Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-10-18
TIIE SINGLE TAN QUESTION,

The following editorial from the Chicago
Times will bc read with interest by
those who are curious to- know something
Of the Henry George theory Of taxation.
The Times says; In regard TO the sub
ject-mattcr The Times has few words to
submit, but without going into an ele-
mcntary discussion All the reformCrs who
have addressed The Times on this
question seem to assume that we may sub
stimte mno communism for individual
ownership oH-hand. They seem to assume
that existing laws and institutions ought
not to he permitted to stand in the way
of the substitution for moment and that
no real rights have been acquired under The
laws and usages of society which deserve
to be regarded in the presence Of what is
assumed to he the monstrous wrong of in
diyiiual ownership Of land. They tell us
it is that part only of the value of land,
irrespective of all improvements, which
results from Joint efforts and from mere
increase in population that they propose
10 take from individuals by taxation for the
use Of society 1t is the "uucarned mere
mcnt they say, or what for the sake of
convenience we may call the social value,
rs distinguished from that which is pro-
duced by the labor of the individual that
they propose to tax away. And to tax it
away they assert "Can not he coniS-
cation in amy sense" If the owner
we're III every case a person who had
ever given any one an equivalent
ont Of the product of his own industry for
this social value there might be some
plausihility about this assertion Atany rate
in order 10 combat it successfully 1t would
he necessary to establish the right of IN
diyidua ownership Of lands as an origi-
mai proposition. But the fact is not in ac-
cordauce with the hypothesis. In the
overwhelming majority of cases IN this
co.fffTy and wherever else there Is free
trade in the land, the present owner Is not
the original owner or a person who has OBJ
tanned the land 10y inheritance or otherwise
from the original owner without giving an
equivalent for the "uucamed' as we'll rs
the earned increment In general the
present owner is one who has paid in full
for both iucrcmeuts. and has paid for them
it is to he presumed out of the fruits of
his own industry, or out of the products of
which he is rightfully in possession, and
which. in the Georgian phrase, are his
against all the world" And that is
why taxing away the ''unearned
increment, or social value, would
be con6scation in the full sense
of the word. Mr. James, let
rs say. has $1,000, which is the
fruit Of his own industry the pro-
eeeds, it may be, Of the sales of COM
munistic book of which he is the author.
That is his Mr. George tells us, against all
the world. Mr.. James invests the money
IN building and the ground on which it
stands The bUildiug is worth. say, $50
600. the other improvements due to individ-
ual labor are worth $4,000, and the social
value of the land is 100000. Now comes
Mr. George rs the agent of regenerated
society and takes away this 100000, or all
the income from it which amounts to the
same thing, for the use of the society. OF
the 500, which was his against all the
world Mr.. James now has left only 100000
Somehow he has been deprived of one-halt
of what was his against all the world
This is coniScation; neither more nor less
And it is precisely the kind of confscation
that Mr.. George and his disciples propose
TO practice ON tremendous scale. They
are not going to practice it right away
Society is not prepared for such prodigi
Gus upheayal and shaking as would neces
sarily result And that is why there is n,
occasion at present to 90 into a prolonged
and tedious discussion of elementary prin.
ciples.