The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-04-29
Will Taxing Coal Lands Increase the
Price of Coal2

Inc age OF steel, pupIlsneu AT 81.
Louis, says that the decision Of the Hi
nois supreme court declaring that coal
beneath the surface in that state is la
BILE to taxation, will relieve the burden
of taxation on Illinois farmers, but that
"a large proportion Of the tax will, OF
course, come out of the manufacturing
interests of st. Louis, Chicago, Joliet
and other industrial centers using Hi.
nois coal" How does the Age of Steel
figure that out? Are the coal miners
of Illinois not now charging these man.
ufacturing centers all that they can get?
Would they not charge more now il
they would not thereby drive their pres
ent customers to other sources Of sup.
ply? How are they, then, going to oh.
tain more from the manufacturers be.
cause they must henceforth pay taxes
on their coal lands?
We will venture prediction for the
benefit of our st. Louis contemporary.
If the tax imposed on coal lands in
Illinois has any traceable effect on the
price of coal, it will cause the price to
fall rather than to rise. At present
there is great extent of coal land un-
worked in Illinois. The ability to hold
it out of use enables mine owners to
limit the supply Of coal, to some extent.
The tendency of tax on such land is to
make it less profitable to hold it out of
use. The higher the tax goes, the
greater this tendency. The owners
will, therefore, have an inducement to
work mines at least enough to enable
them to obtain sufficient coal to pay
the taxes. This will put more coal on
the market and tend toward lowering
the price Let the Age of Steel watch
the market and see if it is not mistaken
in supposing that taxing coal lands will
increase the price of coal.
OF course there are some forms OF
personal property which can be seen
and appraised by the assessors, almost
as readily rs real estate, though not
with SO correct an estimate of value.
The objection to taxation Of chattels is
not that none of them can be taxed; it
is that SO many of them can be and are
reached, while SO many are not, that
the tax is necessarily unequal and un.
just. The important question, there
fore, is, upon what class does this tax
bear most oppressively? If taxes were
levied only upon land values, or upon
the values of land and buildings, would
the smaller property owners, and espe-
cially the farmers, pay more or less of
the whole taxes than they do now?
JUST as society grows so do the com.
mon needs grow. and SO grows this
value attaching to land-the provided
fund from which they can be supplied.
Here is vclue that may be taken with
out impairing the right Of property,
without taking any thing from the pro-
ducer, without lessening the natural re-
wards of industry and thrift. Nay,
here is value that must be taken if
we would prevent the most monstrous
of all monopolies. What does all this
mean? 1t means that in the creative
plan, the natural advance in civiliza-
ton is an advance to greater and
greater equality instead Of to more
and more monstrous inequality.
/ In the thickly settled parts of the
United States there is enough land to
maintain three or four times our pres
ent population, lying unused, because
/ its owners are holding it for highe,
prices, and immigrants gre forced past
this unused land to seek homes wher,
their labor will be far less productive
Progress and POVERTY,