The herald., 1895-03-16
L. F. Post breaches the New
Economic Gospel
THE IDEA GROWING IN FAVOR
dc Thinks New York City Will First
Adopt the Plan
Where the Plan Is Gaining--No Affinity With
Socialism, Anarchy or Com.
munism


Mr.. Post lectures tonight at Pasadena
on the single tax philosophy, at the 6. A.
X. Hall, and will hold two meetings in
this city next week. Monday night will
occur a joint debate between Mr.. Post
and Judge R. M.Widney,at Unity Church,
on the comparative i'm portance OF the
land question and the money question.
On Wednesday night Mr.. Post will de-
liver one of his single tax lectures, The
Two Great Gifts of God to Men.
In answer to the question, How about
the growth of the single tax movement,
Mr.. Post replied:
IF by movement you allude to organ
ization, l do not regard the growth as
great. But if you allude to the much
more important consideration of the diff
fusion of the single tax idea, and the &C
ceptance of the single tax prInciple,tl re-
gard the growth of the movement as phe-
nomenal. The advance of a movement
like ours is not determined bv the num-
Der of people who become full converts,
but by the development of favorable opin-
ion with the public at large. Everywhere
that ] go | find greater and greater
recognition by the public of the merits OF
the single tax. If l should tell you OF a
man who two years ago knew nothing
about the single tax, and who one year
ago was denouncing it, but who now says
it is good thing, yet too far off to
call upon him to actively support it, you
would not regard that Instance as growth,
from the organization point of view; but
from the more important point OF view,
that of the diffusion of the idea and pub
lie disposition to accept the doctrine-lt
is evidence of growth. Now, just such
evidence as this is abundant everywhere
in the United States and Canada.
''And | might add that evidence OF
f1r HOY In "a
of the Dominion of Canada local option
in taxation has been allowed in a degree
to the municipalities, and in some of
these the sinlge tax, in modified form
has been put into operation with the most
satisfactory results. OF course, you know
of the great advance in legislation in the
direction of the single tax that has taken
place in New Zealand and the remarka BILE
success which our Consul there Ga Cal
ifornian, by the way), reports it to have
achieved And in England all the talk
you hear about betterments, ground rates.
etc, relates TO the single tax agitation,
though the term Single Tax is not SO
we'll known there as here"
-r'tBriehy, Mr.. Post, where have you been
during the tour you are now making?"
SIN the course of my present tour
Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia,
Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Ala
bama, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
After leaving California, where | have
several appointments, l shall speak in
Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Wiscon-
sin and Michigan. In addition to this l
have in the same kind of work, besides
going over much the same ground, been
in Canada, both on the Atlantic and on
the Pacific slope, and in Indiana, Mon
tana, Minnesota, Washington, Nebraska,
Iowa. Virginia, Delaware and the District
of Colum Dia."
In hat Wi nf tha
you found the single tax most preva
I'm Lower New York, Eastern Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Illinois,, Missouri, Kansas,
Lower Louisiana, Texas Minnesota and in
Canada, IN Ontario and British Columbia
1t has strong and active supporters in
many other localities, but these seem to
me to be the localities in which the great
est effect has been produced upon public
opinion"
Where, in your opinion, in the United
States is the single tax likely to be first
applied?"
cot course, l cannot make prediction
upon SO uncertain matter, but from
present appearances l should say that it
is most likely to be applied first in the
City of New York. l do not say this be-
cause / am New Yorker. l do not care
where it is first applied, so long as the
place be one of sufficient size and indus
trial Importance to make the experiment
fair one. | base my opinion upon
these facts: There is now before the Leg
islature of New York state what we call a
bill for local option in taxation. which
proposes to require every county to assess
its taxable property in three classes,
namely, land values, improvement values
and personal property values, and to give
TO each county the option to collect its
revenues from any one or any two or all |
three of these classes. That bill is now |
hnf~r .tcla g.,
So far it has been beaten every time. But |
each defeat has been by smaller majority |
than the preceding one. The bill is now |
fathered by Mr.. Ainsworth, the Republican
leader in the lower house, and the proba-
bilities are very great that it will become |
law: Whether that happens this year
or not it will happen within a short time, |
and as. soon as it does happen the City of /
of New York will at once abolish personal |
property taxation. Public sentiment |
there is strongly opposed to the taxation |
of personal property. The people want |
property that will come-the more the |
better-and this law would enable them to |
do it.
''Such men as Abram S. Hewitt John |
Clatiin, the head OF the great Clahn !
mercantile firm, Bolton Hall, a son of the |
Rev. John Hall; probably the principal
Presbyterian clergyman of the United |
States, and large number of people of |
similar business and social standing. are |
now promoting the local option bill, for |
the express purpose of enabling the bust |
ness interests OF New York city to throw
off the burden of personal property taxa
ton. Now, when personal property taxa.
ton is abolished in the city of New York, |
and | am certain that it will soon hap |
pen-the abolition of taxation on i'm |
provements will soon follow. We want |
Improvements there as truly as we want |
movable property, and if the abolition |
of taxes on movable property will give |
us more of that. the abolition of taxes on |
Improvements will give us more OF them |
Those are my reasons for believing that !
personal property and improvements !
will be exempt in the city of New York |
sooner than anywhere else. But when |
that is done where will New York city
get its revenues? There will be but one |
'ource--the value OF New York city lots !
When that is re6Orted to. New York will |
have the single tax.
is there any affinity between the SIN
gle tax idea and that of Socialism and |
anarchy, or communism
mo. Socialism and anarchism are 1t |
two extremes. Socialism aims to subject |
the individual to the direction of the state
in almost all industrial respects while |
anarchism aims to remove the authority |
OF the state in every respect The single |
tax recognizes what the Socialist does not !
namely, that man is conscious indi- |
vidual, as well as a part of the social
whole. 1t also recognizes what the an
archi st does nOt-tbat man is part of a 500 /