Iron County register., 1891-01-15
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
REliEvE THE FARMER.


der than 1t does now. Land. under his
system will continue to be owned by in
dlvlduals precisely as it is now. 1t will
descend to heirs and be devised to lepa-
tees precisely as it is now. Not sim
gle law relative to land ownership and
control now upon our statute books will
De changed in carrying out his doctrines
to the fullest extent. mans right,
unaer the present system, to enjoy the
exclusive possession of tract of land is
conditioned upon the payment of tax
upon its value. And so it will be under
the George system, without the slight
est change in the machinery now in use
Tor the assessment and collection of
taxes on real estate.
Henry George simply proposes to re-
form our present absurd and barbarous
system of levying taxes, a system which
dlscourages enterprise and thrift and
encourages monopoly and greed.
lake the case of a young man here in
Texas, who, we will say, by working on
shares. has finally saved up little cap
ltal, and who now proposes to become
the owner of a farm of his own. He is
going TO get piece of wild land, break
1t up, grub it, fence it and cultivate it.
lie has wagon, a pair of horses, few
household utensils, wife, plenty of
children and little money. He does
not dream of getting rich: he merely
hopes to secure a competency by faith
full work. He looks around fora loca-
tion. He naturally desires to settle near
town, where he will be handy tonarket,
and where his family can enjoy the So
ciety of neighbors and the b.nefts OF
church and school privileges. He finds
just such a town. He finds tens of
thousands of acres of vacan land all
around this town and close Tit. just
the kind OF land he is lookin, for. No
one is using it. and it lies here idle,
waiting for the hand of in.ustry to be
applied to it. But he filds that the
spectators have got there aIead of him
They are keeping it for al increase in
value. In order to let hold of
hundred acre tract f this land
he must mortgage himself to
some speculator. He muS bind himself
to pay over to a speculate all that he
can possibly save in exces of the barest
possibilities of life for erm of years.
He feels that the land i: already above
his means. so he turns evay, drives out
twenty miles and buys hundred acres
out of thousand acre tract hold by
another speculator. forwhich he pays
$500, and then settles OWN in the will
derness.
His children can scacely get to school
at all. 1t is miles to my church. lie
has to haul his cotton five. miles to the
nearest gin. He VASES great deal of
time on the poor Dads between his
home and the town here he does his
marketing, hauling his produce over
thousands and tens thousands of acres
of land just rs welldapted to raising
it as that which he as been compelled
to select so far ava He works to far
greater disadvantae than he would had
he been permitted settle nearer town,
hence ne produces -ess, and therefore
must buy less.
Now. why have he spectators seized
this vacant land al taken it out of the
reach of this irustrious farmer? Do
they propose to U it? Do they propose
tC do any thingvith it by which labor
can be employetand the sum total Of
the worlds veal increased? Do they
propose to invest dollar in the cultiva-
tion and improvnent of this land? BY
no means. The propose that some one
else shall do o work and have the
worry. and takehe chances of the crops
failing. Yet th' propose, nevertheless,
to lret rich out this land. How? BY
holding it in ieness. by driving labor
off from it, ancompelling labor to pass
it by and sets on far less eligible
and desirable acts. One of these spec
ulators paid 1000 for piece of this
land. 1t is worth 6, 00O Whose
labor has put an additional
value of $1,000 upon this
piece of want land? Not the labor
OF tho prese owner, nor the labor of
any previouaner, because no one has
ever done stroke of work upon the
land 1t haesulted from the increase
of populatio 1t has been put there by
the commury. The speculator sells the
tract for 500 and thus makes 81, 900.
He has not, ,owever, increased the sum
total of th~orld's wealth one iota by
the transaon. He has simply drawn
to himself 900 worth of wealth which
other pee have produced-wealth
which labdlas been compelled to pay
over to hi for the bare privilege Of
access to of the gifts of nature.
Well, oyoung farmer, after a year
hard worh fencing, breaking the sod,
and puttiIup buildings, has added $500
worth of iprovement to that hundred
acre tract land. BY the sweat of his
brow he j actually increased the sum
total of wealth of the world to the
extent CS3OO. What happens now?
Why tItax-collector comes around
and fineim for it by taxing these i'm
provence. He has to yield up to the
rovernnt in taxes on these improve
ments artion of the fruits of his indi
yidual ustrv. lie is robbed on ac
count okes on these improvements of
a portiof the values produced solely
by his dividual industry. The COM
runitvt not put this additional value
of $500 IN his land. He put it there
bv his hard work. But who IS put
ting vas yearly on the vacant land
adioini which the speculator is hold
ing in AnesS? Is it not the commu-
uity t!does it? Now. why should our
vounrrmer be taxed any more for
nsinr -hundred-acre tract of land and
giving nloyment to labor on 1T than
the stIator is taxed for holding in
id!ena tract of equal value and pre-
ventin Dor from using it? Which act
condu most to the prosperity of the
count Why should not the Spectator
nay aast as much tax for the privi-
lere excluding labor from hundred
acre It of land as the farmer has TO
nav fhe privilege of employing labor
ON a';t of equal value?