Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-12-18
FREELAND, DECEMBER IS, 1898
TWO STRONG PLANKS.
Substance of Paper Read Before "A Bal
timore Charitable Organization.

Substance of Paper Read Before Bal
timore Charitable Organization.
The following is part of paper read
at the annual meeting of the Charity
Organization Society some time since, at
Baltimore. 1t was the indorsed opinion
of District Assembly Al, Knights of La
Dor, and was prepared by committee
appointed for that purpose:
In all the charitable literature it is as
sumed that poverty is the natural lot of |
the masses; the members of charity Or
carnations and even ministers of the
gospel take it for granted that this is the
condition which the Creator intended
for many of his children. 1t is to this
assumption that we take exception, and
while we endeayor to assist our brothers
in distress, we insist that the masses
must be educated in order to abolish the
necessity for charity as now understood.
With the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man as religious founda-
tion, we insist that it is justice that is
wanted-nOt charity. From this stand
point we have formulated a platform de-
manding certain legislation. The two
planks which have become burning
questions are the fourth and eighteenth.
The latter is:
That the government shall obtain possession,
by purchase, under the right Of eminent do
main, of all telegrarhs, telephones and rail-
roads; and that thereafter no charter or license
be issued to any corporation for construction
or operation of any means transporting intelli-
gence, passengers or freight
1t is almost universally conceded that
there can be no real competition in a
natural monopoly for any length of time;
to secure equality to all, these natural
mOnopolies must be under the control
Of the government, and we believe it is
a question of very short time when
this demand will be granted. The
fourth plank is:
That the land, including all natural resources
of wealth, is the heritage of all the people, and
should not ne subject to speculative traffic.
Occupancy and use should be the only title to
the possession of land. Taxes upon land should
be levied upon its full value for use exclusive
of improvements, and should be sufficient to
to take for the community all the unearned
increment.
The knights of Labor claim that the
enactment into law of these two de-
mands would remove the cause of chari-
ty. What the fourth plank, if put into
practical effect, would do, is this: No
land has any value unless two or more
men want 1t; when 500, 600 people settle
in city like Baltimore the value given
by the 5OO,O 600 is unearned by the indi.
vlduals who claim to own the land of
Baltimore; we propose to take for the
community, the value conferred by the
community.
This would make the man who is
holding land out Of use or putting IL to
inferior use abandon it to some one who
would use it and pay the taxes. This
would have the effect of opening oppor-
tunities to thousands of men now unable
to find remunerative employment
Wages would rise, for no man would
work for another for less than he could
make by working for himself or by CO.
operating with his fellows.
The man that occupied the best lot
in Baltimore would pay the highest
price to the city, to be used for the good
of all. The rich idler's power would be
gone. The monopoly of land, the moth
er of all other monopolies DESTROYED
man would once more stand erect. In
voluntary poverty would be banished
from the face of the EARTH there would
be no paupers. When you can tell
pauper go to work, you have an equal
opportunity with all Others" there will
be no excuse for pauperism.
For the blind, the deformed, and af-
ficted, asylums could be provided, not
as an act of charity by philanthropic
ladies and gentlemen, but as an act of
justice by the people.
Let us, in conclusion, urge the mem
bers of this organization to continue to
alleviate distress, but to look for some
thing better than charity-iustice. A
well known writer has said that "be-
hind every social problem there is a
social wrong" and we hope that the
charitable ladies and gentlemen viii
bend their energies to righting the
wrongs that are the cause of all the ills
that afflict humanity, and not stop with
palliating wrongs by relieving the dis
tress of those who seek work, and find
it not, who would be men in every sense
of the word if they had but the oppor.
tunity.