying and clapping while chanting their songs, or playing in school; and behind all this the political unrest of India. Ernest A. DeLorme, 34. THE HORSE SWAP Not long ago there lived in these parts an old horse trader, well known for miles around for his knack of swapping horses and invariably getting boot. He had learned his business in the hard school of life with experi- ence as a teacher. Although he had passed threescore years and ten, his mind was alert for a chance to swap. Пе always had, around his barn, two or three old skates of horses which he could make step and call colts. In his old age it was a great pleasure to him if some of the younger genera- tion tried to get the best of him in a horse trade. A young neighbor had a cribbing horse, and it was necessary to put a cribbing strap on the horse's neck while in the stable. In case this was not done, the horse tried to eat all available boards, which resulted in his get- ting full of wind and having the colic. Getting tired of the horse's doing this, the young man decided to trade him. He went up to the old man's house and after a long session of dickering, in which nothing was said about the horse being a cribber, the trade was finally made. Upon his return home, his wife came out and was so pleased with the trade and the appearance of the new horse that she said, It was a shame to take advantage of the old man, and you had better take that cribbing strap up to him so the horse won't have the colic and die. After some hesitation he took the strap in his hand and carried it up to the old trader. As he was entering the yard he began to feel so ashamed for trading that cribbing horse that he wanted to go back home, but being so near there he went on with his head hanging and greeted the elderly man at the door. John, he said slowly, “John, I'm awfully sorry that I forgot to tell you that the horse I swapped for yours was a cribber, so here is the strap. llonest, John, you had better put it right on. I'm really ashamed that I got the best of you. But you know that when a man like you ages up he—er—kind of overlooks things, don't he, John ? John, with a twinkle in his eye, said, Ned, how long has that horse I swapped you been in the stall? With a look of astonishment Ned said, About six hours. Why? John said, with a smile which lighted up his face from ear to ear, Son, if you want to save your barn, I'm going to advise you to take that strap right back home. You'll need it. That horse was the worst cribber I ever had ! SiLAS FOSTER, ’34.

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16 THE WHIRLPOOL — Mr. Moulton, a graduate of Bates College, is a missionary home on a furlough from India after fourteen years of service in the western part of that country. Seldom has one the chance to listen to a man of appealing personality who is intensely interested in India. For one hour he talked with us, not as à lecturer, but as a man telling of his work. Пе told us of the great divisions that kept India from being a united whole. While one-fifth of the population of the world, or 352 million people, inhabit India, there is a vast separation between these people, resembling that between the negro and the white in our own country. Of these people 250 million are Hindus, 75 million are Mohammedans, 5 or 6 milion are Christians, and the others belong to some minor religious groups. Together with all this, there is the appalling number of dialects used in India amounting to 220 different vernaculars. However, as Mr. Moulton said, the greatest problem is the social one, or that of the caste system: for India has a class division—the Brahms or religious leaders, the Chatres or warrior class, the Dais or farmers and merchants, and lastly, the Sudras. who are the untouchables or outcasts. Those who were so unfor- tunate as to be born as outcast are treated with even less concern than cattle. We were privileged to have our friend narrate at great length about Mahatma Gandhi, and his work in trying to break down the caste system and also win complete independence from Great Britain. Mr. Moulton said, “I truly believe that the greatest personality in this world today is Mahatma Gandhi; and when the history of this day is written, India shall he the most important issue in this notable era.“ Mahatma Gandhi's great influ- ence over the people of India is such, we were told, that they loved him enough to break and disregard the strictest laws of the caste system, laws that have gathered the venerable dust of two centuries. In closing. he told us how close we are to the people of India, and how they are watching the manner in which we and the rest of the world are solving our problems. The need of the world for more internationalism was stressed. After the close of this most interesting talk, which had engaged our fullest attention, we were further delighted and entertained by a period devoted to questions. This was admirably begun by our speaker, who chanted an Indian song in dialect while swaying his body and clapping his hands in time to the song after the fashion of the native children in school. This period brought out many interesting facts about life in India, both in school and outside. EU. When Mr. Moulton left we could see the mud villages on the flat land beneath the burning heat of the sun; the men toiling in the fields with

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18 THE WHIRLPOOL THE TAXATION PROBLEM In this present depression the tax question is an important problem. It is even being discussed in the schools. There are certain reasons why at least one-half of all revenues for state and local purposes should be derived from sources other than tangible property. In this article I shall present only the affirmative side of the question. First, the affirmative side believes that the tax question should be based on the following mam issues : (1) Modern social and economic conditions have created a need for re-distributing the tax burden now borne by tangible property. (2) The present system of tax distribution is unjust. (3) It is a practical plan to re-distribute the tax burden so that at least 5096 of the revenue for state and local purposes shall come from sources other than tangible property. (4) Such a re-distribution of the tax burden will have desirable economic, social and political effects. We must first consider that the rapid industrial, commercial and edu- cational expansion of recent years has created new demands for govern- mental services, thus raising the property tax beyond a fair and reasonable rate. The tax levies of the United States for state and local purposes jumped from $1,107,000,000 in 1902 to $4,220,000,000 in 1927, this increase being due to the rise in expenditures for education, public build- ings, roads and waterways, and the preservation of natural resources. The United States must reduce governmental expenditures. The affirmatives think it is unwise to raise so large a percentage of governmental revenues from the property tax. In time, if this is done, people will get rid of property and the nation will become poorer. It is important to note that the property tax is not based on the ability to pay, nor the income of the property, but on the assessed valuation. The second point, that the present system of tax distribution is unjust, is easily proven. The affirmatives claim that it places an unfair burden on property owners. This tax fails to reach those who are most able to pay and presses hardest on those who are least able to pay. Let us consider, for example, a farmer and a rich man in industry. The farmer has a large farm with many cattle, and as he does not work anywhere except on his farm he doesn't have much ready cash—perhaps enough to buy supplies and pay taxes. But he must maintain a large farm in order to gain any- thing. The man in industry who gets a large salary has plenty of money and not the same proportion of expense, for he has no large establishment, like the farm, to maintain.