The herald., 1896-04-05
QUINCY ON SINGLE TAX

B0ston's Mayor Surprises and Delights the
Disciples OF Henry George
The single tax advocates of Massa-
chusetts consider that they have won
victory by enlisting Mayor Josiah
Quincy of Boston in their behalf. Mr..
Quincy belongs to the blue -blooded
stock of the old Bay state. At a recent
single-tax banquet Mayor Quincy was
one of the speakers and brought forth
great applause by his sentiments. He
declared that it was great pleasure to
meet with class of people who appre-
ciated the definite and vital Importance
to 4 community of its tax laws.
ut strikes me as the most important
thing about this single-taX movement"
said Mr.. Quincy, "that you recognize
so fully what the average citizen fails
to recognize, not ONLY the importance
and influence upon community of the
tax laws, but also that you see the
great benefits that can be wrought out
by wise and intelligent changes In the
laws affecting taxation, which will re-
move the burdens from industry, which
will give better field for business, and
which will distribute taxation equit-
ably and justly throughout the COM
munity.
"Since l. have seen the progress of
the single tax, since l have seen the
number of active and intelligent citi-
zens whom it has enlisted, and seen the
enthusiasm which it has aroused,
have felt that the eingle-tax doctrine
and the single-taX movement was
something that would have to be reck-
, oned with.
ut seems to me from the standpoint
of the single tax that you are right in
/ feeling that you are supporting a
movement for the simplification of our
present tax system in this common
wealth, and for placing the whole bur.
den of local taxes upon real estate.
II am strong believer in one of the
ideas made very prominent in the
| single tax movement-the benefit of a
! simple system of taxation as against
the mass of complexity which we Ia
Dor under today.
II am also in hearty sympathy with
the idea embodied in the principles of
the single tax that the attempt to levy
taxes on personal property ought to
be abandoned. Il experiments have
proven anything, they have proven the
utter futility and impossibility of col
lecring taxes upon personal prop
erty.
1--WE have made some progress in
this direction, and think the business
men of Boston very generally are in
sympathy with the idea that the gener-
al welfare of the city, its growth and
| development, require that some of the
heavy burdens that now rest upon
business and industry and commerce
should be removed and that there
should be bigger field for the enter
prise of our citizens and the product
! i've use of capital, and that means q
/ larger field for the employment of Ia
Dor and higher wages.
"A tax of that nature must be un.
equal in its effect and a penalty upon
the man who is honest enough to be
willing to disclose all his property, and
1t must of it's very nature give prefer.
ence to those who believe that the
state has no business to levy taxes OIL
their personal property.
IL feel very strongly in favor of the
idea of leaving broad field for busi
ness and enterprise, which 1 under
stand is one of the cardinal points oi
the single tax doctrine, and the more
l reflect upon the subject the more
am impressed with the great and effec.
tive change, which it woull make here
in the city of Boston if we could lift
the taxation off enterprise and com
merce and industry and leave AS broad
scope as possible in this metropolis
of New England for the developmen,
OF every productive industry and trade
| and commerce..