The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-12-12
THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE
PEssIMIsTs AND THE
OPTIMISTS.

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There is new philosophy risen among a
certain class Of people called pessimists.
These pessimist people are supposed to have
large amount Of mercury (quicksilver) in
their composition. They never can keep
sill. They are constantly pecking at every
thing that exists, turning it insi de out, and
pointing out defects 10 its construction and
how II might be improved. This everlast-
ing rummaging among 'old and established
customs and usages," disturbs and exasper
ates another and very different class Of peo-
pie, called optimisis. This optimist family
are sleepy-heads, and don't want their
peaceful slumbers disturbed by the noise
kept up BY the ever restless, tireIess, Sleep
less pessimists, who keep the world in an
uproar with their complaints and ridicule
ofold things which thay call rubbish.
Let US alone," say the optimists, "till
we get our nap out. We have got along
we'll enough in the old way, why bother
about anything new? And how do you
know that your new theories would better
our condition if put in practice? Let we'll
euough alone"
but we will not let your 'well-enough-
alone rests and SO they keep at it to the
infpite annoyance and disgust of the
optfmisis.
There are among these new project of the
pessimists two they are particula. ~ anxious
10 discuss and have put on trial. One Of
these theories is that organized society
creates natural fund sufficient to pay all
the expenses which are inseparable from
this desirable state of the human family.
The closer this bond Of union among the
human family the greater the expense it
incurs, bnt 10 counter-balance this expense,
which being unavoidable might properly
be termed natural, there is created fund
which If used for the purpose for which it
seems to be created, is ample to meet all
the expense and outlay caused by close
association Of mankind. This expensive
something we call government. The earth
was given to man for his use. He did not
make any part Of il, and il is Of no use until
man occupies it in order that ne may get to
work and make something useful for
himself and every body else. The land,
however, has been divided up among
comparatively ewpeople who claim it as
they do any property which labor has
created, and when large number of peo-
pie settle close to each other and commence
doing business and making things which
every body wants, the ground they occupy
becomes very valuable. Ifsome body hap
pens to own this land by written title he
commences TO charge these industrious
people, what is called "rent,n and the more
people there are collected together, the
more business they do and more things they
create that everybody wants to use, and
they come from far and near to buy. This
makes what is called "profl' large, and the
men who claim the land raise the ssrent"
higher and higher as business increases.
The men who get this rent and pocket ii do
no work; they don't create auy thing, but
they get more of this "profit" than the peo-
pie who are working and make it. When
the people who do business on this land ask
to purchase il, the land owner says il is
worth so much income yearly and if you
capitalize this trent or yearly income that
will be the value Of the land.
These troublesome pessimists say this
land owner did not create any Of this value,
neither do the men living on the land
create any of this great land value which
arises from yearly rent, except pro rata
which they may properly claim for their
industry. but it has been created by thous-
ands Of people, some of them living hun
dreds of miles distant, who send the products
Of their labor to this point to exchange and
these people are all charged profit or
commission by the men who make this ex-
change, and this is where the rent or land
value comes from and it is called "unearned
increment" because no Individual has
earned it, but great community has con-
tributed BY each individual giving little
10 create this immense rent or unearned
increment.
Now these pessimists say that rent, or
unearned increment, should be paid, not to
the landlord who has not earned any part of
II by his labor, nor should the busy occu-
piers of the land retain it ALL, but there
should enough Of it be taken by the govern
ment 10 defray public expense, and the
balance be shared between the land owner
and the land occupier or user, and that no
taxes should be laid on the buildings, or
machinery, or goods, made or handled by
the occnpiers of the land. And this system
applied all over the Stale in proportion to
the value Of the business of the places occu-
pied. or what the people doing the work
could afford to pay in rent for the privilege,
would be the proper and just mode of get
ting taxes or money to pay the expense Of
government. In short, what every body
created unknowingly should be taken for the
public expenses and what the individual
created by his labor of hand and brain
should be wholly and all his own aud no
part taken for taxes
This is the theory the pessimists advance
as substitute for the present clumsy,
unjust, unequal system of taxation, aud they
insist that optimists shall think it over