The herald., 1895-01-22
A PANAcEA FOR ECONOMIC Ills
The Clairas aade by Single Tax
Apostles.
Addresses Made as the Symposium
Last Night.

The Speakers InslAsatAlly Discuss JEFF
fsrssniA.isms Character. Rxshtbt-
tisns WssIsa and stngls xaxs
The single tan pynpcsium and enter
taiulasnt in Blanohard-Fi tz2sral hall
lsut night drew large audisnes.
After nsveral instrumental selections
BY Prof. Singleton, tia antoherpist. the
chairman announced "a next in order Q
neriss OF 10-minute spssches by num-
bef OF single tax advocates, ON topics
chosen by themselves.
JEFFERsoNIANIsM.
NJ. W. Conkling said: mo political
author has more protested followers to-
day than Thomas Jefferson. Every
Democrat. almost every Populist, and
sven the majority of Republicans, pro-
Tess to be true to Jeffsrsonisn principles.
But it is quite evident that the great
msjority of such persons are like tho
AthenianB, who erected an altar TO the
unknown Cod They don't know him.
The Jsffsrsonisn thsory OF governmsnt.
~ stated in the Declaration of Iuds.
psndence 10, briefly that all men are Gre
atsd equal, and endowed with natural
and inslien1ble rights; thas govern
ments are formed among men to secure
these rights land for no other purpose),
and that when government becomes
destructive of these ends IL lie the right
and duty of the people to alter or abol-
ish il and institute q new one.
Tho speaker then read from letters of
Jefferson, showing that Jefferson be-
Nsved that oil men have An equal right
TO the soil. And although Jefferson cav
that the right co the soil wss natural
and inalieaable, the speaker went on to
say that it was not 8 vital question
then, q land was 90 plenty and 10
cheap.
CHARACTER.
Mr.. A. A. Miller said "As everything
must have length. breadth and height
before it can have any substance, so
with character. Those elements of
character by virtue of which . man may
do we'll for himself from = purely selfish
stand point, may be compared to the
dimension of length. II thou doess
we'll BY myself all men shall speak well
of thee Those altruistio elements OF
character by virtue of which 9 man does
what he can to make the world better
may be compared with the dimension OF
breadth. Those elements of character
representing the mans lofsier activities
and aims, a. for instance his sense OF
that way, his religious aspirations, may
t.n rad Ia of
height.
at is best, therefore. to look cut for
your own interest, but not that alone;
to do what good you can in the world for
others, but not that alone; to cultivate
your own better nature, bus NOS shat
alone. The we'll rounded character be-
longs to him who observes all thrss OF
hese things. This ought ye to have
lone and not to leave the oshers I'M
,done.'"
THE SINGLE TAX AND OTHER TAXES.
Mr.. Finlayson: Tho single tax 10
tax, not ON land, but upon land values.
II is determined not by the area Of any
piece of land, but by the selling or rental
value under conditions that admit of
free competition. It Is not q tax upon
Improvements or upon any of the works
of man. If laid in exact accord with
the theory OF the single tax, the amount
annually paid by the owner of piece of
land would exactly equal the ground
rent that, under conditions of free COM
petition, would be charged by the owner
If he rented it to some other person. It
would not equal the gross rents paid for
the use of the land and improvements,
but merely the amount wi ioh would be
paid for the use of the bare land
ground rent. Properly speaking that
part of rent which il paid for the use of
buildings and other Improvements is
not rent at all. 1t 10 interest paid for
abe use of capital. Thia rental value OF
Underground RENTS not created by
She owner, any more than the land it,
sell Ia created by him. II ia value
which exists independently of owner
ship, and is created by the whole COM
immunity. I may own thousands OF acres
Of the most areable land in the heart OF
Africa, and yet it has no rental value to
me, though possibly it may have q
speculative value. / cannot rent it, fox
no one wants. But let q thousand An
glo.6sxons emigsate and build up set-
element near my land, Immediately it
has q rental value. / can rent 1T to
some person who will raise products
from the soil end sell them TO Bone OF
these immigrants. But have not ores
ated this value. II ia created by the
community that settled near my land.
This is clearly seen in the case OF cities
The value of the city lot ia
created BY the whole surrounding COM
munity. Now the single-tax philosophy
10 directly opposed to socialism. 1t ia
essentially individuslistic. and meets
with the violent opposition OF all true
philosophic socialists. The single taxer
believes that the creator OF every pro-
duct 10 entitled to his product to the full
extent. 1t admits:the right ofthe state, the
to take what it itself creates,
may, demands that it do 30. as necss-
nary prerequisite to the destruction of
ali special privileges and the restoration
of Q natural and inalieDable equality of
xfghtn and opportunities. and therefore
demands that the state take full rental
value srising out of every piece of land,
and with this pay the obligations incl
dent to the machinery of government.
But 10 long as such natural fund ie sui
ficient to meet the expenses of tho gov
eminent It denies the right of the state
TO impose q fine on industry by taxing
personal property, the product OF human
labor. All wealth lie produced by the
Joint action of land, labor and capital.
That portion OF wealth which is set apart
to reimburse land is rent, that which
noes to labor il wages, and that which