Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-08-29
4 Woman oen~., In. s,ssss rsA

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At public entertainments recenay
held under the auspices Of the Hub
Amateur Journalists club, In Mu1e
docks hall, Boston, Mass, the peincde
pal feature of the programme WAs .
debate on the subject, ''What Reform
Does Our Civilization Most NeedT' The
following reforms were championed BY
their respective adherents: prohibttaons
nat.onalism, free coinage. protection.
free, trade and single tax. Speechea
were limited to five minutes for each
subject, and the palm was awarded Il.
Mrs Ella Maud Frye for best preeentas
tion of her subject, which was the sih
gle tax. The following il the Ave mir
ute speech made on that occssion:
1t seems to me to get the best reform
we must go to the foundation OF the
structure we call civilization, and
orS where was the first misls3d stOe
Adam Smith tells us that povs
injustice and misery began
! gate appropriation of land bef
fore that there was no greo& i.4s.-
OF wealth, for all had access to II
and natural opportunities
The having and holding Of land BY
the strong or rich, soon puts q country
into the hands of few, and whose owns
the land also to certain extent owns
the people, This was never moro con-
clusively proven than in the Spring
Valley affair in this country, with
which outrage all good citizens prob
ably are familiar
If private appropriation of land was
the first mislaid stone, then the needed
reform must be one which will straight
en- this
This is my proposition: No man
should be allowed to hold land for
speculative purposes only. To Illus :
trate: let us suppose a new town st9yt-
ed. The "toomers'' obtain all the Ii
cheap and then sell to would be settIe:
retaining lots here and there in bt
| quarters for themselves
In few years the town grow
good streets, water and light stahchfs'e 9
and many public improvements ''e' na =.
! All who have built upon : ,:r',,,h J.,
proved their land have helped
these by taxes on the fruit OF t. in Ea,
dustry. ,t F.iist
Unimproved land has increassie al.
| value, and as the town gets more crc
| ed will become more valuable.
The question now arises, is the La
itself more valuable than when the town.
started? Certainly not Then why this
increased price?
Simply this: The community growing
| up around these lots has made the sites
|
pay accordingly.
Now suppose that when that town
was started it had been agreed that
| taxes were to be levied on site values
of land. irrespective of improvements.
Would it not have been more just?
Then the poor man, living in q less
desirable part, would not have been
taxed on the improvements he was COM
PEELED to make because unable to hold
land idle, while the rich ner paid little
or nothing on his vacant land, and
reaped the full benefit from all the inn
! provementS-
Is it just that he should get all this
| value from the community and not pay
| back to it his fair share of expenses?
If he had paid his share would he
have held his land idle so long? If not,
would not times have been better?
| Work for carpenters and masons means
work for others.
Homes would have multiplied and
tenement houses, with their attendant
! evils, have been avoided.
Then, too. all other taxes would have
been abolished, for the single tax on
land values is the only just and equit-
able tax that can be imposed.
And what more than justice and
! equity can free people desire?
Special privileges and state help are
for the cowardly and indoleut-
If a great tree overshadowed a COM
munity, obscuring the sun and blight
ing life. would we be content with lop-
ping off a few branches? Would we
not destroy it root and branch? The
Injustice of our social system is such a
| tree.