The morning times., 1895-10-27
SINGLE TAX COLUMN.

1
| THE Times undertakes no responsi
biiity for any views expressed in this
| coIumn.)
Comments by the Editor of the
Single Tax Column.
| Mr.. r. ]. Gibbs of lib Tenth street south
| east. accepting the invitation beretofort
| given In these columns, has written lette,
| In which he criticises the single tax idea
| II Is too long to print In full, but the part
| more directly bearing on the subject u
| given below:
Your parable, in which you represent q
little community as bringing their wares to
| merchant, who buys the articles they have
made for fifty cents, and sells them for a
dollar, is not fair statement OF the fact,
Merchants do not, as a rule. sell their e goods
at hundred per cent profit. 1t would be
impossible for one TO do so for any length
of time, for. as soon as it became kno wn that
he was making an average profit of even
ten per cent, others would go into the
mercantile business, and competition would
soon compel him to reduce his prices and
profits. Competition between
workIngrnen keeps wages at their Just and
proper level. competition between merchants
holds profits down TO their just and proper
level.
$50 the accumula ton of goods In the hands
of a single merchant, which you complain
OF as working such disaster, does not and
cannot actually occur. Further,
l must say that you have not answered
to my satisfaction the charge that the effect
of the single tax would be the practical
confiscation of the land owners property"
oNE-sIDED COMPETITION.
Under the prevailing Industrial system
there is always an army of the unemployed
Whenever the laborer's wages rise one
whit higher than sufficient to afford
him meager subsistence, some unemployed
person. himself starving, or with desti-
tute family, offers to work for less. There
upon the Iaborer having employment must
yield his place to the unemployed man who
bids lower, or else himself accept lower
wages. In this manner wages are kept
scarcely above the starvation point.
The statement of Mr.. Arthur Keep. in
Thursday mornings Times, that in the
coal mines about Pittsburg, 1.-THE average
wage Tor ali concerned is 90 cents 4 cay,
for about ninety days in the year. Illus
trates the result to the laboring man
when competition is afforded an oppor-
tunity to get in its perfect work.
On the other hand competition does not
as a fact keep down. in the same manner,
the income OF the "middleman." We
call the attention of our critic to the fact
that he has nIiSrepresented our statement.
We have never said that a merchant"
sells his goods at twice their cost. The
term we used was Mr.. Middleman;" after
carefully explaining that by this term
we meant, not merchant, but 1.-THE repre-
sentative of .he capitalist element Of COM
niunity;'' rot a single individual, but the
entire series of niiddiemen. such as land spec
uiators, nIoney-loaners, stockholders, and
other profit-takers, who intervene between
the producer and the consumer
Competition has not prevented the man
ayers OF the Standard Oil Company from
accumulating a fortune Of Sf3,0Oo,O0O
in twenty years-an average OF $4,000
a day, Sundays and holidays included.
1t did not prevent a prominent railway
magnate lately deceased, from accumu-
lating wealth, during the year 1887, at
such rate that IL he had stood on the shore
and cast a dollar every second into the
sea, for ten hours day, when evening
came he would have been four thousand
dollars richer than he was in the morning.
II this is keeping profits down to their
lust and proper level" then our critic Is
correct, as the salutary effects of compe-
tition; other wise not.
CoNFIsCATIoN, AGAIN.
We did think we had made the utter
falsity of the charge of ''confiscation"
that there was no excuse for repeating
IT; but as our critic seems to be still at
sea on that point, perhaps we may be par
doned for giving another Illustration,
which is not a parable, but a fact:
Holland Is very level region, whose
streams and rivers afford few water
power sites. Hence it is a country of
windmilis. In the middle ages its rulers
used to raise a considerable revenue by
taxing these windmills. Besides that.
the church, as the representative of the
Most High, demanded tribute from the
miller for the use of the wind. For does
not the Bible say, the God ''formeth the
mountains and createth the wind" and
speak repeatedly of the winds of heaven?'
But there were those who contended that
the air, whether still or in motion. not
being the product of human labor, could
not properly be treated as the property of
any Individual or class; that 1t was the
gift of God to all men equally, and that
the priests had no right to monopoliZe tt
and farm It out to whomsoever would pay
them the most Finally the free-air cranks
carried the day. Then the priests raised
the cry that their property (in air. had
been ''eonfiscated." But the advocates of
free air retorted that the ''confiscation''
had been done by the priests when they
seized the products of their neighbors' labor
for the use of the air. which was no more
the property of priests than of laymsn.
VIII our critic be SO kind as to write
US another letter, and tell US which he
thinks was right?
OWNERSHIP OF THE POTOMAC RIVER.
The citizens of Washington are paying
an average of about 81 year per house
hold as water rent This is solely to
cover the expense of constructing water
works, laying pipes, etc. Nothing is paid
for the water itself; no one is recognized
as being the owner of the Potomac river
1t is conceivable, however, that Congress
might pass an act granting the Potomac
river, in fee simple, to syndicate with
orr friend Gibbs at its head. Such ''owner-
ship" would carry with 1t the right to de-
mand from the rest Of us. payment for
the water itself Tin addition to the cost of
it, which we now pay) There
would be millions In it, for Gibbs and his
syndica te.
1t is conceivable, again Though hardly
If shares in the syndicate had
been Judiciously distributed), that Con-
,ress might pass an act revoking such grant
,f the Potomac. In that event, there can
De no doubt that Gibbs and his associate,
would clamor that their property" was
being "confiscated (" ~ But the rest of us
would contend that, on the contrary, the
statute repeating the water-srant simply
,ut an end to the confiscation that Gibbs
q company had been perpetrating upon
is. VIII our critic write another letter.
md inform us which he thinks would be
light! And while he has his pen in hand
vili he further be so kind as to explain
why land, as well as air and water, is not
lature's gift to all equally, which no one
'erson should have the right to demand
ribute from others for using?
The TarantuIa.
The tarantula abounds In all parts of
Nicaragua, but from the Atlantic to tho
= q rs-il