St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-24
PROPERTY IN LAND.
Father Huntington's Lecture on
Single Tax.

Single Tax.
The Biiou opera house was crowded
to the doors yesterday afternoon on the
occasion of Father Huntington's lecture
upon the single tax. The members of
the Single Tax league were out in force.
A large number were present out OF
curiosity to hear the famous member Of
the Order of the holy Cross and the
those who had wandered IN because
there was no charge for seats.
Rev. Sample presided over the meet
ing, and introduced the speaker with
lengthy preamble, giving his idea of the
single-tax theory, which proves him a
convert to the cause. The stage was
occupied by semicircle of local en-
thusiaSts, who showed their apprecia-
ton of the discourse by bursts of ap-
plause.
Father Huntington Is not snowy
speaker, and at the start gives the inn
preston that he is just over from En-
gland, some of his sentences sounding
very like the utterances Of Lord Chum-
ley. What he lacks in eloQuence, how
ever, he makes up in earnestness, and,
when he warns to his subject, he ham
dies it rapidly and forcibly. He is an
excellent dialect comedian, and told
several comical stories bearing on the
subject.
his arguments were none of them
new, and he took the same ground that
has been often lectured upon before by
single tax theorists, and may be heard
at any time at one Of the Tuesday even
ing meetings of the Single Tax league.
He began with the argument that when
child is born into this world he is
born into heritage of enough land to
support him, and if he is denied that
land he is disinherited, he has been
cheated out of his biIthright. The land,
he claimed, belonged to the living, and
not the dead.
He claimed that land was not prop
erty. That which a man makes with
his own hands, that that he creates with
his own brain and sinew, belonged to
him, and no one could have the right to
take it from him. The government
might think it had, but no one could
make him believe that it had the right.
1t might forcibly put its hand into his
pocket and take it from him, but he had
the right to believe that the government
had acted like common thief and
stolen it from him.
The land, he said, was the Lords. and,
therefore, not the landlords. Every
thing came from the land and every
thing that had been made toward
civilization had its origin in the land,
and might become property, but the
land itself belonged to man by divine
right. No one had the right to hold 1T
unimproved, receptacle for tomato
cans and refuse. Should a tax be put
on sthis vacant land In accordance with
what it were worth if actually improved,
how quick would the owner either i'm
prove it or give 1t up to his fellow man
who wished to occupy it. No man had
right to hold it by deed unless he
could show deed direct from the right
full owner and signed God Almighty.
Animal life in the world, he said, was
the basis of the worlds future. Men
had said that this country was being
Overcrowded. 1t was not so. There
its present population, large amount
of it having been gift to corporations
to be held and sold to the poor man, to
whom it should belong as birthright.
Let land be given only for actual use,
and every man would have enough and
plenty to spare, and then, indeed, would
people believe that man Yves born into
this world free and equal, and privi-
legged to enjoy life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness.
"Poor Pat" said, he "away over in
Ireland. is crowded out from his farm
by nonresident landlords; he looks
about him, and hears of this free cOun-
try Of ours, and he emigrates and comes
to America. He goes West, and takes
farm away west of the Mississippi
river. After while he awakes to the
fact that he is tenant OF the same nom
resident landlord who evicted him in
the old country"
Father Huntington urged his hearers
to think over the matter. and recon-
mended different single tax publications
for reading matter. He was frequently
annlauded