The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-04-06

only 259,3S5 persons in a popula-
ton of 10000, 900 were in receipt
of incomes above that amount; when
exemptions were raised to $4,000,
the number of persons who paid
the tax was reduced to 10000 and
subsequently fell to 61,000. 0ab-
or's Cyclopedia of Political
Economy.)
In whatever way the income tax
is assessed, inequality must result.
To assess by arbitrary estimate is
taxation by blackmail; to base
assessments on returns of the payer
is to leave the truth-teller helpless
and at the mercy OF the liar. 1t is
either taxation by guess-work or
taxation by spies.
1t is notorious that some mer-
chants stopped keeping books to
escape the tax and others returned
more than they really owned in
order to sustain their credit.
An income tax will discourage
industry; the man who, without
the aid of special privilege, can
honestly add to production value
to the amount of ten or twenty
thousand dollars in one year is
entitled to all of it and any law
that discourages such industry,
enterprise, superior ability or luck
if you please, is pernicious and
should have no support from honest
tax reformers. All of such Objec-
lions apply to all manner of per
sonal property tax as well as to an
Income tax. And of all personal
property tax, tax on incomes
above liberal exemption is the
least oppressive, the least felt.
Personal property tax is the sys-
TEN of taxation in vogue; in all the
States, and an Income tax is an
item which under the present sys-
TEN is unjustly exempt. When
we succeed in changing the system
to the single tax, we will be ready
to dismiss the Income tax with the
rest of it. The single takers are all
right but they insist in theory that
we are all living in Altruria and
not on our mundane sphere. ]
Bad as the income tax is it is
undoubtedly popular and it is far
superior to any tariff as method
of taxation; it will never enlist a
lobby in its defense such as has
disgraced the halls of Congress
every time a tariff bill has been
under discussion in the last quarter
of a century; we welcome the
income tax as a means to an end
and although indefensible per Sc it
is the lesser evil.
But if this republic is to survive
and escape socialism the only way
the straight way-the honest
way is through the single tax on
land values, taking for the commu-
nifty what belongs to the community
and nothing more.
Respy.,
JAS. T. KELLY,
1888 HOPKINS Ave,
Baltimore, Md
And at last our friends of the
single tax church admit the wisdon
and honesty of the consensus OF
opinion. The socialists contend as
strongly for their theory, and truth
compels the admission that they
advance arguments that have MOI
been answered. Single tax has
never been tried, neither has gov
eminent socialism, and no man cal
foretell the future of society. The
marvellous changes that have takeI
place in the last 40 years should
cause men to hesitate in making
prophecies for the future. Social:
ism would des$roy monopoly and
that is the primary object of the
single tax. The two systems ii
results may be much nearer each
other than their disciples are
aware Old
CLINTON, MASS, !
March %, 1894.
EDITOR MIDLAND JOURNAL -
wish to make a few remarks in re
gard to your editorial on the SIN.
come Tax" published Feb. %. Ii
this editorial you want to know
why it would not be justice to tax
I