The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-09
THE SINGLE TAX THEORY.
B2ADsTREETs' EDITOR PRESENTS
4 DISCUSSION OF IT.
i Debate by the Bergen Point Club
Interesting Facts and Figures Given
for What They are Worth



Interesting Facts and Figures Given
for What They are Worth
(copyright)
! New YORK, Feb. S.-Tne recent activity
| among single tax clubs throughout the
| country, manifested by rather more prom
ineht reports OF their doings in the daily
/ papers, the announcement of the departure
Of Nr. Henry George for Australia. after
| lei dined at New York by a company Of
| gentlemen, some Of whom are distin guished
and some not, together with the appearance
in the Popular Science Monthly OF a paper
/ on agriculture an the Single Tax" by
/ Horace White. and the announcement of
| peculiar land tenure views by Robert G.
/ myers III, would seem to indicate renewed
| interest for or against the theory of tax
alton as preached by Mr.. Henry George.
| It would prove quite loss TO tine ge neral
! stock or information and speculation con-
| corning the single tax theory were the
| views Of members of the Bergen Point
Debating Club permitted to go unnoticed
| and having listened to opinions and argu-
| ments advanced at a recent meeting of this
unpreteatiOus but dIliigent equalization,
| | believe it worth while 20 record some of
| them.
The meeting was held at the residence of
SCION Humphreys, who. as is we'll known,
Is gentleman of considerable wealth and
| prominence.
was struck by the remark of the leader
in the affirmative c'Rssolved, That this
club approve the single tax theory of Henry
| Ge1rge9 that he lad nowhere seen or
heard OF an attempt to apply tue single tax
| theory in the form of q calculation To show
| now it would work in practice.
2AT flfn,s
| gress and Poverty it was easy to recall
| that the author nowhere ate npted any
such calculation. As Mr. White puts it, as
referred to above, He (Georgel assumes,
| without conclusive evidence, that economic
rent ia the present state of this and every
civilized country largely excee is the amount
required for necessary governmental ex-
| peAses.n
But does 1t?
The speaker in the affirmative presumably
| thought 1t did, and he proposed to attempt
to demonstrate it with figures. What
| followed interested me-
| He began by offering "a careful esti-
mate" based upon official data of the cost
of maintaining natl nal and state govern
ments in 1888, together with the sums
raised by taxation for county aud NUM-
| clpal purposes throughout the United
| States in that year. Tue totals are as fol-
| lows:
| While the United States government
raised from import duties and in
ternal (direct) taxes $3.50, 90 900 in
| 1888, the expenditures amounted
to only .... ....... .......,...... $3.50 900 600
| Taxes raised by SO states -. 800. 7l,O)0, 600
| County taxes by IS states ........... 9SOJOOOO
Taxes of cities and towns 80 states. 100000 600
Estimated total of taxes raised 1888 .S679 OOO 900
This aggregate was not difficult to arrive
at, and was regarded as near the truth.
| The next step was longer as he sought to
| arrlTe at the approximate value of the land
IN thirty-eight states-thaJ is the value of
The la d exclusive of houses, fences, land
| other improvements, in order to arrive at
! the percentage of taxation to be levied upon
"the land alone,n t. raise the necessary
income Of $679,000,000 per mum.
The official records of assessed valuations
of land, including houses, but excluding
| personal property (the latter item estim ted
in the instance of half a dozen states), show
grand total, for the thirty eight states, in
| 1883, CT $4,000, 000,0 in round numbers.
The speaker explained that, Judging from
the result of his Investigations, the average
of assessments is at q rate less than two
| thirds of the actual market value of land
and houses, tut that for the purpose OF
the argument he would assum that the
actual market value of house and land
throughout the thirty-eights ates amounted,
in gross, to only S2l 900, 900, 600
The investigations Of Robert Gffen of
the British Board of Trade into the growth
of capital in the United Kingdom show, it
was asserted, that in Jhinly-settle1 districts
the value of houses is generally wei below
that Of the land; in more thickly-settlei
localities the value of no lses more nearly
approaches, or is equal to the value of the
Ia d, while IN the more thickly-settled CEN
tiers the value of improvements upon land
exceeds the value of the land.
'hpra ffA~a,
the fact, that throughout the thirty eight
states in 1882 the total market value of the
houses land other Improvements upon the
land am united to only one-fifth the aggre-
gate value Of land and Improvement. or
$4,000, 100000 Ii this sum proved too
small To suit, the speaker believed he could
have recourse to a higher total valuation of
lands nd Improvements than the S2l ,OOO,-
100000 meltiOned), so that when the proba-
bic market value of the land alone was
placed at SIG S00,0 900, he thought the
total fair one.
"Ihe problem then amounts to this: Tho
levying of a sufficient tax upo $500, 0OO, =
OO) t. raise $679 00J, 200 Der annup. Can
the land stand lts" OF course, he Thought
it could, for it amounts to tax Of only per
cent
Here came in the amusing part of the
argument, the "practical part,n so far as
the debate was concerned-for it was the
| speakers business TO snow, II he could, that
by this change in the system of taxation
relief would be obi ined, as compared
with the system Of taxation now in force.
An instance was taken of a man who
owns residence standing on four lots, held
a. total valuation of $4,000, and assessed
SOB for taxes In addition to this CITY.
county state tax of $l03, by a lair cal
culation it vas stated that this man pays
not less than 500 per alnum indirect tax
to the United States government, owing
to prices of clothing for his family
being enhanced by import duties; and
also not less than 500 per annun, "A tax
upon foods and other essentials upon which
import duties are paid. Further, the man
was said to pay at least $40 per year in
taxes through the cost of lqu rs aud to-
bacco used by him @, being higher than if
import du les and internal revenue taxes
were removed.
SO then, in 1888, our illustration paid no
less than $343, in taxes of various kinds.
direct and indirect, against which, with
the sluge tax theory enforced, he would be
required TO pay only 4 per cent. on the
value Of his four lots, exclusive of the
value Of house and fence. de sueci-
fled the fence) The market value of
unimproved lots like the ones in qles-
ton, land quite as desirably located, is