CHAPTER XXII.

JOBE HELPING TO RAISE THE OFFICERS’ SALARIES.

JOBE has been a helpin Hen Minick cut wheat and harvest for a week past, and the poor man has big blisters in his hand and cracks and sores on his fingers that jist keep me busy a pickin and a salvin and a doctorin. And he is that stiff he can hardly walk.

He has been workin to git money to pay taxes with.

When he got done Hen told him he would have to wait till arter thrashin time for the $7.50 he owes him for helpin.

Jobe told him he would have to have it right away, as his taxes was past due, and if he dident pay them soon they would attach a penalty to them. Hen said he was sorry, but he dident have a dollar, nor haint had for weeks.

Jobe come home discouraged like.

How can he git it from Hen when Hen haint got it?

If Jobe sues him, Hen will git mad and git somebody else to do his harvestin next time.

Besides, Hen is honest and would pay if he had it. He is a good nabor and worth it, but Hen says times is hard and money scarce.

When I was a puttin salve on Jobe’s hands last nite I jist thought:

“Here is the same hand that has been puttin tickets in the box for thirty years or more to help elect the law-makers who made laws to lend money to national bankers at one per cent.; laws to issue bonds to git the paper money of the country to burn; laws to demonitize silver; laws to make money scarce and times hard; laws to enable the rich to live off the poor. And here that hand is sore and full of cracks and pain—yes, the same hand that has helped to elect the county officers of this county—full of blisters and scabs, made so a workin to git money to help pay them officeholders their salaries—salaries of thousands of dollars a year—and they ready to add to that tax and sell our home in order to git them big salaries if Jobe dident pay his sheer.”

There is the probate judge, who gits $5,300 a year; and the county clerk, who gits $5,500; and the recorder, who gits $3,600; and the sheriff, who gits $3,900; and the treasurer, who gits $3,400; and the auditor, who gits $3,500; and the prosecutin attorney, who gits $1,600; and the county commissioners, who git $1,400 apiece. And they git it from Jobe and his likes, who dont make $500 a year, even when seasons are favorable and crops good. And they are gittin of them big salaries by the votes of Jobe and his likes, who has them to pay—yes, by the votes of the very fellers who are a blisterin their hands and a rubbin salve and a walkin stiff to pay them.

Now if them salaries were reduced to what them same men would be willin to work for at anything else—if them salaries were reduced to $600 for commissioners and $1,500 for probate judge, auditor and sich, I wonder if it wouldent take less blisters and briars and cracks and backaches to pay them to do the people’s work.

Any of them would be willin to do the same work for them figgers, if the people would git together and, instid of votin for officeseekers, vote for men who would make a law to only pay sich figgers for public work.

Is it any wonder they want to hold Jobe and his likes in line?

All Ive got to say is: If Jobe and his likes would rather have sore hands and stiff backs, if they would rather rub salve and pick briars than to quit votin the “strait ticket,” let them have them. Let them pick and rub.

This strait ticket bizness is increasin the demand for St. Jacob’s oil and Green Mountain salve and sich alarminly.

But as they are great on the “home market” scheme, I suppose they are satisfied, and I ort to be.