The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1889-12-06

virtues OF plants are continually being
made. One is that celery is cure for
rheumatism. 1t is asserted that the
disease is Impossible if the vegetable be
cooked and freely eaten. The fact that
it is always put on the table raw pre-
known. It should be cut into bits, and
boiled in water until soft, and the water
should be drunk by the patient. Put
new milk, with a little flour and nut
meg, into a saucepan with the boiled
celery, serve it warm with pieces OF
toast, eat it with potatoes, and the
painful ailment will yield. Such is the
| declaration OF physician who has
again and again tried the experiment,
and with uniform success He adds that
cold or damp never produces but simply
develops the disease, OF which
acid blood is the prime and sustaining
cause, and that while the blood
! is alkaline there can be neither
rheumatism nor gout.
B. & ". Surveyors.
The Gellette party OF (B. & N.Y. sur
veyors are encamped, asreported in our
issue OF last week, on the park, three
miles northwest OF this placeAand have
been engaged during the week, presum--
ably, in establishing permanent loca-
ton OF the line in the immediate vicinity
OF this city. The Pease party having
completed the work between Ncwton's
Fork and Hill City, moved camp on Sat-
urday to point five miles southwest
OF this place, and are engaged in locating
the line south from this point.
While it has been impossible to OBJ
tain any positive information as to
when the work OF grading will be COM
menced, it is nevertheless fact that
the general outlook for the carly build
ing OF the road is most encouraging. 1t
will be no surprise to the Chronicle if
much OF the rock work in this vicinity
should be performed during the present
| winter-Custer Chronicle.
The Single Taz.
We are often asked what is meant by
'single tax," and thinking that many OF
| the readers Of THE UNION would read
with some interest, an explanation OF
the theories OF this newly proposed form
OF taxation, 1 submit the following brief
outline Of the objects and aims OF the
theory, and the fundamental principles
upon which it is based:
The believers in the single tax hold
that all natural opportunities, that is
the earth in a state OF nature, including
air and sunlight, in fact all natural ell
ements, should belong to mankind as a
whole and not in parts or parcels to pri-
vate individuals. That the Creator (or
| Nature) intended that man should have
Tree access to these natural reservoirs,
to draw for the raw materials, to manu-
| facture, shape and change things to suit
his wants and desires. That priva te
property should be confined to the pro
| ducts OF labor only. That any thing
that tends to restrict or infringe upon
! the absolute freedom OF capitol or
| labor's access to these natural opportu-
mites, Or the raw materials tends to les
sen production by adding to the cost.
This is what may be termed the ideal.
ism OF the single tax theory SO ia" as the
present consideration is concerned. We
find that in order to secure the best use
OF land-the term land is here used to
fapply to all natural opportunities-it is
necessary that those who improve land
should have security for ali such improv-
ments, this is obtained by possession,
not necessarily ownership. AS commu-
mites grow the demand for the use OF
land grows, thus giving value TO the land
product. This we may see whenever
land sells for more than the value OF the
Improvements. For instance a town lot,
without cents worth Of improvement,
which sells, we will say, for SIC, 900, and
this value continues to grow with the
population. The believers in single tax
hold that this value is created by the
community at large and not by single in-
dividuals, and belongs OF right to such
community, and the appropriation Of
this by portion OF the population is
wrong to the others. We will call this
value, created by the whole community
rent, the rent means that sum paid for
the privilege OF using land, not improv-
ments,
4 Now let me ask the reader, where this
rent is going to-day? Is it not going
| into the pockets OF private individuals,
through land speculatians? Some one
| will say: I'm not paying any rent, l
own my own land" Yes, you pay rent.
The amount you paid for your farm OF
lot, above the value OF improvements is
capitalized rent, or rent paid in ad.
vance. Ii the growth OF communities
creates rent why does it not belong to it,
and why not this fund, SO created, be
expended for the subsistence and expen.
ses OF the community instead OF taxing
private property for that purpose, and
i. allow the common fund to be appropri-
ated by private individuals? This can
be done without affecting our present
system Of land titles, by placing a single
tax on land values, and abolishing all
other forms OF taxation, and exemptne
all the products OF labor from taxation.
Under the present system we are paying
rent, and in addition are paying the
taxes, whereas under the single tax
plan we would only pay rent I do moi
:, mean to say there are not some who
pay taxes and receive rent. Under this
system the land holder could not charge
the user OF land rent and also make him
pay the taxes as some suppose, for by
reason of the high tax on land a holder
could not afford to hold his land out o
use, hence all the land in the countr,
J, would be in the market for users, ant
SO sharp would the competition be be
e tween holders to get their land in us
): that they would soon be willing to talk
u a reasonable return for the improve
Il ments alone. This would necessariall
/ destroy land speculation, a thing to b
IT ylaxYo,,f1r vuicboJ Ear Jor rybof Il -,