The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-25

as long as he pays his rent (taX).
A tax on land values fulflls nearly every
requirement of perfect tax, because the
land cannot be hidden nor removed, and
can be assessed with more certainty and
less expense than any other, while it does
not check production. 1t is simply rent
taken for the use of the community OF a
value made by the community, and not by
the labor of the user or owner. and, as all
wealth comes from the land, by this
method every person is compelled to pay
his rightful share of the public expenses.
Such method, / am satisfied, would
provide for all the needs of the agricultur-
ist that ! have enumerated, and would re-
quire but little change by the State gov
eminent.
At first thought, superficial thinker
might conclude that such method would
add to the farmers burdens, instead of re-
lieving them. But deeper investigation
will clearly show, think, that this plan
will not only relieve the pressing need of
the agriculturist, but of alllaborers. Areas
of land are not considered, but land values.
The rental value of the land used by the
soil-tiller of California is very small COM
pared with the rental value of other lands.
1t is estimated that the renters of bare
land in the single city of San Francisco
pay into the pockets of private individuals,
yearly, nearly $19.00000O. This vast sum
should be spent in defray;ng public ex-
penses and constructing public utilities,
because the pablo alone has created this
value, and therefore it rightfully belongs
to the public.
Under present laws man is allowed to
monopolize hundred thousand acres Of
land in sight of my window, and can live
in luxury and ease and compel many agri-
culturists of this county to pay him 81 pc
acre each year for the use of thousands of
acres of land.
II the State Government would require
the full rental value of this land to be paid
into the public expense fund, this man
would be compelled to give up his vast
monopoly of natural resources, for the
speculative value would be gone, and the
81 an acre now going into mis- pocket, be-
ing then used TO pay public expenses,
would relieve the agriculturist from all
other taxation; not only direct taxation,
but the 40 per cent tax he now pays on
nearly everything he buys. For if you re-
lieve the products Of all labor from all
taxation, you will reduce the cost of those
products at least 40 per cent.
This Orange, county has 438, 1872 acres of
assessable land. Does any one doubt
that the best half of this land could be
rented for 81 per acre? Yet at this ridicu-
lousy low figure it would give US several
thousand dollars in excess of our public
expenses, our county expenses never
having been over sos, 000 And the rental
value of the other half at only % cents per
acre would give US $55, 900 additional,
which if spent in road building would in
few years give US the finest roads in the
world and greatly increase the rental value
of all our lands by attracting large immi-
grafton to our county. But we have land
in some of the cities OF our county the
rental value of which is thousands of dol
lars per acre yearly. Thus the burden of
public expense would be mostly borne by
a few men of wealth in cities, who hold the
most desirable pieces of land for wealth.
getting purposes, but which land Justly be-
longs equally to all. And the large tracts
of farming land now monopolized by
dozen men in California would be thrown
open to the agriculturist, and his present
heavy fines for building homes and caus-
ing four blades of grass to grow where
one grew before, and whole orchards of
trees and vines to grow where none grew
before would be entirely removed.
This plan would also give him his desir-
able market. For in making all the fertil
lands in a State easily accessible to every
one, you start all the wheels of commerce.
Why were tons of agricultural products
dumped into San Francisco bay last sum-
mer? 1t was because the masses, who
were in great need of those products, could
not get work at wages permitting them to
buy those products. 1t does not matter
how urgent the demand or abundant the
supply, there must be ability to purchase.
Therefore it follows that the ability to
purchase, IN all cases where an article is
in demand, absolutely establishes the price.
Since ability to purchase makes the
price, and the real demand for all our
products, the question naturally follows,
what causes this ability? As all wealth
comes from the brain and Drawn of the
toiling millions, bestowed on natures re-
sources, their ability to purchase is oppor-
tunity to labor and receive the full
products of their labor. A right to labor
is of no use unless one also has the oppor-
tunlty. In republican commonwealth
every one should have equal access to
naturs's bounties, should be free to earn
competency by bestowing labor on
natures resources, provided equally for
all the children of men.
With proper State legislation this would
be done, and an effective demand created
for the greatest imaginable production.
For the wants of mankind are boundless,
and if each person could have free access
to natures bounties and could exchange
portion of his products for an equal por-
ton of any other mans products, the de-
mand for all products of labor would be
boundless.
By giving all the idle employment at
hope-giving wages, an effective demand
will be created for all the products of the
agriculturist. There can be no over-pro-
duction of anything that is wanted by
some one.
The natural resources of California are
sufficient to employ a much larger popula-
ton than the present one for a thousand
years. And yet our laws have allowed
cunning few to SO appropriate and monopo-