The San Francisco call., 1896-07-08
Began Yesterday With the Open
ing of the Democratic
Convention.
JAMES S. REYNOLDS SAYS NAY.
Says the Single Tax Is the Star Of
Hope Amid the Clouds of
Social Evil.

single tax and socialism, as to the remedy
of modern social evils. Each speaker stuck
religiously to his text, so to speak, and |
consequently the audience was enabled to
judge fairly between the two reforms on
the showing made by each of the ex-
ponents.
The regular officers of the settlement be-
ing absent, Mr.. Boyd was elected as tenn
porary chairman and Miss Beamish as
secretary. After the announcement that
Mr.. Reynolds, by agreement, was to have
twenty-five minutes to open and ten min
utes to close after Mr.. Gronlund's speech
of thirty minutes, Mr.. Reynolds began.
He prefaced his remarks by stating that
several weeks previously, after listening
to Mr.. Gronlund talk he had volunteered
to subsequently, controvert every substan-
tial statement of the speaker.
'Mr. Gronlund's speech" began Rey-
nolds, twas, in brief, a protest against
capital. In defining capital, however. he
fell into pitsall. He included as capital
machinery, gold and silver and land. Ma
chinery, indeed, is capital, gold and silver
represent capital, but land neither is nor
represents capital.
t'The so-called ownership of land is es-
sentially the privilege of collecting rent.
Gronlund is in favor of making this rent
common property. Thus far single-taxers
agree with Mr.. Gronlund, but when Mr..
Groniund goes further and proposes the
common ownership of everything we differ
from him very materially. Socialism is
not freedom. We single-taxers believe in
giving all free access to natural opportuni-
ties and thus giving ell an equal chance.
Mr.. Gronlund promised, under social
ism, State aid for the unemployed, but
didn't say just how this was to be done.
The whole idea is based upon the errone-
Gus supposition that the State owes every
man work. Ideny that the State owes every
man work. The State owes no man work
What the State does owe a man is not
work, nor even the opportunity, but il
does owe him this: that the State shall
not deprive any man of an opportunity TO
work, or allow any one else to deprive him
OF the opportunity. This brief statement
summarizes all economic truth; 1t is the
doctrine of single tax and .he doctrine of
freedom in nutshell"
Mrs. Reynolds briefly showed that from
Mr.. Gronlund's ideal system of govern
ment ownership came the present system
of private ownership. According to the
speaker, before Henry VIII claimed that
the state owned the land the people had
never thought that they had owned 1t.
"Mr. Gronlund," resumed the speaker,
brightly said that something is going 10
happen. But l deny that it is socialism
that is coming. 1t is freedom. The pres
ent silver craze is one indication of the
freedom. Mr.. Gronlund is wrong in say
ing that bloody revolution is imminent.
There never will be a forcible revolution,
for the human mind will not resort to
violence so long as there is single star of
hope in the sky. That star of hope is the
doctrine held forth and enunciated by
single TAKERS"
Mr.. Gronlund began by stating that he
agreed with the slngle-taxers in many re-
spects, and that he didn't want to oppose
them, but to convert them. Before pro-
ceeding to answer Mr.. REYNOLDS the
speaker drew distinction between social
ism, which had for its motto. "From
every one according to his ability to every
one according to his deed" and COM
munism, which gives to every one accord
ing to his need. and nationalisrn, which
gives to every one alike.
"The great trouble with Americans" he
declared, lis that they believe they can
invent remedies for social evils. They
cannot, because society Is an orga nism,
and the evils OF society are due to the fact
that society is not as yet fully developed
organism. When its full development is
reached then every one can say, The State
owes me living.
ssMany modern economic fallacies are
based upon the proposition that every
man is entitled to all he earns. This is
not so, for, this being true, the strong
would have advantage over the weak.
do not agree with BelIamy in wishing for
economic equality, but equal economic
opportunity"
The speaker reiterated his former state
ment that capital included land. He then
proceeoed to discuss land and land values,
which latter, he declared. had been
created by men-men now alive and men
since dead as well. After this definition,
Mr.. Gronlund thus proceeded to summar-
ize socialism:
"All socialists agree tnat socialism is
ha r oil s&o1
the collective control of all business.
maintain that all competition necessarily
ends IN monopoly or com bination. Trusts
are inevitable, and cannot be removed by
law. If you want to see what socialism is,
look at the trusts. In these trusts pro-
the fact that distribution Is not socialized.
''I repeat my conviction that a revolu-
ton is at hand and that it is nearer than
had thought. / had thought that the
great social revolution could be STAYED off
until 1900 or 1901, when the people might
possibly be ripe for it. / fear that it is
even closer at hand. In fact | believe that
this, the first day of the Democratic Con-
yention, is the first day of the great
American revolution, which fear will be
q second French Revolution.
Mr.. Reynolds in his reply declared that
Gronlund had surprised him by the argu-
ments advanced. Mr.. Reynolds, however,
wished to correct lew OF the previous
speakers mistakes. Like many Others
who spoke against the single tax, Mr..
GronIund, declared Reynolds, didn't know
the first A of the subject.
"a laborer, when he has paid his rent to
the community" declared Mr.. Reynolds,
has paid all he ought TO pay. What he
earns rightly belongs to him. Under the
single tax the Iaborer receives his aggre-
gate wages minus the land rent, which is,
however, used for him in common with
all others.
II grant that society is an organism,
but it is a very different organism from
what you think it is The single-taxers
realize that society is an organism and
they wish to prevent individuals from
robbing society of what it has created as
an organism.
"The single-taxers de not pretend to