St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-08
Swanson's Annual Display
EASTER FLOWERS
3S1-3S3 Jackson St, near Sixth st.
DEACON JONES' THEORY.
e. S, Doubleday.

Very many half-converts to the
new gospel of political economy
called 'the single tax" fail, think,
to fully appreciate the conditions
which are essential to the application
of truly single tax. Such persons
are consequently too sanguine of
great results from it's attempted ap-
plication in isolated locations and
over small area subjected also to
state, national and tariff taxes from
outside, and depending, as such small
areas must, more upon outside pro-
auctions, for which it exchanges its
own, than the use of it's own pro-
auctions for success and a reason
able degree of prosperity.
Too many new-fiedged or half
fledged single takers, witnessing the
ill-succeSS of such experiments
and failing to note the adverse
outside conditions by which the lit
tie community still continues to be
plucked of it's productions, lose all
faith and hope in it. Such super
fetal observers not infrequently
have joined themselves to the noisy
and ignorant host who have forever
called every great truth which they
fail to see either a lie or that which
is the same thing, an empty and i'm
practicable theory.
Such has been the history of pro-
gressive civilization, and such the
welcome given to every discovery of
truth, from the days of Moses and
of Christ to Calico, from Calico
and Newton to Henry George.
AS an illustration of this human
weakness, this social disease, and
of it's contagious character. l am re-
minded of an incident, amusing and
real, which, with some alterations
of the details and the use of fictitious
names for real ones, 1 will narrate
under the title of Deacon Jones'
Theory"
A good man, most positively
well-intentioned old man of the lit
tie country town in which this
writer was born, had, more than
forty years ago, acquired a vague
conception of the theory that steam
could be put to practical utility.
With an old iron teakettle having
it's cover securely wired down, a
very small escape pipe made fast
to its nozzle. and with an apple
pairing machine at hand which he
hoped to run by steam power, old
Deacon Jones had built high hopes
of mechanical progress upon 1.-The
theory only a theory, of benefi-
Gently employing the expansive
power Of steam, and had made such
crude devices for it's application as
in his ignorance of natural laws
and with the poor materials and op-
portunities at his command were
available to him. Rebecca, his wife,
was mo theorist." She boosted of
being pre-eminently ''pract cI."
With that impatient contempt in
which practical people hold theo-
rizers, she persistently demanded
that her spouse Immediately put to
"a practical test his wonderful
theory, which to Mrs. Wells. next
door, she had said, 'tthe cid fool had
argyd would be able to run ships
across the ocean, grind corn and
make woet sawin' "a amusement
std O. the back-breakin' work it's
now"
.Lookee here, Deaconl" and
Becky had made the demand with
frequent and exasperating persist
eney; talks cheap. Eff your
theery's good fer anythin,' wy dun't
ye put it t practice and prove it?"
The deacon had fastened the too