Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-12-30

al property, together far more uetrl-
mental than that OF land. When taxes
soon aggregaNng 81 per acre, for eN-
ample, are put on land worth 50, and
the land thereafter is as free 10 the
public as air and sunshine" II IL Idle
to say that the government or public
has not deprived the owner OF the
value OF his land.
With the single tax adopted, those
having wealth in lands would either
get II out of them, and necessarily into
personal property. by sales 10 small
holders, or see II annihilated. For in
dividual occupancy and use men Will
require. especially under the single
tax burden, very small amounts OF
land, the Agriculturisis. OF course. re-
quirng more than all other classes;
and hence the wealth Of the Million
aires and the opulent classes VIII con-
slst almost entirely. in many instances
exclusively, In personal property, such
as railroads. and merchandise. Which
win be non-taxable, although the pub
lie expense Is chiefly Incurred In Its
Dehhlf. IN maintaining courts and en-
forcing laws FOR Its protection and
regulation, and properly pertains to 1t
as directly ns an Insurance tax TO the
buildings insured. Reason dictates
that such property should be liable for
Its own expenses. and that those who
own most OF II, and 50 derive the
whether It consists in hen roosts or in
palaces. should contribute In just
proportion towards defraying the ex
penSeS so incurred. Insteud Of this.
however, the socialists prOpost to tax
only that which they say God gave as
a bounty to all men in common, to be
as free as the sunshine and the nir.
The vast monopolles in food products,
as essential to life as land, and In ma
chinery. which Is essential to the lie
OF civilization, and IN other forms of
personal property, Will be enriched by
Just so many millions as they now
contribute to the public In taxes and
In larlff duties How shall we subserve
Justice or eNpedency by establishing
gross injustice. and yet greater In
equalitlcs? The farmers sons Will not
inherit any part OF the wealth OF the
merchant princes and the railroad
mnGnates, but thelr sons will inherit a
common interest In the land along
with tho farmers boys, and when spec
ulntion or the nymphs bring them to
bedrock. II VIII be their right TO 70
out and take up the outlying wood
lands that adjon the farmers field.
tho commons wherein his cattle Craze.
and out here In the West, the holes Of
water In the creek mile away from
which he hauls the DEMONSTRATING
fluid.
Yet these enthusiastic roninncers pro-
claim this system to he the qulntes-
sence Of justlcc and the panacea for
nearly all the ills to which humanity
IS subject. and with feryld fancy heat
ed until their skulls boil like pot
with such midsummer madness they
daclnre In effect, that poverty and OPP
Iresslon will then cease almost er-
iirely and the Unnls mlrabills draw
near at hand wherein, as saith tile
prophet In the koran, The whole earth
VIII be as one loaf OF bread which
GOD will reach to them as a cake
The operation OF the single tax can
he readiny foreseen by any Intelligent
and practical man. a land tax which
VIII necessarily be n very heavy one
and which VIII fail with greatest weight
on the farfpers and middle classes
while the rich win be comparatively
exempt from, taxation, will soon be-
come odious and methods VIII readily
be found by which 1t may be eyad1d
Any local community may turn nearly
all Its lands over to the state, and, vet
by sort OF tecit understanding among
Its members Il may practically and In
a large measure retain the benefits Of
their usei even boundary lines detin-
Ing specific portions may be recognized,
md such community may exclude 9th
erS from occupying these lands without
buying out the local claimants. In
many portions OF Texas such claims 10
state, school and vacant dbmain lands
without any sort OF legal right or act
ual occupancy, or even pretended
ale by the claimant, have been recog-
nlsed and sold at good figures to new
Corners, who could III afford to Invade
a strange commusity with an lnfrac-
ton OF the recognized equitable rights
OF its existing members, as their pro
pltlatory overture. The single tax will
specially develop this sort of confeder-
"a finn uinRg lie FhaaNsNF 10 k.
belongs to the Community" and this
method Is merely an appropriation OF
Its benefits by the particular commun-
lily to which the given land specially
belongs by virtue Of its local situation
Under the single tax there will be
ten land spectators of this kind where
there is now one OF the ordinary kind
and in these cases OF neighborhood
agreements, the law Is utterly power
less, as no complaints are offered In
the courts, or II 30, no juries will con-
Wet,
Each man will hasten 10 dlsclaim to
the state every foot OF land that he
can possibly spare. Even the ten feet
OF space between small residences in
cities will be dsclalmed, since no third
person could utilize. or would dare at
tempt to use, such a space to the detrl-
ment OF the AUDITING owners, and taxes
will be paid only upon tho area actually
covered by the main residence house.
Farmers would soon conclude that q
very few acres well cultivated could be
made 10 suffice, and that with unllm-
tied commons the live stock business
offered the most inviting inducements
Nearly all OF Texas would ere long be
converted into an unfcnood pasture,
wherein conflicting rights and claims
would often he settled by the arbltra-.
ment ,of force, and conditions WOULD
be inaugurated that would soon resolve
barism TO which community ownership
OF land has ever exclusively belonged.
Recurring now to the inaliennbie nature
OF the right 70 land and TO a portion OF
my argument thereon omitted from
last weeks article for want OF space.
Mans right 10 liberty II certainly
az high and inalienablo as his right TO
land. and yet nc may not only forfeit
II entirely by wrong conduct. but he
may also. and civilization so requires,
voluntarily ana IN large degree alien
ate that right 10 the community I'M
der the social compact OF organized
society he surrenders 20 the communal
~ his right 10 liberty In whatever ok
tent the public veal Justly demands II.
When the law requires his presence at
the courts for jury service, or to testi-
battle whore life itself must be fore
gone for the public defense he 10 with
out liberty In the matter, and 50 neces-
sory may be forcibly constrained &c
obey. Under the same social compact,
and for the same imperative reasons.
the welfare OF mankind and the ad-