The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-11-20
HfNRY GEORGE.
HIS LECTURE LAST NIGHT IN THE
BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING ON
THE SINGLE TAX.
He Would Wipe out all Taxes Except a Tax
on Landau Interesting Discourse
Attentively Listened to bya
Large Audience.

night in the Board of Trade building
to very large audience composed o
leading citizens.
Among the prominent gentlemen
present were Messrs. Governor-e
Hogg, Professors Roberts and Gould
Hon. L. L. Foster, Hon. VIM. B
Workman, Hon. John B Rector, Hon
A. P. Woodbridge, Hon. w. M. Brown
Judge Fillmore, DR.. R. NJ. Swearingen
DR.. Bennett, Judge Tom Sneed, Judge
Burts, Col j. X. Holland, Rev. E. B
Wright, Assistant Attorney Genera
Davidson, General Shelley, Lewis Han
cock and others. There were also
present many ladies who took deep
interest in the address.
Hon. A. P. Woodbridge introduced
the speaker, who spoke for nearly two
hours. He led off by saying that the
late election sounded the
death-knell of sectional strife
and that the people can now turn
their attention to the great economic
question OF the day. All over the
country there's discomfort among the
masses. Education has not removed
the discomfort. To educate men and
women is to Immediately make them
want for something better. The DIFF
fusion of education does not make the
lives of the masses more contented.
The struggle for existence does not be
come more easy. Labor saving ma
chinery and devices has not improved
the condition of them and where they
are most in use, there you find poverty
the deepest and suffering the greatest
Trade unions have been organized blu
nothing permanent can be gained by
them. A particular trade may force
up wages but when this is done others
so into it and competition reduces the
wages. 1t is impossible for trade un.
ions to accomplish any good and no
man can go into any combination
with out destroying his personal lib
erty. He is compelled to surrender
something of his liberty.
Mr.. George then alluded to the
Farmers Alliance and declared that
their warehouse scheme and scheme
for the issuing of more money were
fallacious and would accomplish no
good, but do injury, especially to the
poor. He spoke of the cooperation
plan suggested by some who hope to
, eliminate the middle men from bus
mess, but he declared it would never
succeed.
He denounced the tariff and said he
would abolish the custom bouse as
barbarism. Continuing Mr.. George
said:
"What we propose in the single tax
is equal and exact justice to ala
free field and no favors. We do not
propose take care of men. We ask
nothing for the laboring class. We
believe that all should have equal
rights and that none should have
special privileges.
there is a clear distinction between
the rights OF property which attach to
the house and those that, attach 10
the land on which it stands. The
house is the product of human labor.
Like all mans work, it tends to decay
and is constantly becoming less val
liable. There is no house now stand
ing in this city that will not be less
valuable in year from now, clearly
in ten years from now, no matter how
much the populs ton of Austin may
increase. But the land is not the
product of labor; it was here before
labor was; the land does not tend to
decay; so far from diminishing in
value with the passage of time, In a
growing community it tends to be
come more valuable. Put a tax on
the house and you inevitably tax the
man who uses it; put tax on the
value of the land and you do not tax
the man who uses the land. The value
that attaches to land with the growth
of the community never can 60 to the
user. 1t must either go to some indl-
yididual as owner-and assnere land
owner, no individual adds to the COM
mon weather. it must be taken by
the community for the use in the
community, its natural destination.
Tax the house and you have fewer and
poorer houses. Tax land values and
YOU have neither less land nor poorer
land. You may tax land values to
the point of taking the whole annual
increment for the community and
there will not be an inch less Of
fand, and it will not be any harder for
the man who wants to Use land to get
it; on the contrary, it would be
great deal easier, for the available
land cannot be withheld for use on
speculation. :,
We all want more wealth; we call
the man or community prosperous
which is increasing in wealth. Is it
not then stupid for us to impose taxes
that check and hamper the produc-
ton OF wealth? Here we have q sys-
tenn of federal taxation that is ex-
pressly designed to keep wealth out
n the cOuntry. expressly designed to