The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-20

9AOSo CdAuluSS III lieu OF all Otner taxes
wen, that may be a matter of difference Of
opinion. But I. d. says: for one, we felt
tnat we could safely follow the judgment
VI Inc legal advisor of the state the at
,oeaey general. and we therefore voted for
the bill lule bill for taxing railroad
iands). In answer to Carl Gilbertson, in
NO. ", l understand from reading writings
OF John H. Burke that there were now
nine railroads in the state whose lands
might legally be taxed, and that he had
notlned Gov Nelson of the fact, not simply
MS opinion Now, I merely made the state
Ihent 10 snow that If all lands in the state
were taxed on their unimproved valuation
the farmers under the single tax would be
renewed OF more than half their burden.
ana, while l am about it, 1 will state, in
regard TO one point in controversy, that
such eminent political economists as John
stuart Mill, Walker, Ricards, Thorold Rog-
ers, Adam Smith and Henry George all
agree that tax on ground rent cannot
De shifted permanently from landlord to
tenant Rogers says "A tax on rents
cannot De transferred A tax on commodi-
ties Is always transferred to the con-
sumner. Here is one of Georges plain
self-evident assertions: I'm regard to the
plea that the single tax would discriminate
against farmers and small home owners
ana IN favor of the rich is apparent. The
bad faith of this plea is emphasized when
we consider that under existing systems
or taxation the farmer and poor home
owner are compelled to pay in taxes upon
improvements, food, clothing and other OBJ
Jects OF consumption much more than the
full annual value of the bare land"
Here is a point in the single tax theory
which l. D. has hardly grasped when he
says: The road bed is but II acres to the
mile, while the road is bonded and stocked
Tor from $4,000 to 100000 per mile" Now
as understand the single tax, the assessor
would find as near as possible the average
real cost of the building and stocking the
road bed per mile, and taking that amount
from the capitalized value, which would
show the land value of the road bed for
taxation. The road bed is among the most
valuable land in the community 1t goes
up to near the value per acre of the most
eligible city lots. Let compute its
value. Suppose a road capitalized at $50, $50
per mile, which could be duplicated at
Sl2,0oO per mile, the apparent value for
taxation would be $4,000 per mile Would
not this do what Mr.. Donnelly has so long
been laboring to bring about, viz: Squeeze
the water out of them? l conclude l have
a question tc put, viz: How strange that
honest reformers who are really search
ing for truth will not be convinced that
there is more than truth in the uni
verse? The single takers believe that par
TALLY freeing land is the great and only
truth that would answer our oft repeated
prayer to give us (a1l of us) daily
bread and deliver us from (alD evil. Thy
kingdom come (but let it be a republic)
Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.
While the Populist believes the one and
only great truth that would cure hard
times and make the pursuit of happiness
successful would follow the government s
obeying instructions and freely coming
money and issuing it to the people at per
cent for it's use that would merely cover
cost, and issuing government paper legal
tender money backed by the same credit
that secures government bonds, and pay
it's debts, without borrowing gold or
loaning currency to the bankers to enable
them to scoop per cent out of the rest
of mankind. We Populists demand money
so plentiful that it won't command over
2 per cent interest and thereby increase
the price of products and set the unem-
ployed at work. And, like Mrs. farley s
wax work show, claim the only and
best wax work show in the world. And yet
one plank of our platform reads follows,
viz:
THE land, including all natural sources
of wealth, is the heritage of the people,
and should not be monopolized for specu-
lative purposes. And alien ownership of
land should be prohibited (but not taxed? p.
All land now held by railroads and other
corporations in excess of their actual
needs, and all land now owned by aliens,
| should be reclaimed by the government
and held for actual settlers only"
How can the government reclaim but by
| taxing their rental value until it will be-
! come improbable to hold them for specula-
| tive purposes? The men who occupy and
| use them could increase in wealth and pay
tax their rental value, while the
| spectators would be forced ito let go
| long enough to spit on their hands, Spec
| ulators go in for gain, and when that gain
is forestaled by order of the government
| there will cease to be an opportunity to
hold land out of for the sake of de-
handing a price for the opportunity OF
| labor to live by his own exertiOn.
| JONAS N. HOWE.