The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-04-28
The Single Tax and Standard oil Monopoly

The Single Tax ana standard oii moHppoty
Editor Herald: In The Herald of
the 18th inst. Mr.. j. E. Bennett,
under the caption. How to Destroy
Monopoly. after paying well deserved
compliment to The Herald for its atti-
tude towards monopolies, goes on to,
show how easy it would be to destroy the
Standard oil monopoly, by taxing all oil
lands to their iull rental value. The
remedy is so simple and has been told SO
often that Mr.. Bennett is surprised that
yet people do not see it or understand
it," Mr.. B. goes on to show that 1t Is
1.-THE grip, the grab they have on the
earth that enables them to be monop-
oles." The way to make the Standard
Company loose its grip. Mr.. b, conn
IDENTIFY AYERS. is to adopt the single tax,
and force them to let go of their surplus
oil lands. This persistent contention of
the single takers, that ownership OF the
land is the base OF all monopol1es, is
mere assumption. Tor which they never
offer a particle OF evidence. They accept
it as self-evident axiom. No assump-
ton could be more baSeless. Is it monop-
oily OF land that enables the sugar trust
to pocket 500, 600, GOO year? Is the
ownership of land the basis of the big
four meat combine of Chicago, that sets
the price of meat both on the hoof and on
the hook? Is it the ownership of natural
resources that makes the cotton seed oil
trust. the leather trust, tie paper trust,
the plate glsas trust the -four trust, and
scores of Others, who neither control ma.
tural opportunities nor are the result of
our fiscal polcy-a success? Even
single taXer ought to know it is not.
However. let us return to the Standard
Oil Company. of the history OF which
Mr.. b. appears to be entirely ignorant.
Mr.. Bennett will be surprised when in
form him that the Standard Oil Com
panv had become one OF the most. if not
the most, powerful monopoly in this
country before it had acquired foot OF
oil land or mad bored a well. That com
pany got its immense start by handling
the crude oil after the fellows who con
tlolled natural opportunities had raised
the oil to the surface. 1t did no wild
citting,' as promiscuous boring for Oil
was termed. The Standard Company
neither owned the land nor pumped the
oil.
This company acquired a great portion
of it's wealth under practically single tax
conditions. 1t laid pipe lines from the
oil districts to tide water. and to cities
where the company had rehneries. 1t
was then in the market as purchaser OF
crude oil and as rehners. 1t could trans
port oil through its pipe lines at one
fourth of the cost of railroad transporta-
ton. Therefore producers of crude oil
were forced to sell their product to the
Standard Oil company at the company S
tempted to build refnerles, and also built
an opposition pipe line, but the enormous
capital of the oil octopus enabled them
to buy out the opposition pipe line and
crush the refneries. They monopollzed
the TRANSPORTATION of crude oil and the
refining OF it; they compelled the railroad
CONF anies to carry their refined oil at
very low rates, by means OF rebates on
their business. Those rebates amounted
to millions of dollars annually. II any
roads refused they were soon brought to
terms bv the loss of the Standard Oil COM
pany's business. which was enormous.
The history OF this company fixes the lie
to the single tax assertion that all monop-
olies are the result of the private owner
ship of natural resources.
Now and then some single taXer, with
. faint glimmering of the critical faculty
and familiar with the conditions under
which the Standard Oil company was ac
cumulating wealth, would write to the
New York Standard, the national organ
of the single tax, wanting TO know, you
know, how this could be. The ques-
ton was poser for that paper, but some
EXPLANATION had to be made to account
for the enormous wealth OF the Standard
Oil com pany, accumulated without any
control OF land or natural resources. Here
is how Henry George accounted Tor 1t:
Immense quantities of tin were used by
the Standard Oil company as cases for
their refined oil for fol eign markets. On
this tin they were allowed by the govern
ment rebate OF 80 per cent. This rebate
their smaller competitors lost. through
the trouble and red tape necessary to get
it. Therefore so the Standard said. the
protective tariff was the indirect cause OF
the Standard oil monopoly. GU When we
take into consideration the enormous
wealth of that giant monopoly in compar-
ison with the insignificant amount saved
by the rebate on tin, the reason given by
Henry George and accepted by his UNI
critical and credulous followers is
simply astonishing.
At the zenith of its power, to protect
itself against possible compet ton. the
Standard Oil company obtained control
of the principal oil lands OF the country.
Toemake that company let go its grip of
their surplus oil lands, it would be only
necessary to enforce present laws, which
require that all property shall be assessed
at its fair cash value. If present laws
were enforced, it would be impossible to
hold out of use any land not needed for
present use. or for use in the immediate
future. But if Mr.. Bennett thinks that
free access to land would destroy the
Standard Oil monopoly. or the bonanza
farmer. l warn hum not to give public ex-
preston to such views as | fear it may be
used against him i'll a possible effort to
get him into an asylum for the feeble
minded.
a
ard Oil company would have been almost
totally exempt from taxation. Their pipe
line would have no more value for taxing
purposes than parallel strip of vacant
land. And as the space used by the pipe
lines in crossing the states might be
compared to the space occupied by string
stretched across an acre cid, its value
for taxation under the single tax may
be imagined. Its retineries would also
be nearly exepmt from taxation only the
land could be taxed, and as they were
built on cheap suburban land the tax
derived from their property would have
been almost nothing. 1t is not the con-
troll of land that cases monopolles. But
the control of capital. TO successfully
compete with the Standard Oil company
would require company possessing hun
dreds of millions OF capital, and then
might be unsuccessful. If their competi-
ton became formidable the Standard Oil
company would either buy them out or
con solidate. In either case the monopoly
would remain. What will make such
monopolies lose their grip is for the peo-
pie themselves to assume control of their
own business, and abolish the present
system of allowing few capitalists to do
it for them. If Mr.. Bennett will give
economic questions little intelligent
study outside of the point Of view of the
shallow single tax theory, | feel confident
his grief at being unable to borrow Ca