The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-07-27
City Land and Farm Land

The MIDLAND JOURNAL. and a city
single taxer had little set-to regarding
city and farm land. The city man by his
argument claimed there was virtually no
difference, which the MIDLAND Jour-
NAL disputed. Another member of St.
Georges church takes up the subject in
last weeks Democrat and contends that
both lands are productive and in the same
sense, and introduces the familiar mode
of reasoning made use of to prove the
sophistry. All this theoretical produc-
ton does not prove that anything is
actually produced OH city land. There is
not all ounce of material on city land but
what is transported from the country.
The land is not used for creating any
thing, as agricultural land is, but is select
ed as a favorable spot for collecting
together variety of merchandise for the
purpose of distribution. This is not pro-
anctioe industry because it is necessary
industry, and as the MIDLAND JOURNAL
stated, saves time by dividing necessary
labor. To produce is to create. The
entire mercantile business of the cities
which embraces the stores and warehouse
business is purely distributive, and the
land has no part in it except to provide a
resting place for the feet and the goods of
the agents of distribution. ANY barren
rock will answer the same purpose if
society is brought to it or the rock is
taken to society. Manufacturing is step
nearer production, but it is the creation
by machinery guided by human hands,
and like the agents needs land only to
stand upon. When the earth has barred
its bosom to the sun and rain and given
forth the harvest, production in its true
sense is ended. All after work of man
applied to this wealth is but a prepara-
ton for use to conform to the tastes,
whims and comfort of the human family
and its distribution among them. Any
spot of earth will answer equally we'll for
this purpose, but in order to accommodate
society that spot must be selected where
society exists, where population is most
dense. 1t is altogether unnecessary to
adopt hair splitting, theorizing, and subtle
reasoning to prove, because such labor is
necessary that logically it is productive
labor, and that the land OH which the
laborer and his machinery rests is pro-
ductive land. This is logic but not truth.
A IL this labor
chain which binds society, and to omit
any part is to drop link and impair the
efficiency of the chain.
This subject could be pursued at great
length, and the ground has been gone
over thousand times. Nor is this rea.
soning germane to the original subject of
contention which was that CHEAP land"
was, or should be, the desire of the
farmer, which is not the case. because
cheap land is made so, not from its unde.
slrableness, or poverty of soil, but by the
products of land being cut down in price
till there is no income for the producer,
and the cause of this condition is the CON
traction of the volume of currency.
City land and farm land are used for
entirely different purposes. The latter is
Tor the production of wealth. The former
for the establishing of collecting and
distributing depot-for the mere manip-
ulatlon OF wealth already produced. |
Hence the quality and constituents have
everything to do i'll determining the value
of the latter, but nothing whatever to do
with the former. Their different uses
determine the difference in their value
The trader uses one, the producer the
other.