The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1902-08-06
SINGLE TAX vs. SOCIALISM
A Brief Statement Of Difference.
LETTER /.

Sir:
Before touching upon my mair
theme, for the benefit of the
writer, Patriot, and his friends
and relying upon my readers not
to rush into any hysterical con
illusions as to my supposed ten
dency toward fire and blood,
will give brief exposition of the
main difference existing between
the Single Tax Ideas and Social
ism, as remedies for social in.
euualities and discomfort.
One lays little stress upon 0
fair hearing, because smart
editors too often willfully cause
misrepresentation by such para
graphs as this, for instance:
"When Henry George and his
communistic followers get their
way, and divide up Pierpont Nor
gan's earth, what will the fellow
do who gets his section up at the
North Pole?"
Or this specimen of poor wit
from the San Angelo Standard:
"While party of socialists
were holding an open air meeting
at San Antonio Sunday, heavy
shower of rain fell and dispersed
the gathering. The strange part
Of the story is that only that i'm
mediate section of the city wat
visited by the shower"
This has not very much to dc
with the question, but l cannot
avoid taking a fancy passing
shot at the self appointed mould
er of public opinion, the modern
journalist, too often unfortunate
ly, toward all reform movements
q Indignantly hostile critic, with
very limited intellectual resour'
ces.
Patriot is a gentleman who has
no very clear conception of the
meaning of the terms he employs.
The much lamented thinker, Mr..
Henry George, was neither So
cialist nor an anarchist, and
could not, by any possibility, be
both. An anarchist can no more
be socialist than black can be
white, and a socialist can no more
be an anarchist than four can be
zero, and single taxer can not
be q socialist.
Anarchism proper is the
apotheosls of destruction. Philo.
sophcial anarchism, as advocated
by Count Tolstoy, Prince Nropo-
kin, B. ]. Tucker and the eminent
geographer, Elisee Reclus, is an
interesting and beautiful, but i'm.
possible ideal, and a thing en-.
tirely apart from terrorism or as
sassination. 1t is a Utopian
dream. Very we'll, let us in a
moment, put the anarchism aside
once and for all.
Socialism is a state Of society
wherein the state shall own all
means of production, exchange
and distribution. Anarchism
and socialism are, as the poles,
asunder. Socialism, according
to Lord Lytton, is the art of
diffusing throughout n commune
ty the tranquil happiness which
belongs to virtous and well or
dered household. Anarchism, is
in the words of an exponent, more
energetic than grammatical, $50
down with everything what's up"
Now, with anarchism, we are
finished. Socialism and the sim
gle tax idea can be compared and
measured, having a common
ground. Yet, between the single
takers and the socialists, is a
great gulf fixed. Would it were
bridged. To Mr.. Henry George
land his followers, headed by
Mr., Tom l.. Johnson, are not
divided) the appropriation of the
mass of people from the land is
the great and universal cause of
the splitting up of the people
into rich and poor, according to
Karl Mark, land his followers are
not divided on the main issue,
albeit, wofully split as to meth
ods), the cause of the present an
tagonism of the classes and of
the social degradation of the
workers, is their appropriation
from all means of production, in
which the land is, of course, in
cluded.
Mr.. George, on the one hand,