This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1899 Excerpt: ..."? What does It mean? What is government i What is poll-tax? y live in comfort, and we love our country because we are free. Now we shall see how it was in the Philippine Islands when they were still a Spanish possession. Every man and woman had to pay a poll-tax, a man from seven dollars and fifty cents to twentyfive dollars a year, and a woman from five dollars to fourteen dollars a year. A male servant earned about four dollars a month, or forty-eight dollars a year, and bad to support himself and his family if be had any, from these wages. It was very hard on him to pay the government almost one-sixth of his income for poll-tax alone. And this was not the only tax. If be lived in a hut worth only five dollars, he must pay one dollar and fifty cents taxes; if he had any furniture, it was taxed. If be had a cocoanut-tree, he could not gather the nuts without a permit, for which he had to pay. The farmer could not plow or sow; he could not reap his harvest without a permit, which cost money. When a child was born, it was taxed; if a man and woman married, there was a tax. When a person died, he could not be buried before one dollar and fifty cents was paid to the government. And what was done with all this money? Our government spends it for the people. We make improvements, such as public roads, remove bars from our rivers and harbors, build lighthouses, etc., all of which benefit the people. Very little of the money taken from the people of the Philippines was spent for them. There were a number of lazy Spaniards with large salaries. These salaries were paid from the taxes. After these men had been a few years in the islands, they returned to Spain, and received a large pension, and other Spaniards took their places. It is no wonder that the people ...