The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-02-19


IF the farmer was called on to pay
only his prorata tax on the rental or
earning value Of bis bare land, with all
his stock, implements and buildings
exempt, bis tax would be rated mu' h
near his income than il now is, while
city landlords, railroads, telegraphs
and the various corporations which
fatten of Of the industry Of the wealth
producing public, should be compelled
to pay taxes commensurate to the OPP
portuuities they enjoy.
The assessor would not then as now
enter the poor mans modest home and
lay an onerous tax on the humble fur
niture and other household goods BE-
has gathered together to try and make
comfortable home, while the rich
furniture and costly belongings Of the
brown stone fronts almost entirely
escape, because there is no assessor com.
petent to value the furniture in these
palatial homes OF the rich. This sys-
tenn Of taxing land values only, would
reach every person in the State and
bear more equitably on each according
to his ability, than any system that has
ever been devised for it must be born
in mind that the consumer Of an article
is the person who pays all the cost Of
producing and handling the article till
it finally reaches him for use. All cost
must be added or the business would
be born down and extinguished by
those costs, which do swamp and bel
down many Who fail. through lack Of
ability or too much competition to re-
cover the numerous expenses in the
final sale of the articles they attempt to
handle.
The Astors and other holders of real
estate who gather in millions yearly in
the shape Of rents and pay but COM
paratiyely little tax, would be sailed by
a tax on rents, SO severely that they
would be glad to sell out to people who
use the property and go into business to
earn their money by some kind Of hon
est employment, in place Of sitting in
cushioned arm chairs and waiting for
a stony hearted agent to bring them in
millions of dollars wrung from the
hands of honest industry. The monop
oily Of land and monopoly of money are
twin robbers that are plundering the
people Of this country to the verge Of
poverty and famine.
One acre Of laud in New York city is
sad to worth $l6,00O,0O0. Alien
landlords own millions of acres Of land
10 this country which they hold for Q
rise or let out to tenants as the same
men do in Ireland. The property Of
various kinds they own 10 this country
is estimated to yield that class in inter-
est and profits annually 100000 COO
which they carry OF to Europe to boil
ster up aristoeratic classes and govern
ments.
Through transfer of railroad prop.
erty few days ago it was ascertainej
that this foreign class owned SIG, 600.
900 Of stock and bonds 10 the Ohio &
Mississippi B. R. alone. It is time
these alien landlords we're taxed out OF
this country and the tax on land values
would smoke large number of them
out.
But of all classes the farming class
would be the most benefited by the
single, or land value tax, and they are
probably its strongest opposers, after
the rich landlords.
The single tax theorists oppose tax
on incomes. l ain decidedly in favor
OF such tax, and believe graduated
income tax the only righteous tax that
can be laid on personal property. 1t is
the only personal property tax that
cannot be shifted from the rich onto
the poor. The income stops with the
man who receives it and the tax on it
comes out OF the pocket of the rich
owner, and although such tax dimin-
ishes his accumulations it dislresses
nothing but his greed.
The single tax would aid every in
dustriOus person to secure a permanent
home, home be would not be driven
out of by the mortgagsa. idle lands
would be placed on the market and sold
at moderate price to those who wanted
to use them, add the thrifty, industrious
man or woman who built house and
furnished it would not find an officer at
the door the next morning prepared to
lsy tax fine on the arm of industry
which had iacpded new home.
With single tax ea the value Of
land, and on natural monopolies ecu,