The Louisiana Democrat., 1890-07-23
VOL. XLV.-NO. 80.

able offense for people toexchange their
grain and fruits and cattle whore il
Shall profit them most. AS long as hu.
man beings anywhere on the globe hun
ger and starve there is congestion and
bad distribution, but no real surplus of
food. BY value farmer is much less q
land owner than he is capitalist and
laborer. But the owner of the small lot
on the corner of Washington and Court
streets, upon which Sears building
stands, is a land owner indeed. just
Try and estimate the number of farms he
could get in exchange for that dimin-
utive piece of land. I know no better
illustration of land values. Boundless
acres weighed in the balance of one
city lot, and the acres kick the beam.
The twenty-five cities of Massachu-
setts, while they cover less than per
cent. OF the area, contain II per cent. of
the land values of the State. Boston
alone contains 45 per cent. of the land
values OF Massachusetts,, and only 20
47ths OF per cent. of the area. Under
the single tax Boston would pay at the
present valuation 46 pes cent. of all the
taxes raised in the State. At present it
pays 35 per cent. Three-quarters of an
average acre along Washington street
is worth as much as all the land in
Southboro. The owner of the $4,000
building at the corner of Washington
and Winter streets, standing on $l22,-
| 500 lot, would have his tax increased
heavily and find it profitable to erect
better building, but Fred L. Amcs would
probably pay less tax on the corner Of
Court and Washington streets than will
be levied under the present system.
(For these facts am indebted to Mr.. s.
Il. Howes, of Southboro, Mass)
grant that under the system we ad.
vocate speculation in land would cease,
as no one would desire to possess it ex-
cept to use it, nor would it profit any
one to do so. 1t would cease to be an
investment. No capital would be locked
up in 1t, and a vast sum now imprisoned
would be set free for productive pur.
poses.
Imagine that land ownership had
never existed in Boston. That all land
was accessible to him who wished to use
1t by simply paying its yearly rental
value. That no landlord, as now, stood
ready to gobble up in rent the profits of
labor. That each tenant were secured
legally in his possession as he possibly
can be now in ownership, had no fear Of
taxes, direct or indirect, and that no
barbarous custom houses interposed an
unnatural barrier to free trade. That
the wage Garner, allowed free access to
the opportunity of land at present lock-
ed up from him, instead Of begging for
work as now, were free to employ him.
SELF Would not Boston be better than
Bellamys dream of it, and that without
the sacrifice of individual independ.
ence? Then there could be no excuse
for idleness or poverty, except through
personal fault or misfortune, and not as
now enforced by cruel laws which
breed evil conditions. To able bodied
people seeking work or charity, we
would say, go and employ yourselves"
Human wants are illimitable. Oppor.
tunity is opened for all who will use it.
The profits Of labor can not then be
filched from the laborer. No armies OF
officials will interfere with our exchange
ing freely what we raise or make for
something else that we want. Univer-
sal Interchange means increased human
satisfaction and an unending demand
for workers. Therefore, the more work.
ers the more wealth.
No wonder that Mr.. George, seeing
what may be wrought with no miracle,
simply by striking off the fetters of law
and custom, gained new reverence for
the Creator of the earth, and looked
upon the ''unearned increment''-of land
as the divinely appointed source of rev.
enue from which a perfect society could
support itself in peace and prosperity.
Supposing we compare the three part
ners which produce all wealth Land,
Capital and Labsr-and see eewhat sort OF
equality exists in the partnership. La
Dor struggles and is in chains; Capital
srumbles at the small returns it gets
Tor investments, but the landlord, who
neither works nor risks gathers in the
profits and is cheerful, like
The smiling young lady OF Niger
Who rode on the back Of tiger;
The return from the ride
Found the lady inside,
And tho smile on the face of the tiger.
The landlord is the tiger, and he who
ides with him eventually takes the in
ide seat and loses the power to smile.
u course, in this sense, landlord does
lot mean the man who owns the build
ngs but the man who owns the land,
which is privilege other men must got
from him to use and on his
erms.
Perhaps no better illustration of the
and owners power can be seen than at
Killarney in Ireland, that beautiful
pot where lake and mountain unite to
lske perfect region OF natural de-
ight Here the tourist goes to rest his
mind and give activity to his imagina-
ion, and herein the midst of earth's
eauty he finds degraded poverty and
ordes of beggars. Did the kind power
hat made the one produce also the
ther? II yes, then welcome atheism,
or the universe is failure and tho
evil is at the fore.
But before you reach this terrible YER
let look further. True, if you ask the
1le villagers who is responsible for
heir misery they will say 1.-THE Lord"
ut they mean the lord of the manor,
ike the Earl of Kenmaro and Herbert
Muckross, who are the owners of the
nchanting landscape and delightful
'aters. They own also the wretched