Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-10-23
THE NEW YORK TIMES SPEAKS,

| The Meeting of the Single Tax Men of tn.
| United States in Conference Causes it t.
Say Few Words on Existing Methods o
Taxation; Meantime 1t Has a Good wort
to Say For the Single Tax Idea.
| New York Times, Sunday. Augusta
Mr.. Henry George is to be greeted or
his return from trip around the world
by a single tax conference, which is to
| hold its sessions at the Cooper Union
this week. Between four hundred and
| five hundred delegates are expected tt
be present, representing single tax or
CARNATIONS in some thirty different
| States. This will certainly afford to Mr.
, George, after his somewhat triumph al
| tour, significant evidence of the pro
gress which his ideas have been making
! IN the last few years. This progress
has been made, however, after the PEac.
/ tical suppression of one phase Ct his
land theory and the fuller development
Of another phase. When his doctrines
we're first put forward. that which
appeared most prominent and striking
IN them was the denunciation of private
ownership of land, the contention that
all land belonged by right to the COM
munity, and the proposition that the
State should confiscate and hold in it's
own possession all land regardless of the
vested rights of individuals. This idea
was not only revolutionary, but it in
golved such manifest injustice as to be
generally repellent To be sure, Mr..
George argued that there was nothing
wrong in it. and thatit was a very simple
and easy matter. All that was neces-
sary was for the State to put tax upon
and, irrespective of improvements,
equal to it's full rental value. Then it
would not be worth any body's while to
insist upon holding title to it; occupa-
lions is all that would be of any moment
20 the possessors, and that would have to
De fully paid for, while the compensa-
lion would come in relief from all other
forms of taxation.
This side of the Henry George doc
trine has developed into what is known
as the single tax policy, while the land
ownership side of it has been rather lost
sight of. The single tax idea in it's
present form practically ignores or neg
tects the question of title and ownership
IN land, and simply maintains that all
public revenues should be derived from
TAX upon land values apart from i'm
provements, which tax may rightly be
carried to the point of appropriating
for the State all that properly belongs
to the rental value of the land. 1t IS
maintained that the bare land, that
which is valuable for mere occupation,
and is in no measure due to labor or ex-
pense pat upon it by individuals, is the
natural heritage of the community, to
- Oh Ill ,l fho
same terms, and that the income deriva-
Bile from advantages of location or quail
ity fairly belongs to the community
Moreover, it is argued that the increase
of value for occupation due to the
growth of the community and the null
tiplicatio of advantages through social
and industrial development, and not due
to any Labor or expense of the occupant,
belongs by right to the community
But, leaving all these subtleties
apart, the single tax proposition IS cap
able of being considered in very SIM
pie form as mere question of taxation,
and as such it isfnot without interest, as
recent discussion in many quarters am
ply shows. We|have not hesitated here
tofore to express our belief that it was
the ideal of taxation, unattainable for
a good while to come and without long
agitation and progressive advances, but
resting on irrefragible logic. Its adj
vantages would be many. 1t reduces
taxation to absolute simplicity and cer-
tainty and the utmost efficiency-that is
to saw, the form which would bring the
greatest ratio of revenue with the small
est cost and difficulty of collection. 1t
would absolutely free from the inequali-
ties tt at characterize all existing sys-
TENS of taxation, for all land, by whom
soeyer held and for whatever purpose