The advocate., 1892-03-30
THE SINGLE TAX.
ltnr OP TBm AnvOCATF.

WV
Georges own signature, under the cap
ton. obedience Of the Single Tax" from
which clip as follows:
An objection to the single tax, familiar TO
all who have followed the discussion, is that
theowners of land would commensurately
increase the price of lsndand of it's products.
This objection, where it is honest, comes
from q careless assumption. From the fact
that most of the taxes levied under the
present system add TO the cost Of production
and increase prices, and are thus shifted by
first payers to the shoulders Of ultimate con-
sumers, lt is assumed without inquiry az to
the reason of this that it is true of all taxes
The earlier files OF the Standard show a con-
stant recurrence of this objection. But
thanks to the thorough explanations that
have from time to time been made, and to
the diffusion of economic knowledge which
our agitation has produced, it is now seldom
met with where there has been any single
tax discussion.
But in another form the same old fallacy
occasionally crops out even among single
tax men. For instance, have letter from
gentleman in Ohio, who begins by saying:
81 am believer in and teacher Of your
doctrines" And then he goes on to express
surprise that in my letter to the pope /
should say anything to imply that taxes on
land values would not be shifted through
the medium Of prices upon all consumers Ct
goods, with which admission he thinks "our
position would be stronger and nearer the
truth"
A still more striking instance of the same
confusion is given by the Detroit Evening
News, journal that has been active in pro-
pagating the single tax idea. In an editorial
article entitled "The Question Of Taxation"
in it's issue of November 13, in which IL
urges the adoption of the single tax, occurs
the following:
If all taxes were placed on land only,
every pound of pork, every bushel OF wheat,
every horse and COW, every form OF personal
property would be taxed. The user of the
land would simply add the tax TO all these
pay his just proportion.
Whereupon correspondent writes to the
News asking "whether this construction of
the News is in harmony with the single tax
as outlined by Henry George"
Printing this inquiry the News replies;
Perfectly; otherwise the single tax scheme
would be of little value; indeed less than OF
no value at all. Unless the tiller OF the soil,
if compelled to pay directly the whole cost
of government, could add the taxes to the
prices of the things he produces, no could
not till the soil with any profit to himself,
and agriculture, upon which the human
race depends for existence, would be
ruined
Here is an instance Of the single tax be-
ing advocated on q ground that is not
merely untenable in itself, but that utterly
denies fundamental principle Of the sim
gle tax theory. Since all l have ever written
on the subject Of taxation is based on the
proposition that tax on land values cannot
fall on production and increase prices, and
since there is no error that have been at 90
much pains to correct az that the tax we
propose would fall on land users and
through them on consumers, it is hardly
necessary for me to deny that my views are
correctly represented by the News. But il
may be worth while to point out the error
into which at least more than one Of the
professed advocates Of the single tax have
fallen. Nothing is TO be gained by having
the single tax advocated for wrong reasons
Men brought over by erroneous arguments
can never be relied on in q cause that must
rest on truth. The unsound supporter is, in
fact, more dangerous than an opponent.
Unless he sees that taxes on land values
or economic rent, which is what we NEAR
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