The San Francisco call., 1896-04-30
They Will Be Required to Sup.
port a Constitutional
Amendment.
FARMERS NOT IN OPPOSITION
Joseph Leggett and James S. Reynolds
Speak on Single Tax Issues in
California.

| NOW Uudb t1le blColy vi tu0 SIUSle TAX
has become an issue of Importance in
local, State and National politics through
the earnest and long-continued labor of
such m en- as Henry George and Congress
man James G. Mcguire, the National Sim
gle Tax League has been circulating in
every State in the Union petition pray
! ing that the several Legislatures will en-
act such measures as will result in the COL
| lection of all public revenues from the
value of land without regard to improve
ments on it and from no other source.
The petition is issued by the National
committee of the Single Tax League and
reads as follows:
To the Legislature: We, the undersigned,
hereby petition for the enactment of such
measures as may result in the collection of all
public revenues-State, county, township and
municipal-from the value of land, irrespec-
tive of Improvements in or on it, and for the
abolition of all other taxes now levied for this
purpose.
Name Observation-Disclosures.
Residence.
City or town. .......................
County and State. ........................
On the reverse side of the petition is the
following argum entative language in re-
gard to the utility and necessity of the
single tax:
THE SINGLE TAX.
The single tax means the abolition of all
taxes on industry on its products and the
taking for public purposes, by the taxation of
land values irrespective of improvements of
that fund arising from the general growth
and development which constitutes the natu-
raj, just and sufficient source of public reve-
nues.
To tax labor or Its products is to discourage
industry and decrease the general wealth.
To tax land values is to discourage the great
est of monopolies which prevent industry and
lessen the general wealth.
1t will render it impossible for any one to ex-
act for his private benefit toll from others for
the use OF those bounties of nature TO which all
have the equal right of use, and compel every
one holding valuable natural opportunities
either to utilize them by the employment of
labor or permit others to do SO.
1t will thus open opportunities Of work for
all and will secure to each the full reward of
his work. AS q result involuntary poverty will
spring from poverty, or the dread of poverty,
will disappear and reasonable equality OF
condition, born OF the equality of access to
natural opportunities, wils take the place of an
increasingly monstrous inequality.
The circulation of the petition for Cali
fornia has been in charge of Attorney James
S. Reynolds. When seen yesterday at his
offices, 405 Montgomery street, Attorney
Reynolds stated the interest manifested by
Californians generally relative to the
single tax doctrine had exceeded his great
est expectations. He said:
1.-THE petition has been circulated in
every county in the State, though in some
| more industriously than in others. San
| Francisco leads, with over 2000 signatures.
| Tulare comes next, with over 1000 Others,
! like Alameda, Fresno, Kern Kings, Los
Angeles, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Sonoma.
| Marin and Plumas, follow with from 200
to 400 each. The sum total is nearly 10, 600
| signatures.
| "In some localities a majority of the
| voting population have signed. Not all
| of these can be counted as active single
takers, yet they all knew what they signed
and most of them knew what they wanted,
and can be relied on to vote for the single
tax the first time it is presented to them
as measure in practical politics.
slt is our purpose to circulate this peti-
ton more actively than ever before
until the Legislature meets. 1t is
| a mistake to suppose that the farmers of
California are either Indifferent or gem
erally opposed to the doctrine of the single
tax. This is shown by the large number
of signatures in several of the valley
counties. w. II. Afford, ESQ.,. of Visalia,
| who was member of the Assembly of
1898, and at that time strenously opposed
to the submission of a sfngle-tax constitu-
| tionaI amendment, has since become a
convert to the doctrine, and told me over a
year ago that they can carry Tulsre County
the first time they get chance to vote
on it.
'.Plumas County is also regarded as per-
fectly safe, owing to the work Of James E.
Mills and others.
circulating this petition is not all the
single-taxers are doing now by any means
| they are loading for bear A demand
| begins to come in from those who have
| signed the foregoing petition for some.
| quire pledge from legislative candidates
to submit constitutional amendment
that will open the way to single-tax legis-
| lation.
ain compliance with this request, the
following pledge has been prepared and
will Immediately be put into circulation
thereby promise that I will vote only for
| such candidates for the Senate and Assem- biz
as are pledged in writing to submit eonstitu-
| tional amendment which will open the way to
| single-tax legislation.
"This pledge will be vigorously circu-
lated from now on up to the time of the
election. Single-taxers are beginning to
think that they have been doing educa-
tional and propaganda work long enough
to look for practical results. This pledge
will put Legislative candidates to the test.
In very many districts in the State thew
| hold the balance of power. and in this
matter they absolutely know no politics
except such a. make for or against the
| amendment.
"All we leed IN Cn1S state to make q be-
ginning in adopting the single tax is to
get the constitutional provision requiring
everything to be taxed to be amended SO
| that the Legislature will have Jurisdiction
of the subject. Or, if we had local option
in taxation, we know for a certainty that
we could carry several counties immedi-
ately for the abolition of all taxes on per-
sonal property, and San Francisco is one
of them. This shows how important we
regard the question of the constitutional
| amendment proposed"
Attorney Joseph Leggett, who is the
California member of the National Com.
mittee of the Single-tax League, said:
1.-THE single-tax is rapidly passing out of
the stage of mere propaganda and enter
ing the field of practical politics. It is in
active political discussion to-day in the
States of Delaware, New York, Massa-
chusets, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. and
it is destined soon to become the leading
issue in every State of this Union.
"That the people even in California are
ready for the issue is evident from the fact
that IN little over year nearly 10, 600
voters here signed the National single-tax
petition, and these SIGNATURES have been
obtained solely through the yoluntar, and