The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-06-27
TALKS ON SINGLE TAX
BY J. u. G. Buck Of Palestine and Judge
]. N. Moore Of Edna.
THE HENRY GEORGE THEORY ELucIDATED
Taxing Land values and
Nothing Else.

Nothing Else.
The single tax lectures last night al
Mason Hall were In every way success
The hall. with 800 seating capacity. was
comfortably full Judge J. NJ Moore en-
tertainad the audience first with an hours
lecture, using charts to illustrate the law
of rents and showed to the satisfaction OF
the audience that the so-called single tax
was no tax at all. but the appropriation
by the community Of the values that the
community created in the land
His lecture was masterpiece from the
standpoint OF both oratory and rhetoric.
and aroused feeling OF great enthusiasm
in the audience. His lecture being largely
illustrated could not be reported satisfae-
torily in detail.
He was followed by Prof ]. II. G. Buck
OF Palestine, q synopsis Of whose address
only is given:
After Introductory remarks, Prof Buck
spoke substantially as follows;
I. What is the single taX2
.. On what Is it based?
g. What does II propose?
T. Why is it urged?
IL is system OF raising revenue by
taxing land values and nothing else. This
we would do for many reasons. Land, in
GLIDING light, air and water. is the gift
OF God to all men Every man who has
not, by crime, forfeited his rights, is en-
Titled TO The use OF land Nor can no be
justly deprived OF this right He can not
live without land Deprived Of its use he
dies as does q fish deprived of water.
Belonging to all &c can not be made private
property. BY human law IL Is so called
but this can not annul Gods laws God
never authorized any man or government
10 monopolize land and deprive other mon
Of their right TO use IT, This making
property Of land Is mans crime against
man IL is more cruel than chattel slavery
IL enslaves men, Renders them dependent
on other men for their means of living
How was land made private property?
Herbert Spencer shows II was hy war,
fraud. violence. Danes, Saxons ana Nor
mans slew and robbed Britnns. then each
other; the strong ussailed The weak a few
heeame lords. many became peasants and
today 10000 persons own all of England
and 35,O0O,0OO English are landless Land
that should raise men ia dcpopulated to
make room for deer parks and pleasure
grounds, while twelve land holders own
one-half Of Finland. In our country land
titles had similar origin. Kings gave TO
dukes and earls vast tracts of the newly
discovered America. They settled their
dependencies on them and America hoo-
dooed with thu fetch Of private property
IN land is rapidly running the same career
OF progress and poverty that England has
run The city Of New York is owned nv
. per cent OF its people; &c per cent are
homeless. -Four thousand milllonaires
live there and hundreds Of thousands who
scarce know tonight where they VIII get \
a
Land owners arc landowners, because
they can extort from those who are com
PEELED TO live on their lands all that toll
can produce save the harest subsistence
Now the single tax would tax the value
OF these lands IN cities. towns, everywhere.
100 cents in the dollar and put II In the
Pubic treasury, hecauRe the land holders
do not own It and are not entitled to hold
more than is necessary for their use.
Monopolialng what belongs of right to all
they should pay to all the fun value OF thai
which they thus hold. Again. this value
Is created by all and can rightfully he
taxed for ALL This would inHlct no injus-
tios. II is not a tax. II is only paying a
fair price for a value received. The price
a renter is willing to pay for the use OF
land shows that II is so. Now, we would
not tax improvements This is coudsca-
lion No man has any right to my build
Ing as he has to land. II poy 1 per cent
en- SooO0 In money my pile is $50 less II
J pay $50 for the use OF lot Il Is because
get value In so doing. In paying 500
on my money ! get nothing.
What makes land valuable? Formulation
But only working population. Take the
Per cent OF land spectators out OF New
YORK II would only flourish the more. TAXI
the 96 per cent OF tollers out It would fall
70 ruin. and the acre that Is now worth
$4,000 600 with the toilers there would
De wsr'h NO more than an acre OF saI1 in
the Zahara dessert
Notice; In proportion as community
grows, land values grow. and need al
revenue grows. No community. no land
valne; small community, small land
value; an immense community as Chicago
an immense land value, an Immense ID.
mand for revenue. Here Is the true sourc,
OF revenue In our present system we al.
low It 10 be poeketed By men who earn no,
dollar of Il. See the injustice OF this
\ man owns city lot worth $4,000. If,
does not improve Il. II pays little to hold
1t idle. He renders II for taxation a
S25o0 or IL may be $500 and is taxed say
per cent. This SOS or s.. But Inc lo
by reason OF the work OF others Increase,
IN value 10 per cent q year, leaving hin
profit OF nearly a thousand dollars 10,
sitting idle and allowing the demand 70,
land put higher prices on his q? land
Under this system the rich escape and m,
poor are ground. I have a work - As.
pages. published by the State of Illinois
showing that in cities like Chicago hun.
dred Of millions Of dollars are absolutel,
nntaxed and all belonging to the rich
They escape, while the helpless moor AMI
the middle classes are taxed In taxes An.
rect and In tariffs even more disastrou,
than taxes direct.
Single takers demand that those outrare
% human rights be stopped This cues.