The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-06-04
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
ALARM IN NASHVILLE.
Single Tax Doctrine Seems Terrible
Bugaboo.

Bugaboo.
Despite the intelligent understanding
OF the single tax doctrine in Memphis,
1t seems to be terrible bugaboo in the
Tennessee capital. Mr.. J. w. Davis, in
letter to the Nashville American, is
manifestly in state of alarm, similar
to that which frequently prevailed when
the simpler form of industrial slavery
existed in the South. Mr.. Davis says:
''If / understand Mr.. George, he is no
crank or visionary theorist any more
than Mr.. Lincoln, Seward, Wendell
Phillips, Garrett Smith, Sumner & Co.
were when they began to preach and
teach their abolition doctrine to the
North. And who will say that they
were not an honest set? And they kept
up their honest devilment until they
drenched our fair southland with blood,
murdered our best men, impoverished
our women and children, sent many of
them to the wash tub and our old men
to untimely graves. No, you and friend
Frost are mistaken about the following
of Mr.. George. Don't you know the pie
beian antipathy to the landlord"
This is charming. The little thrust
at the plebeian has the true flavor of the
old time denunciations of the mudsills,
and makes the parallel almost perfect.
Let us hope for equal similitude in re-
sults-barring the blood and washtubs.
Mr.. George is as practical as Lincoln,
as enthusiastic as Garrison, as eloquent
as Phillips and as determined as Sum-
ner in emancipating the white men Of
both North and South from the remain
ing form of industrial slavery. The
men who still lament the overthrow
OF negro slavery are right in look
ing on the new movement for free
dom with provided they are
proiting by the existing condition.
They ought to make sure of this fact so
as to avoid the folly of the poor whites"
in Lees army, who fought nearly four
years and then discovered that the whole
trouble was about property and mig
gers, of which they owned neither, and
that 1t was rich mans war and poor
mans fight"
The scare is evidently having practi-
cal results. At q regular meeting the
Una Alliance, branch of the National
has passed set of resolutions declaring
that the Davidson County Union pro-
poses to support the national organiza-
ton sin spite of its unnatural action in
st. LOUIS" and therefore. Una Alliance
withdraws from the country union
and returns its charter. The res
olutions are accompanied by
statement published in the
Nashville American, which begins as
follows: ''In November last the Knights
OF Labor held a convention in Atlanta
and adopted platform demanding the
virtual confiscation of every mans land.
The language of their demand is that
the taxes on all land shall be equal to
the whole unearned increment. The
simple meaning of such demand is
that every man owning land shall be re-
quired to pay to the government
as rent, under the name of taxes, all
profit accruing to him from such owner
ship. Such course on the part of the
government would be conf1scation, pure
and simple. Shortly after the promul-
cation of this platform the National
Union met in st. Louis and Powderly,
the leader of the Knights, attended
that meeting and asked for conference.
To our great surprise and modification
the National Union received with per-
feet ovation this man who had just aid
ed in making this platform of confisca-
ton. In the language of the Toiler,
the official organ of our State union,
when Powderly entered the hall "cheer
after cheer went up from the BODY
''Our farmers" members of the National
Union, ''fell in love with Powderly."
The president of the National Union
held secret conference with him, and
as result tho National Union formed a
confederation with the Knights of La
Dor and agreed to cooperate with them
in electing men to the legislative and
congressional Offices and in securing leg
islation."
The paper goes on at great length,
protesting that the eligibility clause OF
the constitution of the alliance has been
so altered as to permit mechanics to be-
come members, and suggesting that
negro members Of the Knights Of Labor
may be brought into contact with the
farmers. The gist of the whole COM
| plant, however, lies in the paragraph
quoted, in which the purpose of the
resolution adopted by the Knights is
clearly stated and bitterly animadyerted
upon.
The Una Alliance appears to be some.
thing of kid glove organization, and it
will be we'll for working farmers in the
South to take note of the fact that these
professors themselves admit that the
course proposed by the Knights will only
take from the land owner the profits &C.
cruing to him from ownership. This is,
of course, serious matter to men who
hold land that other men work, the own,
ers drawing their income from it in the
shape of rent or interest on mortgages
But if the working farmer will looA
closely into the question he will see thai
the alliance has in no way threatened
his interests by coalition with the
knights. Let him find what bare land
exclusive of mprovements, is worth il
his own neighborhood, and then ascer
tain its value in Nashville, Memphis
and in the mining districts, and fgur,
out for himself whether his taxes will
be increased or diminished by maxim,
land values the sole basis of State an,
1noo1 IN HI M ~ u,ov1,n1 o,,A =,