As to these taxes Dr. Spahr says that “from the incomes less than $1,200 less than three per cent is taken; from the incomes above $5,000 seven per cent is taken. Nevertheless, even these relatively |THE TOTALS OF TAXES PAID IN SEVEN YEARS.| humane burdens rest twice as heavily upon the property of the poorer classes as upon the property of the rich. When these local taxes are joined with the national, the aggregate tax is one-twelfth of the income of every class. There is no exemption of wages. All the resourceless individuals,[[172]] even the absolute slaves of dividogenesure, who divide the results of their labor with the wealthy, are compelled to pay taxes from their wages. And “the wealthiest class is taxed less than one per cent on its property,” says Dr. C. B. Spahr, “while the mass of the people are taxed more than four per cent on theirs.”[[173]] Consequently we see that the 1,695,117 families whose wealth, at the end of 1897, aggregated to $79,325,000,000 worth, paid $3,455,963,952 of the national and local taxes. While the 12,755,310 families whose aggregate wealth, at the same time, was reduced to about $7,000,000,000 worth, also paid $2,354,179,059 of these taxes, though these families could not have any net income at all.
Whatever might be the gross income of the 12,755,310 increased families under the network of imposition spread by the combines, they could not have any net income |THE PROPERTYLESS IN 1897.| at all, because at the end of 1897 these families represented about 63,150,136 individuals of a multiple expenditure in every individual case. And as these families include about 7,832,640 propertyless families which represented about 38,785,279 homeless individuals, each of which in addition to his multiple expenditure, is obliged to pay rent for shelter and to pay for permission to labor, the multiple expenditure of every one of these, therefore, surpasses that of each individual of the remainder of the population.
It would, however, be wrong to suppose that we had only 7,832,640 propertyless families at the end of the period. For beside these families there were thousands of the mortgagor |NOT ALL THE PROPERTYLESS COUNTED YET.| families in the beginning of 1891 which held the last pieces of the mortgaged property. And they could not but lose the very last under the heavy pressure of the combines and of the taxation, thus becoming propertyless, too, though we are unable at present to ascertain their number. Yet we may be sure of the fact, that the more propertyless families we have, the more house and farm rent they must pay to the wealthy; and hence the more rapid the concentration of the wealth and more extensive slavery of dividogenesure must be caused thereby.
It would also be groundless to think that the years 1898 and 1899 have altered the firmly established |THE YEARS AFTER 1897.| machinery of concentration of the national wealth. No, the concentration of wealth in these two years has undoubtedly been more rapid than in any two previous years. For the trusts, etc., have been more active, and have obtained greater net incomes on account of the war than in any two years before. While in addition to the |THE TAXES INCREASED.| more rapid concentration of wealth by the combines, the war revenue caused a great increase in the rates of the indirect taxes, etc. And since “these taxes were imposed by Congress, under the Revenue Act approved June 13, 1898,” both the propertied and the propertyless people continue to pay them up to date as a drain additional to the other losses in favor of the wealthy few.
It should also be remembered that, remaining unabated, the more rapid concentration of wealth |INCREASE OF THE CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH AND RIGHTS.| and of property rights to-day, produces a still more rapid concentration of wealth and of rights to-morrow, because increased and concentrated wealth consolidates into interest-bearing property—the rate of interest being derived from the growing population which by hunger, thirst, and other forces is compelled to work for the mighty few. And what will be the consequence?
According to Mr. J. K. Upton, special agent of the Eleventh Census, “the estimated increase of wealth from 1880 to 1890 was 49 per cent. A proportionate increase from 1890 to 1900 would indicate wealth of nearly $100,000,000,000 at the beginning of the twentieth century,”[[174]] say, at the end of 1901. And if the present situation continue, it will not be difficult to guess the time when nearly the whole nation would consist of desperate slaves of dividogenesure, and of about 1,000,000 masters distributing places of employment at will—in accordance with the highest efficiency and profitableness of the employed—for the cheapest remuneration favorable to a few multimillionaires.
As exposed in this work, the situation precludes the entertaining of any better view, however desirable it may be. For the following estimates of the increase of the people prove that the situation has even been worse than here represented.
“PRESENT POPULATION OF THE
UNITED STATES.”
“According to estimates made for the World Almanac by the governors of the States and Territories for 1900,”[[175]] exclusive of Alaska and the Indian Territory, the “grand total, January 1, 1900, is 79,354,444 individuals.”
It is quite probable that the average family will now be at the most 4.9 members each.[[176]] If it is so, then we have about 16,194,581 families in the nation. And, disregarding |THE PROPERTYLESS IN 1900 A GREAT NATION.| again those that were sure of losing the last pieces of their mortgaged property, we should now have about 8,958,437 families without real property, which would represent 43,896,342 propertyless individuals of multiple expenditure in every case. So that, paying monthly rent at $9.50 each, these homeless families must pay $1,021,261,198 for the year 1900 alone. But if we |RENT WILL BE PAID.| admit the regular increase of the farm tenant families, we may now have about 1,941,745 of them occupying rentable lands at the averages of acres and of rent previously stated, the total rent of all the tenants of farms and homes would, therefore, reach $1,526,114,903 for one year. And the rent will be higher the next year, although new rentable houses and flats are built by the speculators every year.