Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-10-10
THE SINGLE TAX.
Exemption From Taxation of Personal
Property, Then of Real Estate Improve
Inents.

Exemption From Taxation of Personal
Property, Then of Real Estate Improve
ments.
In commenting on the Single Tax
Convention last month, the Benton
River Press said that 1.-THE Sinrle-Tax
theory contemplates such a complete
revolution of the existing order of
things that the River Press apprehends
that the world must be remade and the
people reborn before it can be practi-
cally applied" The River Press surely
could not have made very thorough
study of the theory, or it would hardly
have made such an assertion. Under
the proposed system there will be no
change-or at least no sudden change
in the form of taxation. All that would
be done would be the exemption from
taxation, first, of personal property;
then OF Improvements on real estate;
following these. or perhaps intermedi-
ate, would be the abolishing of licenses
to do business. The natural result of
these exemptions would be the heavier
assessment against land values. The
method is very simple one and the
change in the form of taxation would
hardly be noticed. The complete rev.
olution" would only be apparent in the
result, for the immediate effect would
be the abolishing of land speculation
and the consequent throwing open to
the use of labor of large quantities of
land which are now held out of use.
1t is hard to understand why people
must be remade or reborn to carry into
effect the theory. Last week the editor
OF The Age met in Helena "A gentleman
prominent in the legal and political
arenas o. Montana. The gentleman
asked: What is this single tax theory
you are advocating?" a brief explana-
tion was made, and the gentleman re-
marked: why, that is just what the
people of Kansas did a number of wears
ago. Spectators got hold of great
deal of land in Kansas and were hold
ing till the influx of population and the
improvements made by actual settlers
would increase its value. The Lerisla-
ture one year passed laws requiring the
assessment of the land at the same rate
as improved land and authorizing the ex-
emption of Improvements from taxa
ton, and the spectators could not let
go of their land too quick' What the
gentleman stated has been the eynor-
fence of numerous communities. and
the wonder is that such laws have not
always been in force. The reason, per-
haps, Is that it is to the Immediate and
great interest of tho few to secure n
monopoly, while the interest of the
many in preventing them is not visible
and so direct, and the majority lose
their rights as they have always lost
their rights drought neglect and in
ertia.
The River Press makes a mistake in
saying that the lands must be condemn.
ed FOR the public good, because the peo-
pie in demanding the rental value of the
lands are only asking for the values
which the people themselves create. As
has been repeatedly shown in The Are.
the necessity of government and the
values of land are both the result of non.
ulation, and the revenue of one should
pay the cost of the other.
The River Press closed its article with
the statement that until it can be
shown that the number of the indolent.
the vicious, the improvident and the
naturally worthless will be materially
lessened, Mr.. Georges theory will
simply be theory for all time to come. =
If the River Press will carefully studv
the question. 1T can see that the opening
of the avenues to labor will give oppor.
tunity to many who are now called in
dolent, and vicious, and improvident.
and worthless simply because thew can
not find the opportunity to labor, or if they
do get the opportunity they are OBLIGED
to give large proportion of their earn
ings to monopolists for the privilege of
labor. Certainly under the present svs.
tenn the indolcnt. vicious, improvident
and worthless classes are not growing
smaller in numbers, which is pretty
good evidence that the present system
is not the correct one, and any change
which promises Improvement in this
direction merits careful inves!igation.-
The Age, Boulder, Mont.