St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-02
A SINGLE TAX ADVOCATE,

To the Editor of the Globe
May yonr correspondent be permitted
to ask for space in your valuable jour-
nal for few words On farmers and the
single tax?
One cannot see very well how the
farmers can find any reasonable objec-
tions against the single tax, neither
from the standpoint of equity nor eX-
pediency. Nevertheless, some farmers
do very much object to having the
taxes taken Off their personal property
and off the Improvements of and on
their farms, and are great sticklers for
paying share of other peoples taxes,
j. e., land spectators and land sharks.
Well, well, fancy and taste none can be
robbed of. But here and there farmer
can be found who lean see the cat" as
we single takers say.
Such individuals can see and will adj
NIT that all human beings have the
same natural right to life. And such
persons can see and will tell you that
land is wholly necessary for the exist
ence of human life.
Question such a farmer and he will
say: Therefore all human beings have
an equal right to land, if everything
that is required for the maintenance of
life comes from land, and if all human
beings have the same right to life.
The single-taX farmer will also tell
people that when good land is plenty
and can be had cheap, i. e., on very
reasonable terms, there people will flock
to obtain land. Remember Okla
homa," says he. Don't forget''-he
will tell us-''that it was, and to GER
tain extent is yet, the abundance of
rood nd obaor land and anncQnnpnfly
the ease with which Spch land could be
had here in the United States. that has
been the cause of people of the old
world coming here to find homes and
spheres for their activities.
The harder it is to find land OH good
terms the more difficult it will be,
friend farmer, for your children, your
boys and girls, to find soil to found
homes on and get living farm. Farm
ers, farmers. think of this; think of
how that every acre of farming land
that is held out of use by somebody,
that to you and your children it practi-
cally means one acre taken away from
Gods univerSe-from your children.
Now, our good, Woodworking farmers
can, therefore, readily see that it is to
their detriment, and will prove curse
to their children, to have a lot OF men,
and harder for the farmers children
to find land, save as tenants, tenants,
We free-born American farmers; what
say we about knowing your children will
be the tenants, like the Irish tenant, OF
some great landlord, whom they will
have to worship as a semlgod, for
doesn't he own the land on and from
which your children must live. If live
at all?
And so the farmers cannot, l trust,
be so selfshIy stupid. ignorant and big
oted as to for moment imagine 9Th at
it is for the best of their children that
land be specialized in and held out of
use, and so its selling value raised up to
forestalling. that is, unnatural prices.
No, not for a moment do [ entertain
such an opinion of our honest, horny
handed farmers. | know that if only
their attention were called to it, they
could see and would acknowledge that
they shouldn't be taxed higher because
they put their land to use, than if they
refused to do so, for land-uSerS benefit
society; but what do the land sharks,
the ones that hold land out of use, do?
| They injure society by Withholding
from use their land; to use land means
to employ both capital and labor, and SO
to enliven times and increasing buSI-
ness. But to neglect or refuse to.use
land means right the reverse. Let us
therefore relieve the farmers and other
land users and the people generally
from all taxes save those upon the bare
land. Tax land according to its value
mot area), and no injustice will be done
to anybody, but all will be treated
alike.
Agricultural land is the least valu-
able bare land. Forest. coal, mineral
and village and city lots are the most
valuable land.
Therefore, the farmers would get less
taxes than they are paying now, when
most of the values they are taxed on
consist of improvements and personal
property. Personal property of corpor-
ations and personal property in the vii
lagos and cities is of such a nature that
it is practically impossible to honestly
assess it. 1t is hid and concealed, and
so only an insignifcantly small portion
of such is taxed. The case is different
with the improvements of and on the
farmers farms and their personal prop
erty. 1t is easily found and assessed to
the last farthing every time. Yours
truly, +. q. ANDERSON.
Jamestown, N. Y, Aug. ~, 1889.