Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-08-27
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
THE RIGHT TO THE USE OF The
EARTH.
Nv Herbert Spencer.

l. Given a race of human beings haV-
ing like claims To pursue the ob1ects o.
their desires-given world adapted TO
the qualification of those deslres-a
world into which such beings are SINH
larly born, and it unavoidably follows
that they have equal rights to the use
of this world. For if each OF them
'has freedom to do all that he
wills, provided that he infringes
not the equal freedom of any other. !"
then each of them is free to use the
earth for the satisfaction of his wants,
provided he allows all others the same
liberty. And conversely. it is manifest
that no one, or part of them, may use
the earth in such way as to prevent
the rest from similarly using it; seeing
that to do this is to assume greater free
dom than the rest, and consequently to
break the law.
2. Equity, therefore does not permit
property in land For if one portion
of the earth's surface may justly be-
come the possession of an individual,
and may be held by him for his sole use
and benefit, as a thing to which he has
an exclusive right, then other portions
of the earth's surface may be so held;
and eventually the whole of the earth's
surface may be SO held; and our planet
may thus lapse altogether into private
hands Observe now the dilemma to
which this leads. Surprising the en-
tire habitable globe to be so inclosed, it
follows that if the land owners have a
valid right to its surface, all who are
not land owners have no right at all to
it's surface. Hence, such can exist on
the earth by sufferance only. They are
all trespassers. Save by the permission
of the lords of the soil, they can have
no room for the soles of their feet.
Nay, should the others think fit to deny
them resting place, these landless
men might equitably be expelled from
the earth altogether. If, then, the as
sumption that land can be held as prop
erty. involves that the whole globe may
become the private domain of part of
its inhabitants; and if, by consequence
the rest of it's inha bitants can then ex-
ercise their faculties-can then exist
even-only by consent of the land own
ers; it is manifest that an exclusive
possession of the soil necessitates an
infringement of the law of equal free
dom. For men who can not Give and
move and have their being" without
the leave of others, can not be equally
free with those others.
3. Passing from the consideration of
the possible to that of the actual we
find yet further reason to deny the rec
titude of property in land. It can never
be pretended that the existing titles to
such property are legitimate Should
any one think so, let him look in the
chronicles. Violence, fraud, the prerog-
ative of force, the claims of superior
cunning-these are the sources to which
those titles may be traced. The origin
al deeds were written with the sword
rather than with the pen; not lawyers,
but soldiers, were the conveyancers;
blows were the current coin given in
payment; and for seals, blood was used
in preference to wax Could valid
claims be thus constituted? Hardly.
And if not, what becomes of the pre-
tensions of all subsequent holders of
estates thus obtained? Does sale or
bequest generate a right where it did
not previously exist? Would the origin
al claimants be non-suited at the bar of
reason, because the thing stolen from
them had changed hands? Certainly
not And if one act of transfer can
give no title, can many? No. Though
nothing be multiplied forever it will
not produce one. Even the law recog-
nizes this principle. An existing hold
err must, if called upon, substantiate
the claims of those from whom he pur-
chased or inherited his property; and
any flaw in the original parchment,
even though the property should have
I, - 49,
quashes his right.
But time" say some, lis great le-
galizer. Imnemorial possession must
be taken to constitute legitimate
claim. That which has been held from
age to age as private property, and has
been bought and sold as such, must
now be considered as irrevocably be-
longing to individuals" To which
proposition willing assent shall be
given when it's propounders can assign
it a definite meaning. To do this, how
ever, they must find satisfactory an
swers to such questions as How long
does it take for what was originally
wrong to grow into right? At what
rate per annum do invalid claims be-
come valid? If a title gets perfect in
thousand years how much more than
perfect in a thousand years, how much
more than perfect will it be in two
thousand years-and SO forth. For the
solution of which they will require
new calculus.
Whether it be expedient to admit
Claims of a certain standing, is not the
point We have here nothing to do
with considerations of conventional
privilege or legislative convenience.
we have simply to inquire what is the
verdict given by pure equity in the mat
ter. And this verdict enjoins a protest
against every existing pretension to the
individual possession of the soil; and
dictates the assertion that the right of
mankind at large to the earth's surface
is still valid; all deeds, customs and laws
notwithstanding.
4. Not only have present land tenures
an 1ndefensible origin, but it is impos-
sible to discover any mode by which
land can become private property. Gull
tivation is commonly considered to give
legitimate title. He who has reclaim
ed tract of ground from it's primitive
wildness is supposed to have. thereby |
made it his own. But if his right is
disputed, by what system Of logic can
he vindicate ito Let us listen mo-
ment to his plcadings.
Halo, you, sir" cries the cosmopof- |
tie to some backwoodsman smoking at I
the door of his shanty, ''by what !!
authority Go you take possession of |
these acres that you have cleared round |
which you have put up snake fence |