The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-09
URGING THE SINGLE TAX,
Officers of the San Rafael
Club Address the Local
Society.
AS Messrs. Carpenter and Stern See
Things - Progress of the
Movement.

The two speakers who addressed the
Single Tax Society at 102 O'Farrell street
last night were President L. G. Carpenter
and Vice. President C. d. Stern of the San
Rafael society.
Mr. Carpenter declared that the solution
of the labor question lay in an Intelligent
discussion of economic subjects. In sub
stance he said:
The poverty and restitution of large num-
bers of people and the great accumulation OF
wealth in the hands of a few-both increasing
at an alarming rate-show that the remedy
lies with those who suffer under the I'M Justice
of the present social system themselves. The
only practicable remedy so lar suggested is the
single tax.
This remedy is based upon justice and in ac-
cordance with the apparent purpose OF the
Creator, who evidently intended the earth Tor
all men in common a storehouse OF all that
is required TO support physical life, the only
means needed to extract the latent wealth
from the soil being the labor necessary to make
it productive.
For men to be free they must have complete
control of the products of their own labor
otherwise one man doing the labor becomes
the slave of the man controlling the products
through our present system of proprietorshlp.
Taxation as it is now imposed encourages
idleness on the one hand and paralyzes indus
try and thrift on the other. one man holds
land idle for speculative purposes and profits
greatly without doing any labor himself or
buying the labor of others; another man goes
lay, and finds himself burdened by tax upon
the very benefits he is contributing toward So
ciety'S general welfare.
The single tax would put an end to land mo-
nopoliZation and land speculation. Itwould give
residents-rent paying residents-of cities an
opportunity 10 possess homes Of their own on
land which previously had been idle unoccu-
pied and non-productive; over-taxed improv-
ers would be relieved nj unjust burdens, and
thousands of men would find demand for their
ability to labor Conditions and busine SIS
IN N
Why? Because with tax on land values only
no one would want to hold ground and pay the
ground rental upon ii unless he could make 1t
some way or other.
Again, taxes on personal property and goods
can be shifted to either the producer or the
consumer. but tax on land values could not
be shifted. tax commodities makes them
dearer and harder to get, but tax on land
values would force all land into use and thus
make it cheaper and easier to get
Mr.. Stearn's talk was very comprehen-
sive one. He called Henry GEORGE the
prophet of San Francisco" and quoted
Mr.. Georges simple definition that the
single tax was 1.-The abolition OF all taxes
except taxes on land values
He spoke of the general organization of
the single-tax movement and its methods
of propaganda, and inspired hope by re-
minding his listeners that with modern
facilities OF communication and transit a
great reform now takes short time for it's
T6dIlLdLlOn III COLI pdIlSOn Win lue tllle
required for reforms in the past.
In this country, he said, there are over
200 single-tax organizations, some of them
being called variously TAX Reform" and
Social Science" clubs, Economic" and
"Land Restoration" leagues and Free
Land" associations In New York City
there is ''Single Tax kindergarten. He
proceeded
New York State leads in the matter of organ
ization. Illinois comes next, with Texas third
and New Mexico fourth. California at present
is very low down in this rank, but if she keeps
up her present rate Of advancement we will
soon have State organization here.
In the last Congress there were twenty-fiv
single-tax men, with fifty others having pro-
nounced views in its favor Minneapolis, Pc
Oria, St. Louis and Chicago put up single-tax
candidates for Congress in the last campaign.
Mcguire of California, Johnson OF Ohio and De
Wit Warner of New York lead the singletax
contingent.
There are eight single-tax clubs in California.
We expect to start big one soon in Sausalito.
This series of meetings is the beginning OF d
campaign that is not going to stop until the
single tax becomes the law of this State.
The speaker paid James S. Reynolds a
eulogy, and in the course of his observa-
tons remarked that there were two funda-
mental rights involved in the single tax,
viz: The equal right of Ell to use of the
earth, and the right OF all to the full prod
uct of their own labor.