Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-09-27

utes. instead Of operating by mans
homeopathic methods Taxes Of to-day reduce
improvements. so ana the Hood, and as nature
~ very thorough, she made a clean sweep. what
was IL she took7 only Improvements, only the
product Of labor, houses, Streets factories
bridges and goods that We had made She TOOK
OF them. all that she thought would sunice 70
pay her tax and u WIS heavy
But she did not tax the land II Is stlll here
and the opportunities TO labor are Just rs good
as they ever were. Land In Johnst0wn to-day
Is fully as high, perhaps a little higher than be-
fore The food
ain told that since the flood, capitalists
wanted 20 put up a nne hotel here but we're
driven away because land was too high. Would
II not be a good thing 10 have that hotel here,
to haze a number Of men busIy employed 10 It's
buliding7 I am told that the Pennsylvania
Railroad wanted 10 bring some OF its Improve
ments into Woodyale, which was swept as bare
as this foor but did not do lt because land was
too high. and that while majority Of the people
wanted It, one or two landh0lders stopped II by
demanding too much for their special piece Of
land Would these Improvement not have been g
good thing for woodyale?
The flood Ike our present system Of taxation
also dlscriuin1ted H. lts tax gathering. Took
al but sAcir lives from many, left everything 10
others LOOK around you and sec how many
IalHl0Es ia this country have only their lives
nothing else. as the result Of their Work. Aye,
have eycn to work hard to keep want and
hunger from the door, anu io1k around ana see
how many have something more.
The flood did one thing more. It took from
vs. m,n, women and children 70 hushed forever
the prattle Of little bades, and slenced the voices
Of those fun grown. Il took from our own small
circle. Kldridge. whom we mourn as one who
loved his fellow men 30 well that he would plead
with them to listen to our doctrines, only be-
cause he believed IL would make them happier;
and later Coflin, dear 10 Our small band as one
OF the first TO have the courage Of his con-
victions, man who knew not self.
Sex nor age was spared, and we mourn our
loss deep In our hearts doing what we can not TO
say too much But men OF Johnstown, DO you
not know that II we take only this country,
which is d small part Of the Whole world, every
few days as many lives are cut short BY the tax
gatheTers OF the world, and as many sad and
weary hearts left TO mourn their loss. How Ihe
tax gatherers? because there IS but one thing
that can be rightly and justly taxed, which Is
the full rental value Of all land, and the failure
TO do this leaves existent, private ownership Oh
land, and bacluee tl.l while keeping wealth
down, go divides wl.. wealth there Is as TO
make u e hundreds Or I..l - l!eh That they do
not need their wealth, ana the millions Of poor
50 poor that they die TOO .JsJ b. having 10 hover
dangerously near that dreadful pleClpiCe which
Is The limit or lie, VIZ: earnings too small 20
maintain the family.
The world does not realize it because 10 goes
on 50 gradually ami constantly tnat men have
time to be born and 10 grow up 70 tomanhood with
these surroundings, but we here IN Johnstown,
have had It all revealed to us by the master
hand of nature in a few fearful blood curdliDg
moments. You have thought many things OF the
hood. When you leave US, think about this and
come back II you viii and tell up wherein The
Hood, In its nfteen minutes havoc dld one single
thing, which our present method OF taxation
and private ownership OF land from which II
springs, does not. do by slower degrees.
TO those who profess themselves followers OF
religion, be tie denomination what 1t Will, we
say that our doctIiZes teach us that the Cod
head IS too perfect to have 50 bungled in His
creation Of this world, rs 70 make II natural
thing to suffer want and misery here.
We mold n to be the rlnKest sort OF D,asphemy
TO say as Malthu3 and current political econc-
mlst5 say. that God FIRST makes TOO many men,
and then has to make good this bungllng by
sending arc. famine and pcsJ,ence TO thin them
ont again. We can Gt least give them strong
reasons worthy OF their attention. for believing
that the want and misery OF this world belong
to mans ignorance ana injustice, and not to
Gods laws. We hold that there Is no ilaW In
what Is done by the Godhead. We believe that
we can show them political ecoaemy reconcie1
with the God Of Love"
And we believe that we can prove that for
what we take away from the land holder we
return to hm In other ways, more, much more
than we take. That even from money stand
point, with very few exception, he win be abso'
Iutely the gamer. We hold that we can SHOW
ourreinedy to be one that is Just beyond ques
ton and instead being radical, It IS a remedy
cmlnently conservative In its methods.
10 the poor we say We come with no won
0rous specific, which win take mystarlou,
horles OF wealth and divide 1t among poor labor
ers to make them rich. We merely say to then
that II there exists work for 1000 men, anC
there are 600 men who need &C., that the one sol
ltary extra man by his competition can pu
down the wages OF the whole l,o00 who woulC
otherwise earn their just due; ana that thu
way to solve this problem is to create by natua
means, work for !, ,OOl men where OOl men nee,
| that work. We oner them nothing but the op
pOrtunlty TO make 0n unrestricted living, th
making OF it rests with themselves. Nay, w
! oven warn them IA advance that our schcm
| has no place for charity because we thinl
what men need is opportunity and justice, no
charity.
| lou Will say We are claiming much FOR 81
simple a measure. Yes, but do not forget wha
the one extra man can do to the 1000. or wha
| the handful OF emery dust can do 90 the engine
| we only want to put thlt one man at work,an
| TO use that emery dust to make rough surface
smooth, instead ofa smooth one rough.
II we are claiming 10 wuch, come and help u
out OF our deluslon. Previous TO the Hood WI
had outlined a course OF study Of JAl5 problem
that was TO occupy one evening In each month
ana was to take only six evenings in an. Ant
we propose resumlng this plan. We win take I
step by step, ana as we dwell on each phase
! give those who want 70 know, an opportunity L
| learn with US, or those who DO know That We ar
wrong an OPPORTUNITY to convert as from th
error tf our ways. 10 botn we extend cOrdia
| invitation to take part IN oul debates.
ITO sS----
Under law approved aud signed by
Governor Beaver Oh the 7th day Of MAJ
| last, the compensation of County Com