The herald., 1898-06-26
Daily Wrong and Its Remedy

| To the Editor of the Los Angeles Herald:
The sad case of J. H. Whittimore. chron-
| .cled in your issue of today, is one of many
such, which point a moral for the deep
| consideration Of the clergy, the press and
| statesmen of all political creeds. That men
who are capable and willing to work should
be forced out of existence day by day for
! the lack of opportunity, clearly shows that
| the industrial system of the world is radi-
cally out of harmony with natural laws.
| For the natural laws established by the
Supreme Being do not permit of poverty
by reason of inability to secure work in the
individual who car perform the labor. To
say otherwise is to blaspheme the idea of
a just God which has come down to lis
through the ages.
The natural law compels one to apply his
physical or mental labor to natural op
portunities in order to exist, but a just
God never intended that the right to apply
ones labor should be denied him. Man
kind has violated this great natural law
by allowing small portion of its kind to
monopolize natural opportunities, and its
punishment. follows as a matter of course.
The remedy has not been applied as yet,
because the preponderating middle class
has not felt the deprivations of its natural
rights as much as those beneath 1t in the
struggle for ex stence, and because those
their best interests will be promoted by
fortunate ones who occupy the highest
| level are so powerful and mistakenly think
| perpetuating the present system. But this
middle class is being constantly de-
creased by migrations to the upper or lower
| levels. and the vast majority of its men,
hp a he la to 10 ri "a &C
Time is rapidly merging society into the
| two extremes. and the issue can have but
one result. unless the monopolizers of nat
lsural opportunities can be brought to see
the real danger which confronts their pos
terity. History ought to be potent factor
in this regard. but they ignore the lessons
of history and rest In fancied security be-
cause there are no more Goths and Vandals
and Barbarians. little realizing that pres
ent conditions are rapidly creating a new
lot of these destroyers of decayed civiliza-
| tons.
|. When Egypt fell per cent of the pop
uation owned 81 per cent of the wealth:
when Persia succumbed 1 per cent of the
people owned all the land; when Babylon
| was crushed per cent of the population
| owned all the wealth. and when Rome perl
ished 1900 men owned all the known world.
Can any unprejudiced student of the pres
ent system say the same fate will not over
take this country If the people persist IN
violating natural laws?
There is a great truth underlying the
mistakes of mankind. and he who searches
for 1t, closely and honestly, stands good
chance of finding it, Land Is the primary
source of all natural opportunities. Livery
human being should, therefore, have access
to land upon the same conditions as his
fellow kind, and no one should pay tribute
to another for the privilege of living. II
one wants to occupy site better than an
other he should pay for the privilege: but
this tribute should go to society, which
creates the value of land, and not to the
Individual who has nothing to do with the
unearned increment which attaches to
land.
| Society also creates natural monopolies,
which spring from its daily needs. and the
people should operate them for the COM
| mon good. In short, apply the single tax
| and its adjuncts to our industrial system
| thereby taking the values whfcE society
alone creates for the needs of society, and
removing the incubus of manhood, soul
crushing taxation, from the back of in
dustry-and you have Goods will done on
| earth as IL Is in heaven
| The clergy alone can accomplish 1t; the
press alone can bring 1t about. or the two
combined can enforce it in half the time.
Nothing can be done without the efforts of
these two branches of society. Students
of reform are anxiously awaiting the day
when one of them shall take up the ensign
of true liberty, as embodied in the principle
of equality in natural opportunities and
carry 1t to a glorious victory. Which will
| be the first to lead the movement in behalf
| of humanity? j. H. BLAGGE.
| Los Angeles, June %, 1898.