The record-union., 1897-01-22
ADVOCATES OF SINGLE TAX.
They Aired Their Views at Last NighfS
Meeting.
speeches by Assemblyman keegan,
X. E. HOyt and J. S.
Reynolds.

There was fair attendance in Pyth-
Ian Castle last night of those interested
In tax reform when the meeting opened.
one of the speakers, Albert M. John
son, was absent on account of sickness.
Assemblyman Keegan of Santa Rosa
SAID he had not been prepared to take
the Craftsmanship of the meeting, but
the promised Chairman was sick, and he
and unexpectedly been called upon. He
however, had strong views on the single
tax question and believed that all taxes
should be derived from the land in the
hrst instance. The real fact that, in
this country, the land was held for pur-
poses of speculation was unfortunately
true.
He believed that the landowner would
be really as much benefited as the man
without home. The practical land tax
would bring the land back to the peo-
pie to whom it belonged.
Democracy is impossible with the in
dividual ownership of land, for the men
working on the land would become the
serfs or slaves of the landowner. The
elevation of the human race from the
thraldom under which they now labor
could be obtained by the single tax.
Ralph E. Hoyt of Los Angeles was in
troduced by the Chairman and said
they were here to consider dispassion-
ately the interest of California Nearly
every one must be convinced of the ne
cessity of tax reform. If they so be-
Geved let them do something to bring
1t about. If they would all pull to-
gether they could soon obtain the great
desideratum, the development of the
country. In obtaining a system of tax
alton, should we follow the lines of
European or other countries where there
was constant trouble, or should we fol-
low the natural laws that should pre-
vail?
AS places grow in population so the
necessity for a larger public revenue in
creased. But the value of personal
property and of personal labor did not
increase. 1t was the value of land that
increased, and not the value of its i'm
provements. The land increased in
value because the people were there,
because they there did their business.
Now, what should be taxed for the
necessary purposes of revenue? We have
been striking out blindly to find out
what We should tax, and as the policy
has been to tax personal property, the
owner of that property, and the man
who has accumulated personal property
by his labor has tried to hide away his
earnings in order to save himself from
paying an undue proportion Of the State
taxes.
The law Furnishes a man for applying
hi Ia hCT +r i1ai ir,or1 Of
1t taxes him not on the land but on
what he has done to improve that land
Why sohuld a man be taxed for build
ing a house or a business block? The
only answer he had ever heard was
that there must be a revenue raised
somehow. The raising of revenue from
personal taxation had been the most
unjust, unwise and most unsatisfactory
system that had ever been devised.
In all large cities the people were be-
coming more skillful in concealing their
personal property and 1t was becoming
more and more apparent every day
Yet this was one of the most prolific
sources Of revenue. In all communities
there was a license tax, which was col
lected because a man was willing to
work and buy or sell goods for his own
benefit and that Of the community.
Then there was the poll tax which was
levied for the privilege of being alive
and which was devised to take from the
very poorest man the little he can earn
On the other hand, you cannot find
a single county, single city or a
single community in which if the land
itself was taxed it could not pay the
entire revenue necessary for the pur-
poses of government.
Under the present system there was
a. discrimination in favor Of the land
owner or the land speculator which
should be wiped out
He then supposed an instance Of a
number of Eastern men coming to Sac
ramento who are spending their mon
ey in the city for one or two months
money earned elsewhere-and asked
what would be done with any City
Trustee who should endeavor to tax
them for staying and helping the COM
nunity-
The only proper system was not 10
tax natural rights, but to tax privi-
leges.
He drew a parallel between the sys-
tenn of raising the revenue by the State
and that of selling goods, and said that
suppose a man should go into a store
and ask the price of a suit of clothes,
and If he said he was very poor man
the suit should be S12; if a little better
off S15; if comfortable $50, and so on,
until he said he was rich, when the
price should be $50.
What would be thought Of such a
system of selling goods2 And yet that
was the very system the State had
devised for raising it's revenue, and the
man who was the best citizen had 10
pay for being a good citizen.
A uniform system of personal prop