St. Paul daily globe., 1888-07-09

Castle Garden you have simply imported
an industrial slave, because he is utterly
dependent upon some employer. The
dependence of the laborer is becoming
more marked every year, and it does
not need a gigantic brain to figure what
the result will be unless there is big
change somewhere. The disposition of
land holding in America of late has
been to restrict it, and now the men
come along who hold that man has no
right to more land than he can use.
J Will predict that inside of many years
things will come out all right. The
land question has caused all the strug-
giles of every kind this country has ever
had, and it has all been unnecessary.
The reason for this is.that the Spectator
his price on the land, which the would
be settler could not pay. So he
had to move on. Our land sys-
tenn has scattered the social units
of the country and disintegrated society.
We have thrown our laboring men out
into the wilderness, where they could
get-what? Not free land, for there has
been none in this country during the
present century. 1t is not free land
when a man has to give up all that is
enjoyable in this life to get the land.
The tendency is now to drive the peO-
pie in the cities to congregate in tene-
ment houses, where they live four or
hve IN room. and all to
avoid the payment of big
rent. How do you expect to
maintain nation founded on tenement
houses? Tenement houses produce vice
and crime of all kinds. Go to Chicago
and see what the tenement house sys-
tenn has done. All this results from
our land system. Men do not go out on
our Western plains and live all alone in
little hut as matter of choice. He
goes out there to escape being made an
industrial slave in the big cities.
There is no need for this, as
even Texas could produce food enough
to feed the whole United States. Eng
land could produce enough food to feed
all her own people and 100000 more
beside. No country i'll the world has
ever felt the evils of land monopoly SO
much as America. Here we have a
magnificent country, and yet we are
England and in Belgium. We have
simply taken upon ourselves form of
feudalism, and have raised up class of
despots, who. perhaps, are unconscious
of being such. And now our whole
system, in big scramble for riches
and existence. The reason for all these
troubles is that there is not enough
work to go around; there are only
ninety-nine jobs for every 100 men.
What is the cause of this? 1t is because
the labOring men cannot get hold OF the
natural resources of the earth. If the
land is kept out of the market so that it
cannot be procured, it is just the same
as though no land existed. By with
holding the land from the labOring men
you create an artificial scarcity, and
ton with one another in order
to make living. You have
created a scarcity of land here in Min
neapolis, and the end is slowly coming.
Soon it will be all held by spectators as
Colorado, Texas and other states are
now held. By our system of taxation
we place premium on laziness and a
fine OH industry. AS it is now, there is
not Jorge tax on your $4,000 vacant
lots, but the moment you build house
on one of these lots or make any i'm
prOvement you are taxed to the
utmost limit, the tax collector
telling you that you are producing
something and must pay for it.
1t is the man who holds the vacant land
who should pay the most taxes, for he
expects to make enough out of it in the
end, when other men buy it of him. Our
system levies tax OH the man who
does the work in the community, and
rewards the man who does nothing and
allows his land to lie idle. A tax should
not be levied Oh the homes of
men. Our own America will eventu-
ally have population to the
square mile equal to that of
England, unless we keep the land
out of the hands of the spectators.
But if we do not the crisis is bound TO
come, and it will be terrible indeed.
With all your rich resources here in
Minneapolis your city is heavily bonded.
you could pay the debt and then have
money enough left to pave all your
streets and put down sidewalks.