The advocate., 1892-04-27
"RENr, INTEREST AND PROFIT"
"a the EditOr Of The ADVOCATE.

April l3tnS DOLe GnaL W. AZ AuIHOAb
M. D., Of Powhattan, Kansas, writes
criticism of an article Of mine, which Rp-
pesred in THE ADVOCATE Of March I'd,
under the caption, "Rent, Interest and
Profit" Mr.. Turner thinks that the ar
tlcle In question contained "a vast amount
of sophistry that should not go unchal-
lenged," and he therefore presents his
objections, "sImply that facts may be OBJ
tanned and sophlstry exposed" Mr..
Turner Is animated by laudable motive,
and Is engaged in a prsiseworthy task,
but his efforts in that direction would be
more likely to be crowned with success
il he would devote time and pains sufH
cient to the reading Of my article to Do
able to understand just what ] do teach,
and then study the subject himself until
he has at least some little knowledge OF
the questions at Issue.
WHAT said about interest being the
basis of rent, was this:
To commence, assert that rent of used
and occupied land is simply interest upon
the money value of such land. further
assert that the man has been unwillingly
duped, who pays for such land more than
that amount of money upon which the rent
will pay the current, prevalent rate of inter
est upon money. Hence, If we reduce in
terast we reduce the price of rental lands.
further assert that the increase in value Of
unused and unoccupied land, less the taxes
paid upon such land, is the net interest
upon the original money cost of the land,
and that the investment in such land is con-
sidered good or bad as the net annual in
crease in value does or does not equal the
legal currenj, prevalent rate Of interest
upon the money cost of such land. AS a
consequence, or rather as proof OF the
correctness of this view, offer the fact
that in the last two or three years sixty or
seventy million dollars in mortgages have
been foreclosed upon Kansas City real
estate, thus also proving that the monopoly
of money swallows up and outgenerals the
monopoly of land. And these thoughts un-
fold another idea, i. g., that land values are
not strictly the result of the labor of the
community in which such lands are situated,
the greater portion of such land value being
brought into being by the applicatian Of,
not labor, but foreign capital or money at
interest, the owner OF such money being
substituted for the Ostensible owner Of the
land, and receiving the rent in the form OF
interest. Thus the rate OF interest becomes
the measure or standard of the rate OF rent,
the competition Of landlords to realize the
interest upon the borrowed capital invested
in their land, tending to bring about that
result. Even in the case of landlords who
are not in debt, they are satisfied il theil
rents are equal to the interest upon the
money cost of their land, which they coulC
realize if they had such money loaned ou
at interest. Is this sufficiently plain anC
explict2 And is not, then, interest thu
basis of rentY
see no reason to retreat, or modify
that statement, and there Is certainly M
reason advanced by Mr.. Turner to cause
me to do so. shall, II anything, mak'
1t stronger by asserting that Mr.. Turne
Is mistaken when he says.
To suppose that landlords will be con
tented with less than they can force man
kind to pay, il contrary to experience, ant
to claim that competition will reduce rent
would be all right, did competition exis
between land owners to any extent. Sue
being not the case it cuts no figure; to-
many must rent land or star'e. Therefor
thA oomnatition is for land to rent and no