Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-05-16
SOME FOOLISH FARMERS.
Una Alliance Fears the knights of Labor
and the Single Tax-Their approximations
GroundIess.

from the National Union. Resolutions
to that effect and an article setting forth
reasons for the same appeared in the
Daily Nashville american March 18th.
The difficulty seems to be that the Una
Alliance does not approve of the alli-
ance between the Knights of Labor and
the Farmers National Union, and the
reason they do not approve is because
the Knights of Labor adopted plat
form which demands shat the taxes on
all land shall be equal to the whole
unearned increment. The article then
goes on to say ''the simple meaning of
such a demand is that every man own
ing land shall be required to pay to the
government as rent, under the name of
taxes, all profits accruing to him from
such ownership. Such course on the
part of the government would be confis-
cation" The article makes it very
plain that the Una Alliance does not
think it wise for the farmers to help the
Knights of Labor ''rob them (the farm
ers) of their lands"
Surely the farmers are in bad enough
situation now, and they do not want
anybody to rob them of their lands nor
of anything else If they are like most
men, and it is foolish and stupid to pre-
tend to be friends and allies with men
who want to rob them. But who are
these terrible men, and what is it they
proposeP i suppose the main difference
between the Knights and the farmers is
that one body of men work in the trades
in the cities and that the other body of
men work in the country, in the fields.
The Knights, like the farmers, are try
ing to keep up wages; are trying to the
best of their ability to get fairer share
of the wealth which their labor pro-
duces.
For years the Knights and the farm
ers, too, have held meetings and dis
cussed first one plan and then another
for bettering their condition, learning
some lesson by each failure, until many
Knights and many farmers have come
to the conclusion that most of their
troubles come from unjust taxation, and
this gradual education which has been
going on has finally resulted in the
Knights of Labor adopting the ''single
tax upon land values" as the best means
of raising revenues, and as the only way
of protecting themselves from monopoly.
Let us see what it is that the Una Alli-
ance people object to so strongly.
We propose to do away with all taxa
ton upon everything except one tax
upon the value of land. just let me
a. q nj To hn. ! u 30.
upon the value of land, not upon the
area.
Perhaps the Una Alliance knows what
1t is doing. Perhaps it thoroughly I'M
derstands the proposition which it re-
jects; but from the fact that they think
the Knights of Labor want to rob them
of their lands, / should say, as guess,
they do not understand the proposition
at all. The ''single tax" cannot posi-
bly, hurt any man who works for liv-
ing, for it will take from no man one
particle of what he earns, but on the
contrary it will give to every man all
he earns.
1t has been proved again and again
that it is impossible to collect taxes on
personal property with any success.
When personal property is assessed, the
rich man, the banker, the bond owner,
the man whose wealth is in money or
any other article which is easily hidden,
he is the man who escapes taxation; and
the man whose wealth is in stock and
farm implements, and whose condition
is well known to all of his friends and
to the assessor, he Is the man who paws
the larger tax on personal property.
According to Mr.. Shearman If all taxa
ton on personal property were done
away with in Ohio, the farmers would
pay per cent less taxes than they do
now. In Tennessee the law exempts
$1,000 worth of personal property, and
this operates so that the farming coun-
ties pay less personal tax than the city
counties. There is no theory about
that; you can prove it by consulting the
published statistics. 1t is only fair to
conclude that if releasing $1,000 worth
of personal property from taxation ope-
rates for the farmers benefit that re-
leasing all personal property from taxa
ton would be good thing for the
farmer. When it comes to assessing
houses it is a well-known fact that the
poor man pays way out of proportion to
his rich neighbor. A house that costs
$1,000 or $4,000 is easily assessed at or
near its value, but house that costs
$4,000 may be assessed at one-half or
two-thirds its value, but seldom more.
If we take fancy to tax bonds the
result is that the owner raises the inter-
est on his bonds and the people are
taxed to pay the increased interest.
Taxes can be raised from taking
part of wages or part of rent
III we take all wages in taxation then
men who now work for wages will be
reduced to slaves, or to the same level
as our stock. If we could succeed in
taxing interest then capital would be
withdrawn from use. Now no matter
how much we may look upon the capt.
talist as our enemy, we know capital is
good thing and great help, and it
should be friend to labor.
Now suppose we do tax rent; in fact
do as we propose to do, take all taxes
out of rent mot house rent, but the
ground remit, what would be the result?
The result would be to put a stop to
landlordism. And would that be bad
thing? II men, who are now living off
other men, had to work for their own
living, would that be very evil state