Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-01-17


The community vino were capable OF
illing the position, and they were toe
busy. Many think to have knowledge
1f flowers Is unmAnly-the idea OF nav
ing knowledge of botany is preposter-
GUS to some farmers, they laugh IN yosr
face at the mere idea. Teach your
children to 90 to books for their knOwl
edge. The speaker drew a picture of d
aeighbor who lost several hundred heads
of cabbage by worms, when he had the
Ohio Agricultural Report on his Sheli
that contained the remedy he was look
ing for. appealing to him every day tC
read il; but he had not learned 10 make
books bis companions. He spoke OF
A boy who wished his father to build d
green house, IN which he could put IL
his extra time. but he was refused the
Doy got to putting in his extra time at .
neighboring saloon, and spent more
money every year than the green house
would have cost. When his father died
ne left four children $4,000 each, ahG
this son was but d few months going
through his, and is now q dead beat ana
hummer.
AT the conclusion of Mr.. Pearce's ad,
dress. j. F. Young, Esq, Secretary OF
the Farmers Club, offered the following
resolution, which was adopted:
Resolved, That the members of the
Tri-County Farmers Institute hereby
tender their sincere and cordial thank;
to w. n. Cowden, President, and w. l
Chamberlain, Secretary, of the OhiC
State Board of Agriculture, Miss Mercy
J. Griffith. of Mt. Pleasant; Geo. Finley
Esq, of Pittsburgh; J. w. Axtell, editor
of The Pittsburgh National StOckman
Rev. j. W. Moffatt, ID. d., President OF
Washington and jefferson College; l.
b. Pierce, Esq, of Summit county; alse
to our home speakers. for their able, IN
structige and entertaining lectures and
addresses; also. to the members "f oui
hume press for gratuitous notices and
labors; also, to the members of the chOiI
for their very excellent music-all OF
whom have contributed largely to the
success of our Institute.
After the singing OF duet by Pro
bate Judge Cochran and George Ander
son, Secretar, Chamberlain again ad
dressed the Institute on the topic
"The Relation of Land to Taxation,
which consisted of an hour and quar-
ter of solid reaSoning. He spoke of the
right of the individual ownership OF
land, and referred to a book printed
in this country, in which the au
thor held that man had no more right
to the ownership of land than he had OF
The dew of Heaven; that the land was
general property, and should pay all
lakes every one had an equal right t.
it. The author did not propose that
those now holding the farms should be
driven off them, but that they should pay
a tax for the general good that would be
equivalent to a rental. At the time of
its publication the book created great
stir in England and also in this country.
The speaker spent the larger portion of
his time in proving the fallacy of the
authors position. He said if the time
comes when the land is owned by the
State, the time would also come when
the people wolld be owned by the State.
We have only to go back to feudal times
to prove this, when the land was held
entirely by the barons. lords, etc., the
people were also held by them. He spoke
of England, and of her laws of primo
geniture and entail. Although there
were l Il acres of land to each person in
Great Britain, 10000 men Of the country
owned over twO-thirdS of ali of it, and
must own it in their families. The Bishop
of Durham had an annual rental of
$4,000 eight times the salary of the
President of the United States. These
land owners are their own
law makers-dO you wonder that there
is rebellion there among the people to
this landed ariStOcracy? There is IA
difference in this country where the far
mer owns his own land. If the tenures
of our lands are not based on a sound
we want to know it, If our
lands are to pay all the taxes we want
to know it, and will therefore invest our
surplus in something else. He spoke of
the fact that it was impossible to get
those reared in the great cities to live
on farms cOntentedly and referred to
the Childrep'S Aid Society having paid
the expenses to get boys from New York
City to place them on farms, but they
would dead beat their way back on the
railroads rather than stay. 1t was the
noise, the glare of lights. and other can
fusion incident to city life that attracts
them. The older the community, the
higher price the land, the greater the
contrast between weath and poverty.
As the community grows older some go
farther behind-the separation of the
-ich and poor goes on, the workers from
The idlers. If the land and property
we're to be alt divided up it would not
De long before it is the same as it is
now, and always would be So, unless the
brain, will power, ETC., are equaliZed.
What are we to do then? Divide up
again? The ownership of land has its
limitations. If the State needs your
ands or mine, or part of it, for its uses.
{ cah take it; not for nothing, but at d
fair market price, put upon it by disin-
jerested parties. No man has right 80
init or waste his lands; it belongs to
hose who follow him. No man would
work to accumulate property if il were
lot for his wife and children whom he
owes. Let us consider the philosophy
IF our authors plan in placing the whole
AK on the lands. The nation makes
laws; the state. state laws; the
counties build bridges, dig bitches and
hake roads; the townships makes small
II bridges and bitches, and all pay for
hem by taxation THUS doing work too
arge for the individual, for the good of
III, and the public money raise from all
pays for it. This is the question to
which we now arrive = that the persons
md property benefited, should help to
Day the costs. The lands and owners
hould bear all the burden if they are
he only ones benefited, otherwise not.
n the case of war, everything needs
more than the lands. They
annot be carried or driven off or de
troyed like your money, horses, cattle,
nd other forms of personal property.
They need no protection from thieves
II burglars. In these cases, the personal
property should bear all, Or nearly all, of
he burden. Our author, therefore, is
Utterly wrong in saying that the lands
houd bear all the burdens of taxation
will say that all forms of property
hould be taxed once and only once. and
t its full value. | would tax everything