The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-05-04
sCHUTTLER WAGON or Light Running TENNESSEE
How Single Tax Would Ruin the
Farmer.
EDIroR HERALD

EDITOR hERALD.-
Here Ia a Kansas farmer who has
raised 100 bushels of corn on 40
acres of rentt d land. He pays 40
bushels to the landowner for the
privilege of using the land, and 400
bushels TO the railway Tor hauling
the 800 bushels to the Chicago mar
ket. Out of the remaining 400 BUSH
els he pays 40 per cent, or 100 bush
els indirect taxation. enhanced prices
on account of the tariff, several bush
els more in indirect taxation on ac-
count of the internal revenue tax,
and by the time he pays his direct
taxes, interest ou small loans to
carry him over till harvest, and ex
cessive prices TO the merchant to
cover the rick of extending him
credit from one crop to the next, he
finds himself with less than one
sixth of his crop-or 200 bushels, to
compensate him for his years labor.
He is discouraged; complains Of
hard times; declares that money IL
scarce. He forthwith becomes a
Populist and demands an increase of
the circulating medium. He would
measure his 200 bushels in white
metal instead of yellow, or, better
still, be will measure it with green
paper. AT last he has discovered
the secret of prosperity for the
American farmer.
His remedy seems so much sim
pier than the one proposed by Henry
George. The latter finds five-sixths
of the soil of the country unused.
He proposes to tax this vacant land
SO highly that il viii be forced into
use. The effect of this would be to
reduce ground rents One-half. NIL
lions of acres of vacant land could
be had for the taxes. The Kansas
farmer would continue to pay 200
bushes renttor rather interest)fOr
the improvements, but his ground
rent would be reduced to 100 bush
els. He would paw to the landowner
800 bushels. With government
ownership(no necessarily operatioDD
of railways, the watered stock Womb
be eliminated and freight rates
would fall to one-third of present
rates. The farmer would pay the
railway 100 bushels of corn to haul
his 800 bushels to market. Toe 100
bushels which he paid to the land
lOtd as ground rent would meet all
expenses of government, national,
state and LEGAL, and all other taxes,
direct and indirect, would be aDol-
ished. This would leave the farmer
$50 bushels instead of less than 200
Then he could take up idle land aud
make his own Improvements and
pay cash for his supplies. Then loo
bushels of corn would pay his taxes
and lS3 bushels would pay for haul
ing the 100 bushels TO market, leav-
ing him 9l7 bushels, or its equiva-
lent, for his years labor. With his
income increased five-fold the farm
er would forget about the hard times
and scarcity of money, and the
color of the currency in which his
9lT bushels were measured would
not assume the importance in his
eyes that IL does at present.
POpulist and Bryan Democratic
orators declare that the American
farmers pay from 80 to 50 per cent oil
tbs taxes of America. Farmers own
less than 10 per cent OF the land
tmeasured in valne)of America
Therefore under the single tax thsy
would pay less than lOper cent Of tbs
taxes Of the country. The land Ia
the city of New York, owned By les:
than 8 per cent of its population, !:
more valuable than all the farm land
in cultivation west Of the Mississippi
river, and under the single Ia
would pay more for the support o.
the federal government than all tbs
cultivated land 10 the larger part o.
the United States.
Ilow Is that for a plan TO get eveI
vi them rich Eastern iellers?
How many farmers would Ike {,
- ruined in that way2 CAITs.