The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-11-06
WATSQU'S VIEWS.
We Are All Interested in the Opin-
ions of the Great Georgian,
Whether We Agree With
Them or Not
WHAT HE THINKS OF THE SIN
GLE TAN

The author likewise discusses, most
ly by quotation, the questions Of Land
and Taxation.
On the land question he seems to be
Socialist: on the tax ques tion,a Hen
ry GeOrgeite.
In neither Of these positions'j is he
sustained by the Omaha platform.
The Henry George idea Of taxation
is that the land should bear all the
burdens Of Government.
Mr.. George is millionaire, the
friend and associate Of millionaires,-
the supporter OF Grover Cleveland. 1t
may seem right in his eyes to lay the
entire burden of public expenditures
upon those who own the land Of the
country; but,t to many of US the propo-
sitiOn appears to be as unjust as the
system we now endure.
We cannot see why the bondholderS,
money-lenderS, insurance companies.
bankers, express companies and trans
portation companies of all sorts
should be exempted. Nor can we see
the wisdom of taxing the lot upon
which Nanderbilt's palace may stand
while the palace itself is exempt.
If we can secure graduated tax
upon the incomes. (thereby reaching
Henry Georges millions) which will
really compel the wealth of the land
to pay it's full share Of the public eX-
penses, we would soon reach point
where the internal revenue system
could be wiped out, lock, stock and
barrel, and we would soon have the
necessaries of life on the free-list.
We care nothing much about taxes
on the luxuries whether those taxes
are direct or Indirect. What we do
want is a system which will ease
up on the poor devils who now have to
pay tariff lakes on pretty nearly every
thing they wear and work with.
1.-THE Little Statesman" following
the example of a large number of lit
tie statesmen who do platform work
at political con ventions. shows a dis
position to dodge the tariff question
altogether.
Our own humble and individual
opinion is that system of taxation,
which lays an extra pric on 1900 artl-
cleS of home cOnSum ptiOn, can only be
successfully lodged by general emf
grafton.
HIS VIEWS ON THE LAND QUESTION
On the land question, 1.-The Little
Statesman" not only departs from
the Omaha platform. but takes leave
of the facts of history.
For instance. he says that France
went into the Revolution when twelve
per cent of her population owned all
the Kingdom"
We would like to know where "The
Little Statesman" got that infOrma-
ton.
Arthur Young, the Suffolk farmer,
who travelled all over France on the
eve of the Revolution, and who ar
IDENTIFY sympathized with the revolu-
Gionists, records his opinion that prior
to the Revolution, one-third of all the
land in France belonged to the small
peasant farmers.
More recent investigations leads M
Betham Edwards, the editor of the
last edition of Arthur Young
travels, to say that only one-fourth of
the soil belonged to the peasants.
The balance of the land was divided
between the middle class (BourgeoiS
the mobiles, the Clergy and the King.
1t is all mistake to say that the
land question brought on revolution
in France. The burdens which became
unbearable TO that people were class
privilege. feudal dues, taxation which
exempted the rich priest and ricf
noble, while it crushed the life out OF
the peasant producer.
The privileged classes monopolZeo
the government, its powers and it,
privileges, to the exclusion of the
great body of the people.
Class-legislat ion was the cause O
the Revolution in France.-not the
land ques ton.
THE Little Statesman" proceeds tt
quote Mr.. w. r. Morgan, who ex
pounds our land-plank to mean tina
mo one shall own more land than b,
can use"
Use how?
use" with his own hands, o
through the hands of others? Ant
how are you going to guage the ca
pacity Of the man who fuses" tn
land?
And are you going to guage his ca
pacitv to ''use" the land before h
buys, or afterwards?
And are you going to guage tn
number of acres a lazy man Shoul,
"use" by the number of acres an in
dustrious man can use or will yo
guage the active man down to tn
standard of the slow man?
Seems to us that we are getting int
deep water along here, and we coul
wish that brother W. S. Morgan an
1.-The Little States man" would be
trlfle more definite and explanatory.
A quick. active, successful man Xix
brother w. S. Morgan, might find
difficult to cOntine his wOnderft
energy to i've thousand acres. Wit
his capacity for business, he coul
make the whole tract hum with tn
busy bees of varied industry. ii
could use that 5000 acres not only
the benefit of himself, but to tn
benefit Of humanity.
But there are thousands of peopl
who would not use" larger space {
soil than the shade of the biggest tire
on the place would cover:-are you g