The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-11-13
THE NEW PARTY IN POLITICS.

Iak NEW PARTY IN POLITICS.
II is announced with authority that
the Knights of Labor will henceforth
from political party, to he called the
Progressive Democracy.
The principles which this party has
announced so far, are two:
l. LAND.-"We hold that the value which
attaches to the surface Of the earth by easOn
Of the growth ofpopulation belongs to society
at large, and we propose, therefore, to abolish
all taxation upon buildings, Improvements,
and all other things OF human production,
and by taxation on the value of land alone,
to provide for purposes Of common necessity
and benefit, In this way we propose to make
II Improbable for monOpolizers to hold land,
mines, forests, or city lots which they are not
putting TO use"
IL. SrArE OWNERSHIP AND MANAGE
MENT OF RAILROADS AND TELEGRAPHs.-
ave declare war on that system which hands
over the public works to corporate control,
aud the telegraph to be made the means OF
rObbiug the producer and Of enabling railroad
kings and stock gamblers to throttle bust
Miss and dictate laws"
Commenting on the above the N. Y.
Sun of Tuesday, says: Thus it appears
that, by putting all taxation upon the
land alone, the new party intends to
destroy its value as a subject for the
Investment of capital, and to prevent
anybody from owing more land than the
individual requires for his own use and
occupation or for the occupation of bis
business and his family. In other words,
all speculation in land as an article OF
ordinary commerce is to be taxed out OF
existence.
All railroads, telegraphs, telephones.
and other public works of the sort are
to be owned by society at large and not
by private corporations. That is to say,
the State is TO be the only proprietor
and manager of such public establish
ments, and il would seem to be logical
consequence that other great business
and social establishments like banks,
insurance companies, sugar refineries,
iron mills, cotton mills-in short, every
branch of business, amusement, or
berevolence which admits of being con-
Quoted upon large scale, should also
be owned and managed by the State.
Of course, there will be other principles
and other measures in the creed Of the
new party; but, so far, these two are all
that have been officially declared. We
state these propositions solely for the
purpose of bringing out clear idea of
the practical measures to the promotion
of which the new party will devote its
energies: and, if we do not correctly
apprehend and represent its doctrines or
purposes, we shall be glad to be correct
ed. We do not understand that when
the Knights of Labor enter into politics
for the purpose of realizing the pro-
gramme whose two primary features we
have now endeavored TO set forth, they
will for that reason abandon the func-
tions which they have hitherto exercised
of regulating the rates of wages, the
hours of labor, and whatever else con-
Germs the relations of employers and
wages laborers, so far as their members
and adherents are concerned. They
intend to remain at once a political
party, propagating and advocating their
ideas and measures of public policy, and
a controlling labor organization attend
ing to the interests of their order, and
resisting and putting down all attempts
of capitalists to encroach upon them.
This will make the sphere of their duties
very extensive and various, and there
may be danger that in devoting them
selves to politics they may neglect the
welfare of labor, or, in attending to labor,
they may neglect the development of
politics. But there is no intrinsic i'm
possibility in conducting both of these
functions together; and we shall look on
with careful attention at the efforts of
the Knights to carry on the two stimuli
taneously.