The herald., 1895-02-21
WHY ARE THERE UNEMPLOYED
Single Takers Think They Know
the Reason
THEIR CREED is THE REMEDY
The Views Expressed at the Meeting
Held Last Night
The Georgian Theory Held to Be Panacea
for All the Economic Troubles of
the World

The Single Tax meeting last night, as
usual, drew an audience that filled Blan-
chard- Fitzgerald Hall to its limit. The
Chair announced that on Saturday even
ing, March ID, the audience would be adj
dressed by Governor L. A. Sheldon on
the silver question, followed by criticisms
from Single Tax speakers.
Rev. Il. NJ Webster, the chief speaker
OF the evening, then addressed the audi
fence on the question: Why the Unem-
ploycd? The speakers sarguments--which
commanded close attention--were to the
effect that competition was the underlying
cause of industrial evils and the unem-
ployed problem. He cited numerous his
torical facts to support this proposition
and ingcnously built up a theory which
seemed to offer a solution of the problem.
Universal cooperation, in the speakers
estimation, was the panacca for these ills,
and before that could be established our
present competitive system must be abol~
ished.
After Mr.. websters speech, the single
takers got in their work.
Clarence A. Miller said: Tile sub
stance of all wealth comes from the land,
and the form and fashion of it comes from
labor Labor is man and the land is Ma
ture, and wealth is their child-the child
OF their marriage. Man and Nature were
first married in Eden, and the first decree
of separation was by the angel with the
flaming sword that stood between man
and his paradise. Until then trouble had
not entered into the world.
Wherever landlordism DEGREES divorce
between man and Nature and between
labor and land, there are no more chill
dren-no more production of wealtl;-and
both man and Nature are unemp ployed and
barren and poor.
And thus it is that, go where you will,
you never find people unemployed but
you also find land unemployed. | cannot
imagine unemployed people where all the
land is in use--not even where all the
land is offered for use. The sure way to
render everybody unemployed is: Hold
all land out of use. The sure way to rem
der some people unemployed is: Hold
some land out of use. The sure way to
OF use
Would you stop this holding land out of
use2 Let him who claims to own it pay
each year to the people who are the right
full owners of it ALL of what that use is
worth; pay it whether he uses It or not.
Call that payment what you viii; we call
it The Single Tax
William S. Creighton said
The impracticability of applied Social
ism lies in the fact that the establishment
of non competition is its ultimate object.
The notification of competition is as in
conceivable as q suspension of the law of
gravitation. All growth and progress
whether in the vegetable or animal king
dom, is the result of competitive struggle
which eliminates in the survival of the
tittest The controversy upon which we
are engaged tonight must be prottless
W 10 Of iS
but argumentative mpetition-striving
to elicit the luminous spark of truth.
Single Takers recognize the futility of
pushing propaganda which runs counter
to natural law and seek, rather, to make
its paths straight by removing all OBJ
structions to free competition which is
now unknown. They address themselves
TO the plain and practical proposition of
restoring to the disinherited their herit-
age, the prolific earth, the inexhaustible
source OF wealth: Glve them access to IT.
or their per capita interest in the rental
value of it, and they will never be desti-
tute or oppressed. Under such conditions
labor win get its full reward for exertion
land more it is not entitled tor and the
unemployed will be only the voluntarily
idle. the Single Tax will make men:
Socialism would make imbeciles.'
Ralph E. Hoyt said: The Single Tax
is the very essence of individualism and
is therefore the opposite of Socialism and
communism. 1t is simply a demand for
Justice. 1t would prove benefit to the
poor man and the rich man, and also to
the man in medium circumstances. 1t
would treat all alike and would give all
equally free access to natural resources.
1t is plain, clean-cut proposition, the
adoption of which would require very
little legislation and no disturbance
OF existing titles or infringements
of natural rights. Socialism, even if
it were the best condition for the
human family, which | deny, can not
be brought about without years and years
of educational effort. Indeed the chances
are that it would take even longer than
century-say until the Tenth Street Hotel
is completed. And when it prevailed it
would wipe out individuality, destroy all
laudable ambition stupefy intellectual
powers and reduce the best and strongest
of the race to the level of the poorest and
the weakest. The single tax would afford
every person chance to develop accord
ing to his natural abilities and the wisdom
and industry with which he used
them. The single tax means free
dom for all and slavery for none.
He who cannot discern the relation be-
tween idle men and idle land must be
economically blind. Wealth production is
no more possible without the union of
these two factors than is the movement
power. The single tax would remove all
artificial barriers between these factors,
and thus leave no excuse for the existence
of people wanting employment and un-
able to find it,.
Other speakers in the single tax ranks
made brief remarks, and the audience
was dismissed with an invitation to carry
away literature free.
Val a. Go,