Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-04-03

'o ..rbo produce of labor constitutes the
ootural recompense or wages OF labor
u 10 That original state OF things which
~ both appropriation OF land and
w. accumulation of stock, the whole
VIZ of labor belongs to labor" And
pace pn nage 1856 MI. George says: "Where
S w. &c free and labor is unassisted by
l "an;tal. the whole produce will go to
l ,ahor.@ and on page 1876 he formulates
.hs nroduce problem thus: produce
sa,aIs rent plus wages plus interest"
Vow Vow. under the single tax system the
,ovenues for the support of
government will be realized
trom land rents, but will it not
ne true then. as now, that such rents
viii be included in the total production
ii Iabor? And if SO, then how can the
sdon,ion of the single tax result in CIV
inc ITO each man all that his labor pro-
lnces" and raises wages to the full
earnings of labor" as indicated in the
platform? \
All produce is divided into three parts
rent wages and interest. 1t is con-
fusion of terms to speak o: further di-
vision into profits, or two kinds Of rent.
Profits is term meaning partly wages
# superintendence, partly interest.
Rent is the payment for the use of land
only: payment for the use of a house, as
distinguished from the land it stands
On, is interest, not rent, for rented
house is capital, it is wealth in course
Of exchange. AS for taxes, they are
drawn from either rent, wages or inter-
est The primary division of the entire
product, therefore is always into these
three parts, rent going to the landown-
Pr wages to the laborer, interest to the
capitalist.
Interest, the reward of capital, is
Earned by capital, capital being labor
stored up in the form of wealth, and
used in producing more wealth. Inter-
sst therefore. is not drawn from the
earnings of labor and does not reduce
wages.
Economic rent is that part of the to-
tai product which represents the in
creased power with which the COM
uulity, as whole, aids the individual.
Land bears no rent until the presence
population, the growth and improve
nent of the whole community. have
made some locations more valuable
and productive than the best To-
cations which can be had free.
By guaranteeing to certain in
Individuals the exclusive posses
sion of locations which it has rendered
valuable, society increases their pro-
duct The excess of their product over
that which the same application can Sc
cure from the least productive land in
use is rent AS it is not the result OF
extra application of either labor or cap
ital rent is not part of the earnings OF
Individuals. Therefore, taking rent fol
public purposes will not decrease wages.
But the effect of leaving rent in the
hands of individuals is to greatly de-
the total product of the community.
This results first. from the fact that the
private ownership of rent causes the
speculative monopolization Of land; ano
second, from the fact that society, not
receiving the rent which it creates, is
compelled to levy taxes on production
and products of industry, which event
nally are drawn almost entirely from
the earnings of labor.
Wages and interest are fixed ant
would be fixed under the single
tax as well as now, by tn.
rent line or margin of cultivation
That is to say, they are fixed by the re
ward which labor and capital can secure
on the best land which bears no rent
or, to put it more clearly, tn
average rate of wages of skill
ed labor is determined by tn
wages of unsl1illed labor: and the wage
OF unskilled labor are determined b,
what such labor could produce by EN-
ploying itself ON the best land that cal
be had free of rent; the general rate o
way The reasons why wages, at tn
primary distribution of products, ar
not the full earnings of the individual
Today, is because the margi
OF cultivation is artificial
lowered The desire on the par
OF all men to hold all the land they ca
get, using to it's full extent only mer
traction of it, creates Il speculativ
honopolizatlon of land and lowers tn
margin of cultivation far below what
would naturally be if speculation i
land were destroyed by the single ia.
Hence, rents are artifcially increase
and wages and interest lowered, wage
and interest being now fixed by wha
can be produced on the best unapprt
prlated land, instead of being fixed b
what could be produced on the best VI
used Land, which is where the margi
ol cultivation naturally should be.
AS long as land speculation exists tn
value of land increases in q create
ration than productive power, rer
takes more than the increase, an
wages and interest fall. Under the Sill
gle tax, where land speculation was d.
stroyed, the value of land would folio
alter the increase of productive powe
not run on ahead of it, and while rel
would increase so also would wages an
interest.
20 raise wages to the full earnings
'aoor, then. we must destroy specul;