The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-10-08
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
A THREE YEARS CROP.

i. A THREE YEARS CROP.
Profitable Farming "a, = Section Out
West.
Three years ago David Roys bought q
seetion of land near Salt Lake City for
$4,000. Last week he refused an offer
of S44s. 600 cash for il. e
The above item is taken from the
iKen6sba blade. q Wisconsin paper. II
the statement is Srae, and it is more
than likely it is true, David Koys made
SSsS;0so In three years, That was doing
very we'll. we t,tss admit, but it would
be interesting to know What David did
TO increase the value of his lana 30
tremcndoasly He cleared $3SS, 600
That's large sum. At 81 day David
could have employed for or6 day sSs,.
600 men, or to put it another way, II
Mr.. Rofs HAD been working for.Sl day
he at.tl1at rate. wotfid hhser earned $751;
900 in 1,O6ek years According to the
Bible. the man who lived to the gfeat-,
est age died at 800 years. TO earn Ssss,
600 at 81 4 day man w0t1ld have to live
to be more than LOIS years old. If;
he adopted the plan Of Saving half he
earned and put away fifty cents day ~
the time he ttad saved s3sS, 900 he would
moro than likely be gray headed.
David Roys buys a section OF land near,
city and pays ss4, 900 for it. J, Three
years after he Arefuses s44s, 900 for the
same land. Seven hundred per cent lis
not profit enough for him. II . farmer
makes twenty five percent. on the stock
he raises he is doing Yell, he thinks,
even though he has to work to make 1T.
If the man who sells groceries makgs
ten per cont 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 hnowsis:: How did
David increase the value Of that land?
Do you suppose he put a fancy fence
around the section, Or put in several
fountains, or did he SOW bluegrass and
plant trees here and there, so when tie
gentle spring came the section Of land
looked as if it were covered with vel
vet carpet With lovely dark spots caused
by the shadows of tile trees which only
cahsed the emerald earth to assume a
brighter hue.
f Possibly Mr.. 'Roys hauled manure all
the fall and early winter and scattered
it over the land SO that in three years
time his section Of land increased 700
per cent The same land that he paid
s64, 900 for he refused. S44s,O00 for.
Wouldn't you like to have that choice?
1t occurs to Tie that the, section. we arc
talking abeut might have been 4 swamp
and Mr.. Roys might have drained IT,
and thereby increased the value of bis
section.
| WHAT do you think about it? Fas
your land increased like that? II $50,
was it because you. plowed. s.tt,- and
! pIantcd ct, and ditched it, and ma
! fured II? Ifswerking land would make q
section increase 100 per cent. in three
years, how is it that farmers do not get
| rfchp know,many of them work, and
work like good fellows, too. .+. ~ 8.
BY hard work Waited at 81 a day 1t
| would take the labor OF $54 men three
years to increase. the valuation Of MIR,
Boys section from $$64, 900 to s44s, 900, So
j it is hot in the nature of things that Mr.,
! Roys increased tho value. uf his section
1 BY his 6wf labdr,.as he 4coud. scarcely
do AZ ,apehs in: three years as 1854 men
could, Where did that value. come from2
| It says the section or land was near I
|, city; and have. no doubt but that this
partienlap section of land was surround
ed by other sections that were owned
and worked by men who made their liy'
ihg.out of the land they worked. Neal
this section was a city. OF course We
all know that a city is d place where
I great many people live and. in order tha'
these people in the city may live they
must use land. AS city increases il
I size. the land near the city becomes
i more valuable because more people wan
/. it--and some of them must have 1T
then, too, as the city grows the lane
4 near the city has greater advantages
for trading and exchanging purposes
and SO, it increases in price. Not only
does the land increase in price accord
ing to tho demand at the; time but it hal
value called speculative value which
is given to. 1t BECAUSE. the prospect II
that next year the demand for the Ian.
will be greater than it is this year II
4 All this time, while the land is goins
up, not BECAUSE the owner has improved
1T, but because others have built arorns
i it-all this time thespuhlie expenses ar
met by a tax upon: food and clothes ant
houses and stock, etc If you build
house and the State OF county taxes yo'
Il for SO doing, the State or county is TAX
ing from you part Of. the value whicl
your own individual industry has ere
ated, and if the tax on houses were mad
very heavy, then people could not sff fig
to live in houses. SO we Single-Tax me
propose to take the necessary takes on
Of the value of the Land, because, MS 70
can see, land has q value which is give
to It by the work of others besides tn
owner. 80 1851
Mr.. Roys's land increased roo spe
cent, not because he improved it, b!
because other. people near him improve
their lands and the population near hi
increased in number s, = ~. go,
|. II Mr.. Roys held his land idle-ar
he probably did-then he paid less tax
on his land than the farmer next to hi
; who owned the same amount, OF Ian
Is that right? Both the man WI
uses land and the man who holds
idle or will not let others use it,.
they have land of equal value shou
pay the same tax on it because. thu
. both have possession of the san