The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-06-23
THE COMMON SENSE OF TAXATION.


view taken by him of taxation must
be common to everybody else, at
least, as soon as his pages have been
read. His idea is that there is no
intrinsic value in anything but land,
therefore land is the only thing tina:
should be taxed. All land and nothing
but land is real estate according to
his conjecture, or rather, to bis posi-
tive assertion. Houses, barns. stores
and other improvements do not count
as property. On the contrary, be
rather inclines to the notion that they
should be in . manner subsidized.
But for one very sensible remark We
should have claseed Mr.. George among
the protec!ionists. 'The farmer" he
says, goes to work; he works him
self, and his vile works, and bis
children woodwork like horses and
live in tho hardest and dreariest man
ner. Such man deserves encour-
sgement, not encouragement; but on
him taxation falls With peculiar sever
ity. Almost everything that he has
to buy-grooeries. clothing. toels-are
largely raised in price by system Of
tariff taxation which cannot add to
the price of the grain or hogs or cattle
that he mas to SELL" ThiI ia = COM
mon sense view OF taxation which we
heartily commend TO our farmers.
Still We do not exactly understand
what our author means by saying that
this overtsxed mau deserves encour-
agement, nor wAat kind of encour-
sgement il would be to put a heavy
tax on his land. To be sure q little
further on he objects TO the taxAticn
OF the farmers improvements, but we
coness ne do not see much differ
ence. as ali the revenue il to be raised
from the land, in levying $40 upon
an acre or $40 upon that and $40
upon the house tbas is built on it. To
our notion, as Mr.. MoDgredien, Mr.
McAdan and Mr.. George himself
here show, the farmer already pays
taxes enough and gets nothing in re-
turn. Some railroad men who Jump
hastily at conclusion would ike all
of this but the reduction OF fares and
freight. ''Or take the case OF the rsil
roads. That railroads are a public
benefit no one will dispute. We want
more railroads aud want them to re-
duce their fares and freight. Why,
then, should ne tax them? for taxes
upon railroads deter from rail-
road building and compel higher
charges. Iastesd Of taxing railroads, Is
it not clear that we should rather tax
the increased value which they give
to land?" It strikes US shat this
would be an odd gay Of building up
towns and Introducing farming along
the line of railroad, and that Mr..
George is inconsistent, for if land
according 20 his theory, ia taxable be-
cause OF the profitable use to which it
may be put, then surely the lands on
which the railroads are built ought to
pay their full share. A railroad man
arguing with him does not see his
own interest any more than did one
gentleman who gravely argued, the
other day, that it WAS for the sdvan-
tsge Of railroads and OF everybody to
pay Pennsylvania $28 per ton tax on
steel rails Mr.. George is sometimes
very much mixed and contradictory,
but sometimes be blunders into a
truism like this: mo citizen should
be given an advantage. or put at q
disadvantage, as compared with other
citizens" That is the essence Of free
trade. He says the farmer "has no
encouragement" Well. hs does not
ask it. All that be asks ia that other
people shall not be encouraged at his
expense. He wants to buy his "gro-
ceries, clothing and tools" on the
same terms that he sells his wheat.
That is all. It is absurd to contend
that land only is property. II that is
60, Vanderbilt and Gould, who have
their money mostly invested in rail
road stock and bonds or United
States securities, are poor men, and
ishouia pay nothing for the support o
government. This sort o: reasoninf
will not hold. Taxation should be
made ss equal as possible. Once
there was heavy duty on tea ant
coffee, the most equal tax that coule
possibiy be assessed, tor everybody