THE FARMER AND THE TAX (JATllERER. 191 



created. A private printing office will send out its proofs, and 

 make small deliveries of work, by means of boys and young 

 men at from $0.00 to $10 per week, and one such boy will 

 serve many customers. As I write, this morning's paper tells 

 me that one house of our Legislature has three " messengers 

 to the state printer" — located in the State House grounds — at 

 $3.00 per day each, and two mail carriers at the same salary. 

 This, of course, is robbery, pure and simple, for which the 

 party in the majority is responsible. When the other party is 

 in power it plunders in the same way, and is also responsible. 

 There is, in a certain state, a state printing office. As I write, 

 I see in the morning paper an offer from a responsible firm to 

 take over the office and plant, pay a fair rent for it, pay the 

 same wages that are now paid to all employees needed, and do 

 the same work, for $100,000 per annum less than the state now 

 pays, with no rental charge. A law of the state requires that 

 all printing for state institutions must be done at the state 

 printing office. A week since an officer of the State University 

 told me that he was seeking to get that institution excepted 

 from the rule, as it could get its work done for one-third the 

 sum charged against the university appropriation by the state 

 printing office. In the city where I spend part of my time, 

 the usual working hours for clerks are from 8 a. m. to 6 p. m., 

 with the usual lunch time, two weeks' vacation in the year, 

 with no deduction of pay, and occasionally, of course, a half 

 day off when business is light. The compensation will pos- 

 sibly average $75 per month. At the City Hall the depart- 

 ment clerks work from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. There are many more 

 than are needed in some of the offices. The report before me 

 does not give the individual salaries, but they will doubtless 

 average $100 per month. In a road district in a certain 

 county, I have known a road master who employed his 

 own sons and his own team, to leave his liome at 8 in the 

 morning, drive slowly five miles to his work, take his hour for 

 lunch, and leave in time to reach home by five in the after- 

 noon, the law making eight hours a " day's work." The pay 

 was $200 per day per man, or $4.00 for man and team. 

 Wages in the same community have never been higher, for 



