San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-29
The Henry George Theory.


Mr.. George puffs his single tax,
with all his might, and represents it
as a genuine cure all, and an infallible
panacea for all political and social
ills, real and imaginary, but his lee.
ture was wofully deficient in argu-
| ment and common sense. 1t most
certainly was not wanting in bold,
sweeping assertions, unsupported by
fact.
He asserted that his single tax
would rid the city of New York of
her legion of squalid. filthy paupers.
can only characterize this sort of
palaver as first class bosh. Pauper-
ism is indigenous to large cities, and
will never be eradicated by all the
systems mongers in the world. 1t is
sheer nonsense in Mr.. George to hold
up the existing system OF taxation
as the cause of the rich being
rich and the poor being poor.
This sort of talk is pure CANNON.
Men are poor from lazlness prodigal-
ity and dissipation-the fault Is
wholely in themselves aud the blame
does not rest on our laws, or on our
system of taxation. 1t is fully as nom
sensical to say that the riches of
Gould. Sage, Cyrus Field, Astor and
Vanderbilt have pauperized the
| paupers Of New York. Some dema-
gogues do talk in this why, but they
do not believt what they utter-they
are humbugging and deluding
credulous people. JAY Gould, him
self, started out in life as poor man,
so did Sage and Field, yet they made
large fortunes, and did not wiring any
of their gains out of any poor man.
They grew rich by specializing
in stocks in Wall street. |
must not tell the intelligent
reader, that poor mon do not own
great blocks of shares in mines and
railroads, and that for that reason
Gould, Sage, &C., could not have plum
dered and robbed the poor men OF
New York. 1t is, perhaps, unreason-
able to expect demagogues and breed
ers of theories, either to talk common
sense, or to stick to the truth very
scrdpulously, but thinking men
ought not to be caught by such mis-
cradle chaff. There were poor people
in ancient times-the Roman repub-
lie had to feed the populace of Rome,
gratuitously--there were poor people
in Athens, and in every ancient city
there were poor people in the mid
die ages and the world will never be
rid of poverty. The Savior said
1.-The poor, We shall have with you
always" and so it will be until all
men and women become industrious
and sober and frugal-a thing not at
all probable.
People flock to cities to escape man
ual labor on the farm and to have
light work and an easy time; but, as
the supply of laborers is in excess of
the demand, many are disappointed
in obtaining employment TO their
liking, or lose their situations on &C
count of their personal misconduct.
No man will be such an egregiOus-
ass as to affirm that Gould, Wander
bilt, Field, Sage, Astor, etc, induced
poor men TO flock to New York under
the promise of giving them work, and
then broke their promise to them?
1t would be fully as assinine to affirm
that the above named rich men, by
means of their wealth, prevent
poor men in New York from
obtaining employment, and in
this way keep them poor. No
code of laws, no system of taxa
ton, will ever eradicate poverty.
Why? Simply because they are pow
erless to make the lazy industrious,
the wasteful frugal, and the drunken
sober. Workingmen frequently squan-
der their earnings in the grog shop,
the gambling table and the brothel,
and then launch out into coarse de-
nunciatiOns of all rich men, as if they
were the cause of their dissipation
and wasteful habits. Frugality is
rare virtue among wage-wOrkers, and
yet frugality Is the only road to COM
fort and ease and to wealth. 1t really
pains me to see poor men despising
the virtue Of frugality and re-echoing
the catchwords of every agitator and
demagogue, who thrusts himself for
ward as the champion OF the poor
men. This writer is poor man, but |
he wants no sleek-tougued champion |
poklng around him with his quaek |
nostrums for relieving the poor of |
their poverty. look on such fellows |
as fre-brands, and as the greatest |
enemy to poor men, to be found any |
where, as they fill them with discon- |
tent and class prejudices, and instil |
into them hatred Of all who are rich. |
I have seen it stated that Henry |
George is worth $50, eco, all made from
his lectures aud the sale of his books.
Now who have been his patrons?
Why, poor men have bought his
books and attended bis lectures, with
q few exceptions of over-curious
people. Well, co you suppose If he
had not assumed the role he did--had
not come forward as the champion of
poor men, that his books and lectures
would have Melted him $4,000? Not
bit of it. He has made money out of
his nIaVino the chamniOn Of The moor