The herald., 1894-12-12
SINGLE TAKERS.

Lawrence Durham Speaks ON Labor Al
Employer OF Capital.
The single tax meeting in Blanchard
Fitzgerald hall. on Monday evening
was attended by an audience that filles
the hall, aud the proceedings through
out were such as to hold the close atten'
tion OF sll present.
After some fine autoharp music b.
Professor Singleton, who also sapg sew,
eral selections. the speaker OF the even.
ing. Mr.. Laurence Dunham OF New
York. Was introduced. Mr.. Dunham
now spending few months at Pasa-
dena, 10 . member Of the single tax
national committee. On this occasion
he delivered q brief but compact and
logical address en- Labor an Employer
OF Capital. Following is a brief sum.
mary OF what Mr.. Durham said:
He denied the statement, go often
made, that labor is employed by capital
--as though the plow employed the
plowman, instead of the man the pillow.
This idea. he showed, sprspg from
the fact that men controlling large
capital do employ labor, aud, under
present conditions, seem to have II at
their mercy. But the power OF these
capitalists over labor sprung, in reality.
not from their control of capital. which
is but result and instrument Of labor,
but from the monopoly OF land, which
10 the opportunity OF labor.
Land once free. there would be no
limit TO ihe power oi labor TO produce
capital; and land once free. the wealth
produced therefrom, whether or not in
the shape OF capital, must 20 to the
producer. Then it would no longer be
true that the men who do the work
mover get rich. A fact which Mr.. An-
drew Carnegie stated lately as being the
GREATEST discovery Of his life. For Tn.
der such circumstances those would be
the only people who could get rich.
The means to this end-to givo each
man an equal opportunity with every
other man, and to ecure 10 each the
entire product OF his iabor-is to abolish
all taxes on industry and thrift. and to
place them where they rightiully be.
long-on the value OF land irrespective
OF Improvements.
The case between the powe. to enslave
labor. conferred by control Of capital or
by land monopoly, was illustrated by
tine fact that 10 deprive the Southern
hCluC cuupauy VI lt5 Ctpltti WltuOut
touching its control OF land would leave
its power over land unimpairsd. while
to deprive the company OF it's right OF
way and terminalayards. il land gener-
ally were forced into use by taxing it to
its full value, would reduce the giant to
abjsct feebleness.
The speaker concluded by thus sum
ming up the single tax plan:
''Ail tax es On labor or us products in
any form tend to reatr;ct or discourage
the product n OF wealth. Therefore
such taxes must be abolished. Taxes
on the value OF land. irrespec.ive OF i'm.
provements thereon tend to encourage
production by making the use of land
the only source OF profit therefrc m.
Therefore ali taxes should be levied on
land values alone"
Alter the address, which was listened
TO with deep interest, q general discns
sion was INDUCED in. which became
more and more spirited up to the hour
OF closing. Messrs. Miller, Wool, Webs
ster, Dots. Whittlesey. Drake. Hoyt aud
a couple OF ladies spoke briefly on the
merits and dement's OF the single tax
philosophy.
Next Monday evening Mr.. Clarence
Miller will spetk On the question of in
tereet