Middletown transcript., 1891-10-01
4 SINGLE TAX IDEA.
fcoMMuN1cArEnl.

Mr.. EDITOR ~ notice in the last
issue of your paper, that :" The Farm
ers' Alliance of Delaware" is no less
remote from the true system of taxa
tion, than are the like organizations in
the South and the West. How these
farmers can hope to lessen the burden
of taxation upon them by taking taxes
from off the lands and placing them
upon the production of lands, is some
what puzzling. Stocks and mortgages
are simply liens against land. 1t is
the long strip of land through counties
and states that gives to the railroad
companies their opportunities. Rail
road stocks are practically deeds upon
land and its improvements. Railroad
stocks are none the less mortgages be-
cause called stocks, and the same
reasoning may be applied to all possess
sions termed stocks. Farm mort
cages are liens upon land, and the
mortgage is placed upon the farm by
its owner because he has not sufficient
accumulations of his own, and in his
judgment needs more money, which IS
simply a certificate representing so
much production. The farm owner
can very rarely, at will, pay off his in
debtedness and thereby cancel the
mortgages but the mortgage can, at
will, foreclose on an over due mort
gage land most oppressive mortgages
are overdue) and he can either possess
the land upon which the mortgage
rests, or cause its sale at a time and on
terms that will prove destructive to
the interests of that farm owner. This
being the case, that farm owner will
be compelled to pay to the mortgage,
besides the regular interest, whatever
additional cost the mortgage may be
put to because Of taxes and incidental
expenses arising from such taxation Of
the mortgage. Shou Id not that farm
owner be willing to pay the additional
burden, the mortgage will foreclose
and the farmer will be compelled
either to pay off that mortgage or give
up his farm !; and it is safe to assume
that in nine cases out of ten the latter
event will be the result.
And if the commission merchants or
those who sell as agents for the farm
ers, the productions of the farm, be
to pay additional taxes to
be permitted to do that kind of busi-
ness, it follows as consequence that
The commission merchant will be COM
oelled to charge higher commission
'Or his services wherewith he may pay
he taxation. And here again the
'armer pays the taxes and incidental |
expenses, and that is always added to
IN additional tax list. Again, if ad-
litional taxation be levied upon trans
,ortation companies, the farmer must
'ay more to have his productions
arried to market than he otherwise
would. 1t matters not at all where
'ou place the taxes, the producer must
'ay them all, unless those taxes be
evied upon natural opportunities with
'erfect equity, in which case they fall
lpon all with equal force and injustice
o none.
What are natural opportunities ?
They are simply those things that
7ere not made by man but by a high
r power, and those things cannot be
ound inseparable from land. water
'hich spreads over land must be class
d as land.
The value of natural opportunity
measured by what it will pay for its
Sc. An acre of wild marsh upon
hich only wild grass will grow, is
OF worth as much as the acre of up
nd upon which fruit, corn and veget-
oles can be successfully produced +;
'nsequently the opportunity offered
man whereby he may the more
adily live, is more valuable on the
plands than on the marsh acre, and
nd near great population centres are
r like reason more valuable than
ose remote from those centres, and
nd which can be utilized for CONNER
al exchanges or for residence pur-
'ses of those engaged in the pur-
it of manufacturing into other
rms, for the use of men, the pro-
lctions of the farm, and affecting the
le of them, is of more value than
rm land, as they afford greater op-
rtunities for the accumulation and
joyment of wealth, and, consequent
should pay higher tax than farm
1ds pay and the man who locks up
ch opportunities should be compelled
pay taxes upon such locked up op-
rtunities, at a rate of assessment
with the value of
Ose opportunities. :
Mineral lands where the wealth of
es is locked up, coal, iron, lead, tin,
pper, and all other precious ores :
1t were created ages and ages ago
power beyond the comprehension
man, from which those precious
,tals are now taken, are of far great Y
value than the richest farm land, ::
1 they too should be taxed for the y
! value of what men would give for [
,ir use. :,
Il the farmers of this country will =
* carefully into that system Of lC
,ation that would levy all taxes W
On opportunities, they will come !
srer to solution of the problem of e
t taxation. than by the plan that "
poses an additional taxation upon a !,