Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-09-27
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
A THREE YEARS CROP.
Profitable Farming ON . Section Out
West.

section of land near Salt Lake City for
1000. Last week he refused an offer
Of S44S, 900 cash for it.
Tho above item Is taken from the
Kenosha Blade, Wisconsin paper. IL
the statement is true, and 1t Is moro
than likely 1t is true, David Roys made
s3ss, 900 in three years. That was doing
| very we'll. we must admit, but 1t would
be interesting to know what David did
10 increase the value Of his land so
tremendously. He cleared 1888, 900.
That's large sum. At 81 day David
could have employed for one day 3SS,-
900 men, or to put it another way, II
Mr.. Roys had been working for 81 day
no at that rate would have earned S3S4,-
900 in 1,062X years. According to the
Bible, the man who lived to the great
est age died at 900 years. To earn $685.
900 at 81 a day man would have to live
to be more than 1,075 years old. II
he adopted the plan Of saving half he
earned and put away fifty cents day by
the time he had saved S3sS, 900 he would
more than likely be gray headed.
David Roys buys section OF land near
city and pays $4,000 for 1t. Three
years after he .cfuses S44s. 900 for the
same land. Seven hundred per cent is
not profit enough for him. II q farmer
makes twenty-five ercent. on the stock
no raises he is doing we'll, he thinks,
even though he has to work to make 1t.
II the man who sells groceries makes
ten per cent. on his business he has no
cause to complain, but here is David
Roys, land speculator, makes 700 per
cent in three years and it is not enough.
The thing want to know Is: How did
David increase the value Of that land?
Do you suppose he put fancy fence
around the section, or put in several
fountains, or did he SOW bluegrass and
plant trees here and there, 80 when the
gentle spring came the section OF land
looked as II 1t were covered with q vel
vet carpet with lovely dark spots caused
by the. shadows of tie trees which only
caused the emerald earth to assume
brighter hue.
Possibly Mr.. Roys hauled manure all
the fall and early winter and scattered
1t over the land so that in three years
time his section of land increased 700
per cent. The same land that he paid
&c., 900 Tor he refused S44s,O00 for.
Wouldn't you like 20 have that choice?
It occurs to me that the section We are
talking about might have been swamp
and Mr.. Roys might have drained 1t,
and thereby increased the value Of his
section.
What do you think about it? Has
your land increased like that? If so,
was it because you plowed it, and
planted it, and ditched 1t, and ma
nured it? II working land would make q
section increase 700 per cent in three
years, how is it that farmers do not get
rich? know many Of them work, and
work like good fellows, too.
BY hard work valued at 81 q day IL
would take the labor Of 354 men three
years to increase the valuation OF Mr..
Roys' section from S64, 900 to S44s, 900. So
1t is not in the nature OF things that Mr..
Roys increased the value OF his section
by his own labor, as he could scarcely
do as much in three years rs S54 men
could. Where did that value come from?
1t says the section OF land was near
city. and have no doubt but that this
particular section Of land was surround
cd by other sections that we're owned
and worked by men who made their liv-
ing out Of the land they worked Near
this section was q city. OF course we
ell know that city 10 place where
great many people live and in order that
these people in the city may live they
must use land. As q city increases in
size the land near the city becomes
more valuable because more people want
it-and some of them must have it
then, too, as the city grows the land
near the city has greater advantages
for trading and exchanging purposes;
and so 1t increases in price. Not only
does the land increase In price accord
ing to the demand ct the time but 1t has
Q value called speculative value which
is given to 1t because the prospect is
that next year the demand for the land
will be greater than 1t Is this year.
All this time, while the land is going
up, not because the owner has improved
1t, but because others have built around
it-All this time the public expenses are
met by tax upon food and clothes and
houses and stock, etc. II Jon build q
house and the State or county taxes you
for 30 doing, the State or county is tax
ing from you part Of the value which
your own individual industry has Gre
ated, and II the tax on houses were made |
very heavy, then people could not afford |
to live in houses. So we Single-Tax men |
propose to take the necessary taxes out |
Of the value Of the land, because, As you |
can see, land has = value which Is given |
to 1t by the work Of others besides the |
owner.
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