St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-15
TAX AND RELIGION.
Henry George Occupies the
Pulpit at Gethsemane
Church.
"ALLURING ABSURDITIES."
The Author of the Book Criti-
cises the Single Tax
Exponent.
GEN. MORGAN TALKS LOUDLY
He Says Catholic Priests
Steal Coal--Tne Missing
Drummep--Other News.


nent, yesterday afternoon spoke at
Gethsemane Episcopal church, his object
being to explain the relation of his
single tax theories to the church.
There was large attendance. the
church being crowded to the doors.
His discourse was interesting. After
an opening hymn and few preliminary
exercises, Rev. j. }. Faude introduced
Henry George in felicitous manner.
The latter spoke exsemporaneously and
showed from his standpoint the relation
of the church and religion to taxation
for revenue purposes only.
"Religion is the most practical and
far-reaching of mans IDEAS" was the
first automatic utterance of the speaker,
Every great political movement has at
the bottom of it a social movement, and
every great social movement has at the
bottom of it religious movement.
believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth. This
is the first article of Christian
faith. 1t is not merely this
but it is the first article of all religious
faith. What's the Genesis of our be-
ing? Reason searches and searches in
vain for an answer. This is one Of those
questions which comes from man, and
man cannot answer. But we are made
in something of the likeness OF God.
Man alone is made in the likeness of
God. Although God is the maker, our
civilization is the product of things of
this earth.
I'VE cannot know and attempt to
picture God. Efforts in that direction
are futile and without result. Yet we
form ideas Of God. and these ere most
powerful i'll influencing our life. In
our thoughts we Immediately associate
Him with older times and simpler
civilization. 1t grows up INSOFAR
ably with our faith in God that he is
not of the present; that now is some
thing new. and that he has no relation
with our civilization of today. Man
can invent nothing. The laws of God
have made ready everything for his
being. The telephone, the telegraph.
the methods of production and eX-
change are all involved in the divine
plan for this earth.
being. His line of advance is but the
extension and increase of civilization.
Today we have made an enormous in
crease over the ruder man of the earliest
ages. Yet the change is not in man.
He is equipped today with no wit that
is higher than that of the man of the
earlier ages. nor of.the First century.
The advance in society has been
an increase In civilization. An in
crease in civilization is the art of living
together in peace. Civilization grows
just as the cooperation OF man becomes
wider. 1t grows as trade grows. The
individual of today isolated would have
no power that the rudest primitive in
haDitant of this terrestrial sphere did
not have. Advance! 1t haas been
simply the advance OF society. Our
usefulness increases just as men come
together, as the powers of all are COLL
bineu to benefit each.
The theory of civilization is: do to
each other as we would be done by"
There is the reason of our wondrouS
advance. Why, it is Christianity that
has brought the telephone and the tele-
graph into the world to increase mans
power. If it he that civilization is a
portion of the divine order it seems that
some way ought to be devised to bring
public revenue under the restricting
influences of civilization. AS society
increases the need of public revenue
for public functions increases.
Rude society needs no public revenue.
The primitive man had no need for
great public works, and consequently
no need for public revenues. The
steady advance of civilization creates
the Increasing demand for an increase
in public revenues. In the same way
that village grows into city, the
functions of a government become
more elaborate. One of the fist duties
of citizens is to make the public reve-
nue. conform to moral laws. That can
not be right which provokes fraud or il
it is method of robbery. Now take
into consideration the methods that gov.
ernments have devised to raise public
revenues. We will commence by
considering the national govern
ment's taxation of imports. From the
beginning 10 the present and from A tC
| lizard, this plan of raising public revnueS
has provoked fraud. perjury and rob-
berry. Two men the other day speaking
of the matter were relating the fact thai
| they each put IS in their trunk when
| they came through the custom house to
bride the customs taker.
Go further,a and take into consideration
the direct tax. Mark! it results in the
same way. The attempt to tax the
wealthy results in bribery and corrupt
ion. You may bring upon yourself
| bribery. but you cannot TAX the rici
under the present methods. because yol
attempt to put the penalty on wha
increases the production of the country
You discourage production and make
the country poorer.
There is right way of raising public
revenue. With the growth aud i'm
portance of society there comes fun(
caused by that growth. That fund by
natural law results in an increased
value caused by the unearned incre.
ment on land. At the bottom of al
fraudulent actions and perjury there il
national evil that causes the trouble