Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-12-09

He Delivers Lecture Upon the Single Tax
Theory.
. - lie Evening sta.
HYArTsvILLF. MD. ]


HYArTsvILLE. Mp, Dec. 9, 1892.
An audience of fully 200 people, well inter
spersed with ladies. attended the meeting of the
Single Tax League at Magruder's Hall. in this
village. last night for the purpose Of hearing
Henry George. the famous single tax ex-
FOUNDER, speak upon that subject The meet
ing was called to order promptly at 8 o'clock by
Mr.. Michael III. kearney, the president of the
league. Mr.. Jackson II. Ralston requested
to introduce the speaker. and before doing SO
made a brief address, in which he referred to
I the single tax struggle in Hyattsville. He then
introduced Mr.. Henry George a. the Prophet
/ of San Francisco tremendous burst Of ap-
/ plause followed the introduction.
| The speaker began by saving that the size
I was not the true elementsp grea tness. and that
this little village that was scarcely heard of
I outside OF its own vicinity before had bid fair
/ to become illustrious. That il had been the
FIRST town to advocate the single tax system.
and all over the English world would be the
first to lead. He then went on to say that
judgment should meet every best national
want. and citizens were stupid to impose taxes
! upon those who built houses People should
turn the little village into great city. By tax
ing land there would be no less land 10 tax We
had in Hyattsville all the land would ever
have. Exempt from taxation everything that
would build up your CITY. The house here was
a. valuable as il ever would be, but let il in
crease in value and il would increase the value
% the ground. That the principle of sim
gle tax would not only make its way over the
English world. but over the entire civilized
world. 1t put in short compass the very ques-
ton Of our own shortcomings.
THE PRINCIPLE WILL EXTEND.
The principle of exemption in Hyattsvile
should extend to county. state and national
affairs. All over the civilized world there was
unrest. the labor question was coming up, and
il seemed as if all the civilized world thought
there we're too many men. No place could ever
become overproductive with men. Man Was
q natural land animal and stood in need Of land.
and should have access TO the land on which he
could live. lake away from man all land. what
haze you? An overproduction, no matter what
may be the union OF labor with land. The
question of man TO land was the most important
TO social adjustment Man cannot live without
land. No matter how we progress and progress
all over the civilized world it would not make
the masses less dependent. but more depend
ent. SO long men have men to live and work
and deprive other classes it was for the benefit
OF the few. There was nothing that could dis
pense with the necessity for land. class who
had nothing for labor, who could only enable
land owners to get all they could for nothing.
and could dispense with men labor would be
men pensioners. ThegUlf was evident between
the rich and poor. Nothing could be done by
CHI Irity, nothing that could last. The thing that
was mostly needed was liberty. [Applausel.
Not liberty to injure any one else; that
there was clear and sare founda-
ton for the right of property. That
mans natural right. Whatever man made and
whatever he brought into the world by his
creation was MS. To deny that right was to
rob the man to whom it belonged. What man
produced belonged to him by natural right: so
must Selong TO man the property he i'm
proved. 1t was not necessary to divide land up,
tut only necessary to secure equal rights by
taking the value that attached itself to land by
Its Use TO the community. That was the only
way that hand could have value.
THE VALUE OF LAND.
The value of land only came with the growth
of people and increase of improvements Equal
i;y assured equality Of right, the only true
equality. Taking for public use the value that
attaches itself TO the land growth of the COM
munitv strikes at the very root to monopolize
land all over the country. He then touched
upon what bearing it would have upon Hyatts-
vile. Referring again to the labor question. he
said that there were men who were willing to
work but found it difficult to obtain it, and that
il seemed as if it were a boon to give a man the
IN, ans If making livelihood. The demand of
labor lay in the want of needing labor. 5ien
wanted what their work produced. Some mo-
nOpoly stood in the way Of the elements that
were necessary for life and the maintenance of
HE mere we were IN the nldSt OF q small
town. The one thing that iucrea. ed the value
OF land was the means of supply and want. 1t
was easy enough to estimate the value of land.
but difficult to form an idea of the worth of a
house. for they had way in Brooklyn of build
ing some houses with two stories in front and
three behind. SO that the assessor only saw the
front. and in that way they got ahead of him.
Laughter. Land could be pretty ceverly
valued in Hyattsyille. and in London they could
readily estimate its worth, but they could not
calculate upon the value Of the house or its
owner. Land was the most certain. There was
no way to evade the tax upon it. There was no
injustice in the government taking from the in
dividual what belonged to the community.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS.
He then stated that he was ready to answer
questions. Mr.. Jas. Selden Gordon then
asked MIN if Is 900 peoplein New York adopted
the single tax system and took possession of
the machinery there had been done in
Hysttsvile would 500. 600 people be benefited
by the operation? or. in other words would it
have the effect of making the land renters paw
the tax that should be paid by the land
owners?
Mr. George replied that the $4,000 people
would not own the city of New York. That no
one could use land until he was paid for its use
and that it would make him more anxious TO
rent land.
In reply to a question asked by Mr. Giusta he
said that man should not be ta xed any more on a
: l,5OO house than he should be on a 81 ,0G0 one,
~ there should be no taxes on improvements
but only on land That belonged to the man
and he had right 10 improve it, and tina. no
one could plant a tree on his property without
benefting the community. That if he himself
were to engage a room in the Ebbitt House and
sleep in Hyattsville he would have TO pay for it.
as by holding the room he kept some one else
from occupying it.
He replied to question in regard to what
bearing the single tax had upon the farmers by
saying that he was taxed for building a fence
or withdrawing a barn. That men should
not be taxed for using opportunities but for
depriving other men for the use of those OPP
portunities.
After answering few more questions he was
asked BY Mr.. Cowdon TO reply TO the question
that he had asked him before. Mr.. George
stated that il was too late to answer him. and
that he had already done so. Mr.. Cowdon re-
Piled thai he a socialist and believed in its
principles. but that he did not believe in the
principles advocated by Mr.. George. and that
be had not answered his question, he be-
lieved that the taxes shifted from the land
owners to the persons who paid the rent.
But One Colored Ballot at Atlanta
4 curious feature of Wednesdays city election
at Atlanta, Ga. was the fact that only one col
ored citizen cast ballot. 1t was cast by
l. I. In, a.