The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-01-20
A NEW WAY OF TAKING.
The Single Takers Nee t In Con-
ventiOn In Topeka
And Issue an Address to the
People of Kansas,
Setting Forth the Henry George idea
of Raising Revenue on Land Alone.

Inc Single lax aSSOc1aClOn nelQ a
meeting last night and listened to ad-
dresses by the new president of the as
ISOLATION, r. T. Snediker of Hartford,
w. S. Beard of Kansas City and Rev.
Vernon ]. Rose of Independence.
The following officers were elected:
President, r. T. Snediker; vice presi-
dent at large, Clinton ]. Evans of To-
peka; secretary, Rev. Vernon J. Rose
of Independence. The following vice
presidents for the different congress
siona1 districts were elected: First, J..
t. Simpson of HoltOn, brother of Con-
gresham jerry Simpson; Second, w.
H. T. Wakefield of Mound City; Third,
DR.. T. H. Elder of Winfield; Fourth,
Mrs. Eva L. BlaclSman, Topeka; Fifth,
G. +. LindstrOm of Enterprise; Seventh,
E. c. Clark of Hutchinson.
The last meeting of the aSsocia ton
will be held tonight at Representative
hall, when addresses will De made by
man jerry Simpson. The meeting is to
be open to anyone in the audience who
desires to ask questions. The speakers
may be interrupted as many times as
the people in the audience may have
questions on their minds
The Single Tax association has issued
the following address to Governor Leedy
and the legislature:
To the Governor, Members of the legiS-
lature and Citizens of Kansas:
We, fellow citizens with yourselves,
most respectfully call your attention
to the fact of our unjust and vicious
system of taxation.
There lie two pieces of land, which,
in their natural state, are of equal
value; but if there were no people in
the state these tracts would have no
value whatever; yet, on account of one
and a half million people and the ex-
pectatiOn of increase of population,
these two pieces of land have a capital
lied value of 81, 900 each; that is, in or
dor 70 al nf a a
must give 1000 or it's equivalent.
Therefore, when a man comes into our
state with the intention of becoming a
useful citizen, before he can commence
to produce wealth to satisfy the wants
of himself and those dependent upon
him, he is compelled to give up $1,000
of his hard earned dollars. Then. if
he puts all the land in cultivation, he is
taxed many times more than if he Gull
tiVateS but a fraction of the land. And
if he builds $1,000 dwelling, his yearly
fine will be much more than if he were
to live in a 'dug-Out." If he erectS
a 81 600 barn for the better sheltering
of his stock he will be taxed much more
than though he left them to take shell
ter and comfort behind barbed wire
fence. IF he, by his own eXertiOnS,
puts 50 900 worth of horses, cattle, hogs
and farming implements on his farm,
his taxes are increased. In fact, the
harder he works, the less he eats, the
more he saves, the higher do we tax
him for being so industrious.
On the other hand the Spectator,
holding idle equally as valuable land,
continues to pay nominal tax. TO
men who have studied the question 1t Is
clear that this mode of taxation is an
annual fine on industry, and an annual
premium on idleness. For with the
Improvement of land and constant in
crease of population, the idle land be-
comes more and more valuable; but I'M
der the present unjust system of taxa
ton the holder of idle land does not
pay his Just share OF taxes.
As in the above mentioned case the
user of land pays six and seven times
as much taxes as the Spectator, VINO
holds his land idle. Is there any equity
in that? If a man will not work and
produce wealth, we fine him for vag-
rancy. If he changes his mind, or
what some term reforms" and goes to
producing wealth, we fine him again
Is this not inconsistent? Is there any
reason, common sense or morality
about it?
we want labor and capital to come
into the state and utilize our vast nat
ural opportunities in producing wealth;
yet we do everything we can by legis-
lation to keep them out.
What is the remedy?
1t is a simple one: Again take the
above illustration. Why not make the
speculator, holding his $1,000 plot of
land idle, pay as much tax as the work
ing farmer, using his land? That IS,
exempt all improvements in or on the
land and all other products of labor
from taxation; and raise all public rev.
enue by a tax on land values alone:
Thus making spectators holding land
idle, pay as much tax as others pay Tor
using like valuable land.
In this manner of raising public rev.
enue there is no injustice. Land values
are not produced by the owners OF lano
as owners; but independent of, separ-
ate and apart from what they may or
may not do. Land values in the econ
omic sense, are produced by the pres
11n 1Cl
nifty; and therefore should be taxed Tor
the benefit of the community. In thus
taxing land values for public purposes,
you do not take the earnings of labor
or capital. but leave them to the sole
use and enjoyment of the producers.
Following the natural law, that
wealth belongs to him who produces
it, In thus freeing labor and capltal
from all fines and restrictions, we shall
be encouraging the production OF
wealth and discouraging the holding OF
easier for men to get homes, and fin
ally abolishing our aCcursed system of
tenants at will.
The cattle, horses and hogs; the
breaking up of land; the filling and
draining and planting of trees; the
building of dwellings, store buildings,
manufactures and the thousand 9TH
er improvements that have turned the
barren prairies to a blooming paradise
these forms of wealth are the result
of labor and capital of the people who
live in and have made Kansas what it
is.
Why fine them by taxation for doing
those things we all want them to do?
Nearly one-half of our public revenue
is thus raised by a fine on industry. Yet
eighty per cent of our land is unculti-
waited A large per cent of this uncul-
tivated land is owned by people who
live in large cities to the east of us,
or in Europe.
How many dollars of tax do they pay
on personal property or improvements?
Not a penny Yet they receive the ben
eft of increased land values caused by