The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-10-06
THE SINGLE TAX
The Social Science Club Discusses
Henry Georges Theory.

Club last evening was well attended
and proved a very interesting one.
The subject under discussion was the
"Single Tax" the paper. being read by
B. D. Smith. He reviewed to as full
an extent as possible in short paper
the question of a single tax on land
values, showing 1.-THE growth in
favor of this movement, and giving
the views of some of the leading
writer's upon the subject. In defining
a tax, Mr.. Smith said: I'm its most
comprehensive sense,a tax is burden
or charge imposed by legislative au-
thority upon persons or.property with
in a given territorial Jurisdiction of
the power which imposes it, to raise
money for public uses, or to accom-
plish some governmental end, or to
defray the necessary expenses in ad-
ministering the govern ment. They
are enforced proportionate contribu-
tions and within constitutional linn
It's, the arbitrary eXactions of the
government for it's support and use,
taken from the substance of the peO-
pie, and to the making and enforcing
of which their assent individually lis
not required. In more restrictive
sense they are revenues collected from
the people for the objects in which
they are interested and contributed
for things useful and conducive to
their welfare. Taxes are not debts,
but obligations created by legislative
authority to which the personal con-
sent or individual assent of the per-
son charged is not required"
He referred to the rapid growth of
converts to the single tax idea, quot
ing one writer as saying that fifteen
years ago he could count the advocates
of single tax upon the. fingers of his
two hands, while today it's advocates
are numbered by the million. 1t is
said that nearly or quite fifty mem
bers of the present congress are either
single takers or have friendly lean
ing that way. The same writer was
quoted as saying that the London
county council, the largest municipal
body on earth, containsa two-thirds
majority of single. tax men. This
shows the progress the movement is
making.
AS to the meaning of single tax,
Mr.. Smith quoted Mr.. Charles Benton
as follows: "By single tax we mean
the raising of all public revenues,
whether for national, state, county
or town purposes, by a single tax
upon land Values irrespective of i'm
provements. And to that end we
favor the abolition of all other taxa
ton, either direct or indirect. At
the outset am liable to be misunder-
stood by the use of the term land
values. 1t is not intended by this
system to tax land as land, but simply
to tax that value which attaches to
it on accounto of it's proximity to pOpu-
lation and transportation or other pc.
culiarities which may make it in de-
mand. Thus we consider that Man.
haitian Island, as land, is very poor
land. But it is surrounded by such
excellent facilities for commerce, and
most of all the proximity of over
three millions of people, creates such
a demand for it, that lit has real
value of say million dollars pei
acre; and it is this .'land value that
we propose to tax"
And Henry George says: But the
single tax is not tax on land. 1t il
a tax on land value-on the value
which attaches to land irrespective
of improvements in or on it; thai
value which remained in Johnstowr
after every improvement had beer
carried away; that value left in thu
business part of Lynn lately swept b.
fire; that value which remains in {
centrally located city lot after thu
building on it has become of so little
value that it is boughtOnly to be tori
down."
Mr.. Smith reviewed the objections
which he thought stood in the way O
a single tax, the most serious of which
he thought would be the confiscatioI
of all vested landed property rights
He believed it would be a financia
impossibilty for the government tt
properly and adequately compensat,
the present owners for their rights
therein. Again he did not believe i
would procure equal taxation. Upor
this point he said: sit would not ia,
the individual either according to hi
ability to pay or according to thu
protection offered him by his govern
ment. A man might be worth mil
lions of dollars, all in personal prop
erty and he would be taxed to the ex
tent only of the rental value of tn,
bit of land upon which his residence
if he had one, was located, whereas
his neighbor without cent, would b.