The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1895-10-04
large holdings of land. As to this Mr..
Willis said.

large nolGlnSS OF iduu. AS 70 tulS Mr.
Willis said:
1--WE have passed legislation by
which we can take back lands held in
large blocks That is. DILL has been
passed giving the government the
right to purchase all of one mans
holdings over from one to three thou
sand acres. depending. on the quality.
to be decided by arbitration. II does
not follow that much of this will be
done yet for awhile until our popula-
ton increases Then we have not the
! money to spare.
Government land is now leas ID for
500 years in small portions from 100 to
| 500 acres Any one who wishes to take
such land pays low rate of interest on
the value of the land. and for the first
two years is required to put in small
amount of work until it is in condition
| to settle on. Then he must live on it.
But our people are not satisfied with
that. What we want and what we
shall probably get soon is 4 system of
leasing in perpetuity, with revalua-
ton from time to time.
Last year we adopted a system of
loaning money to farmers on both
freehold and leasehold lands at a low
rate of interest, with per cent sink
ing fund, which clears off the loan in
thirty-thre years by compound inter-
est
Mote the fact that Mr.. Willis says
that they expect to soon establish "a
system of leasing in perpetuity. with
a revaluation from time to time" This
is simply land naturalization by the
route of the single tax. But the most
important feature of Mr.. Willis state
ments concerning the land question is
loans money on leaschold lands, thus
establishing the theory that under a
single tax regime land would consti-
tute good security SO long as the occu-
pant paid the tax, just as under the
present system of private ownership
the governments of the several states
and counties give countenance to the
fiction that individuals own" land,
SO long as they pay the state and
county taxes upon it. So soon, how
ever, as they fail to pay the taxes. the
state transfers the ownership (?) to
some one else who will pay them
G. C. WI
I'VE are trying something entirely
new in the way of cooperative labor
in public work. Instead of letting
such work out to contractors, it is cut
up into small pieces by the government
engineer who values it ut fair working
wages, seven shillings a day, or about
ST. in your money, and contracts are
given out to the men at that rate
This system has been so successful
that it is being extended to all work
such as painting public buildings
building stations and the like. Prob
ably there will be no more contracts
let out under the old system in the
future.
In every way, as l have said, we
look carefully to the interest of the
mass of the people. Our factory girls
are not allowed to work over eight
hours a day, children under II years o.
age are not allowed to work in facto
ries or until they have passed through
certain grades in the schools. W,
compel employers in factories t.
We weekly half holiday. No shop.
are allowed open on Sunday. and ever!
shop must be closed one day in thu
week at o'clock in the afternoon
The closing of the shops on Sunda.
was not at all on secular grounds, bu
simply to give employees reasonable
amount of rest.
1.-The governor sent over by tn
queen has no veto power over our leg
islation and is really only figurehead
for he has really very little to do with
our government. We have home rule
in reality"
Mr.. Willis looks hopefully to tn
practical workings of the single ia!
theory as soon as it is adopted in it
entirety by the government of hi
country.-San Francisco Examiner.