Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1895-05-25
CORRESPONDENTS.
A Buckeye Dash at Mr.. Livescy.
14l RACE STREET,
CINCINNATI O Nav s. lSD)

al RACE STREET,
CINCINNATI, o, May 5, 1895.
To the MINING JOURNAL.
1t has been my good fortune to re-
ceive copies of number of letters
written by Mr.. Francis B. Livrsey, of
Sykesville, Md.
The object of these letters seems to
be to try to prove the single tax to be
unjust and impracticable, and as
rational arguments sustaining this
view are quite rare and. hence, Fever
exposed to the light for fear they
might be spoiled, Mr.. Livesey is, of
course, not t. blame for being com
PEELED to use irrelevant and ridiculous
ones, as he has done, consisting mainly
of misstatementS and personal abuse.
1t must be SAID. however, that his
arguments are fully equal to any that
the ablest opponents of the single tax
have ever succeeded in bringing for
ward, and it is my sincere wish that
he will persevere in his opposition and
so help the good cause along. will
send him the names and addresses of
a number of persons in this vicinity
who would doubtless be benefited by
reading his profound arguments if he
will agree to send each one of them
the same articles | have received.
In your issue of January LIST, in
answer to Mr.. Ernest j. Foord, of
Jersey City, N. J he gives as reasons
for doubling the truth of the single
tax theory that Henry George is IA
theorist, and that he has failed so far
to publish any account Of his personal
Or family history, or to announce his
pedigree to the world.
10 be sure, one would naturally
suppose that no matter what the in
formation would be regarding Mr..
Georges father, family, birthplace
and trade, for which Mr.. Livesey longs
so eagerly, it would not prove anything
for or against the single tax principle,
and that, indeed, the proper way to
disprove it would be to show the
fallacy of the arguments used in its
favor and bring arguments against
it that would show it to be wrong, re.
gardless of what any ones biography
may be; but it must be remembered
that no opponent has as yet discovered
any such argument and there was no
thing else for Mr.. Livesey to say
Facts that could be urged against
the single tax being rather scarce, Mr..
Livesey makes the statement that a
few dollars per acre will break the
monopolstic hold on most any land in
the country. This statement is highly
imp rtant if true, and shows how
foolishly some prominent business men
Of this city have acted who not so very
long ago paid few thousand dollars
a front foot for land in this city that
could have been obtained, according
to Mr.. Livesey. for a few dollars an
acre. All over this city land is being
rented at prices equivalent to thous-
ands, ten thousands and even hundreds
of thousands of dollars an acre, that.
if Mr.. Livesey is correct. can be bought
for a few dollars. Ninety whine per
cent. of the business men of not only
this city, but of the whole country
evidently need Mr.. Livesey for a
guardian, at least in the matter of
buying or renting land, if for nothing
else.
tie says man can get a job for
dollar day and save enough in two
months to buy enough land to live on.
This will be news to thousands of un-
SIIilloNC't lHtl W uo nave Uttu anu dTc
still looking for work at any price, to
say noThing of how man may support
his family on such a sum, even if he
got the job. But even if it were pos
sible for any man not only to support
his family, but to save money on a
dollar a day, it would not be long be-
fore wages fell to the point of bare
subsistence, just as it always does
where a large number of unemployed
are ever trying to underbid those at
work.
He next cites proof of the justice
OF the present system of land tenure
that God has not yet sent any flood TO
wash away any landmarks and the
people who made them. This is GER
tainly a great discovery, if it can be
relied upon, for it shows that there is
no need of anyone's bothering his
head about the justice and injustice
of any existing institution or law, for
if it is unjust, God will surely send a
flood to drown the people responsible
therefor. Had this fact only been
known before the late unpleasant
ness,' what great waste of innocent
lives and of money, and what inno-
cent suffering would have been averted!
What tools these abolitonists were
anyway! Had they only kept still a
great food would have come and
slavery would have been DESTROYED
without near the loss of life, and with
ont any of the cost or trouble of the
civil war.
After indulging in more abuse of
Henry George and other single takers
he makes another irrelevant, and OBJ
viously untrue statement as we'll,
about the rich and poor child having
equal opportunities, and makes bluff
at trying to prove it by saying that
the rich child finally gets poor and the
poor child rich. Now, unless he will
admit that this only happens in
isolated cases he is actually claiming G
that the millions of poor children in
this country will each become as rich
and change places with the children
of the few thousand millionaircs. In
other words, the next generation vii
consist of millions of millionaires anG
only few thousand poverty-stricker
wretches-an absolute impossibility
and irrelevant AS well.
In your issue of Feb. 2, in answer tc
MIR. Benjamin Douglas, of Phila
delphia, which largely consists of the
same personal remarks as in his Other
letter, he tries to show how much bet
ter he is than single takers by boast
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