St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-08
Il truth. It fakes root and CROWS. SLOWLY

or truth, IL takes root ana grows, slowly
it may be, but surely. forcing itself past
opposition. often as not nourished as II
certainly is strengthened by the resist
ance il meets. In time 1.-THE stone which
the builder refused becomes the head
stone of the corner" If, under the ham
mer of critical opposition, it be found
to be stone and not clay.
The reformer. burning with his
thought, seeing clearly how 1t will bet
ter the conditions OF men, and how
sadly they need lettering. chafes at the
dizziness If men, their inappreciation,
their Willingness TO wallOw in the mire
rather than move out or 1t; and he qnes-
tons the wisdom of the economy which
has thus arranged so that progress must
be slow and uncertain. But nature is
wise, II extrayagant and wasteful of ma
terial. A million eggs of. the cod are
spawned IN order that one goldfish may
grow to mingle his ripe odorS with
those which burden the air of the cor
ner grocery. The granite for the founda-,
lions of our buildings is the better ma
terial because of the thousands of years
spent in soldifyng its molecules. SOa
myriad of reforms must come to stir the
thoughts of men into activity in order.
that the fittest one among them may
survive and become crystallzed IN the
habits of men, all the more enduring
for its stormy passage.
AprOpos of all this is the aglt,tion
now fiercely on in our other twiA, with
the storm center in the chamber of
commerce. That body has committee
whose function is the question of taxa
ton. 1t did not consider that its limits
were the application Of the present
methods of raising revenues, but felt
that 1t might embrace also suggestions
and discussion of methods claimed to
be better. Any way, it invited Henry
Georges first lieutenant, Louis f. Post,
to come before the chamber and such
citizens as might care to hear him, to
eXpound the theory and the practice of
that emasculated theory of Mr.. George
which passes under the name of the
single tax.
Forthwith a tempest RACES in the tea
pot. Conservatism is up in arms 1t
VIII not hear to it that any one
shall be heard to dispute the wisdom
OF the present methods of taxa
ton. Aren't they hoary with age?
Haven't our forefatherS used them and
got along with them comfortably, and
Is not what was good enough for them
good enough for US? What right has
this upstart to assert that he is wiser
than they or we? Whence comes his
commission to teach us? He has none.
He is crank; disturber of the COM
mon peace, of the established order. He
is hereto; burn him.
All OF which is very absurd, and very
foolish. II the committee OH taxes has
any function to consider methods of
taxation, then it must necessarily admit
discussion of new ones, for any discus
sion of the old ones would not be dis.
cussion at all; it would be simply Oh
Jurgation; pointing out its hideousness,
It's inequality, its injustice and its
fraud. Driven then to consider the
novel. certainly there is no plan that
has been so long under the hammer and
has WlthStood the beating so we'll as has
this modification of the George theory.
In fact. it holds the field of novelties
alone. 1t is then fit matter for dis
cuSslon. 1t is foolish to try 10 prevent
Its discussion, for such treatment is
most favorable to the propagation of
both truth and error, as history well
establishes. Ii the idea has 10 sub
stance; If 1t be merely visionary, it will
dissipate under the fire of free and full
iscussion, and, if it do not thus evapor-
rate, its opponents may be assured it is
because it has vitality which entities
it to live and take its place in due time
among the real reforms of the age.