Smyrna times., 1896-04-08
OBJECTIONS TO
SINGLE TAX ANSWERED,
Reply to the Communication in "The
Times" of the z5th uIt., entitled,
"An Examination of the Sim
gle Tax CinCh.


Dear Sir:-In your issue OF March
95th, you published an article under the
heading, can Examination of the Sin
Gle Tax Cinch," and signed "SOn OF
Delaware. Your heading is indeed
very appropriate as any careful student
of the question who is able to dlstln-
guish between right and wrong, be-
tween what is true and what is false,
may see that the single tax is indeed
''cinch." The article you publish IS
simply mass of misrepresentation,
careless reasoning and apparent con-
tradictions. The writer evidently be-
lieves that he is attacking the single
tax position. But he is not. He is
simply setting up a man of straw and
is knocking him down to his own
great delight.
As it usually takes less time and
space to raise an objection than it does
to answer one, and as your correspond
ent raises so many objections, l shall
be obliged to be brief in my answer to
each point raised; otherwise, l would
encroach too much on your valuable
space.
At the outset the writer admits that
land monopoly is an evil; but says
that it has not yet in this country
reached a congested stage. If it is an
evil, why does he not fight it now, in
it's incipiency? Why wait until the
stage of congestion is reached?. And
if he gives battle to the thing that he
admits to be an evil, what weapon car
he use other than the single tax?.
He says that there is not much spec
ulation in land values except in cities
But the cities and towns are just thu
places where nearly all land values are
1t is true, as he says, that speculation
in farm land is unpopular, unremuner
ative and little indulged in. That i
simply because farm land has very lit
tie value.
Now comes one of his own contra
dictions. Let me quote his own words
'"The owning of farms is not at al
popular in these days. The farmer
are kept exceedingly busy to keep tn
mortgage and sheriff from them?" H
loses sight of the fact that the farmer
who are burdened with mortgages al
! not the real owners of their farms
; The mortgage is practically owner t
the extent of the mortgage. But re;
ownership of farms is as popular {
ownership of horses, houses, ship
4 money, food, clothing or anythin
II else; which is proven by the fact thi
+ men are willing to give those con
mOdities in exchange for farms.
Now comes a Misrepresentation Z
says that the desideratum which IL
single tax is to bring about, is to mai
the ''holding of land difficult" I'll
single tax would make it difficult
hold valuable land idle; but it wou
make it easy and profitable to use val
able land For the single tax prOpos
= to take ground rent for governme
e revenue, and to abolish all other forl
of taxation, so that the tax upon val
able land held idle would be quite
high as if the land was put to its bt
use.
Speculation in land values, that
holding valuable land idle for rise,
S' undoubtedly the cause of nine-tent
of the poverty and misery and sin IL
to-day afflicts civilized society. F
- when valuable land is held idle, laI
and capital are held idle; capital cea,
to flow freely as it would under morn
y conditions, and the fierce cOmpetiti
- between unemployed laborers for
opportunity to work, brings wages
the starvation line.
Your correspondent says ''the m
S, sanguine figures given of the sim
tax do not show it would benefit
average farmer more than few doll
s. a year; and it is likely these figu
err. So it appears the farmers are
largely interested in the single
1lV crusade. 1t seems to be very Fl
- belief among the people that taxes
already too high. But when we hi
rS a single tax assessed on land,
-S higher the taxes are the better
times will be. 1t is so strange
can't understand little thing |
that
OE No, Mr.. Editor, can't understar
ece e1e little thing like that, and do not til
that any man can. The contradict
10 involved in the above quotation sho
IN be apparent to a schoolboy. thin
~ is safe to say that ninety-nine fa
out of a hundred would pay less
under the single tax than they do n
No man would then be taxed on
improvements effected by clearing
- forest, draining the swamps, plant
orchards and grasses, digging We
ale. building houses, barns and fen
fertilizing the soil, raising cattle
crops; in short, nothing would
taken from any man that his labor
duced and is therefore rightfully
i A single tax on incomes would
- ply be robbery. If a man earns
income honestly it is all his wheth
be one hundred dollars a year or
= hundred thousand dollars year.
he does not get it honestly we sh
prevent him from getting it at all
stead of taking a portion of it q
from him after he has gotten it
single tax on railroads would hav
be paid by the people, as the rail
.-- companies would raise their rates
fares. A single tax on wines and liq
would be robbery. Ifaman right
owns his wines and liquors the go,
ment has no right to take away
part of their value from him.
ma Land value alone should be take
ss L the very good and sufficient rea
that land value is alone created by
= whole people and that the right Il