The independent., 1903-06-25
land values. LAWSON PURDY.
New York, 81 William St
ANSWERS McCUISTION.

Editor Independent: In your edi
ton of June 18, Fl. M. MeCuistion o
Paris, Tex, says: Il fail to see any
thing practical in socialism or equit
able in the single tax" | am sure ht
has not acquainted himself with tht
single tax principles. Ii he has ever
read anything on the subject he die
SO with prejudiced mind. No one
has ever been able to point out the
least inequity in the theory. | have
never known an objection to the sim
gle tax that was not founded upon a
misconception of its principles.
He then suggests graduated land
tax, very light on the first 100 acres
and increasing on each succeeding
hundred" Would he tax 100 acres in
Chicago worth $o,0OO,0O0 per acre very
lightly? He is not aware that the So
called single tax is not tax on land,
but on land values. The land values
OF Chicago are five times as much as
all the farm land in the state-valua-
BILE as farm land is in Illinois not
withstanding.
Then a light tax per acre on 100
ceres and a heavy tax on 1000 acres
would be inequitable. The single tax
il not mere fiscal measure to dimin-
ish large land holdings, though the
effect would be that no one would hold
more land than he could put to good
use-nor is it essentially for govern
mental purposes The underlying
principle of the single tax is, that all
land values are produced by all the
people, and therefore should belong to
all the people, even though it had to
be distributed per capita among all
the people.
The single tax is misnomer, used
for want of better term to concisely
express the modus operandi of col
lecting the economic rent or annual
value of land. The so-called single
tax means an abolition of all taxes
and taking in lieu thereof the annual
value or economic rent of land exclu-
sive of all improvements, or all
wealth on the land. Wealth or prop
erty is the product of labor and Of
right belongs to the Individual pro-
ducer and not to the public. To COM
pei person to divide up every spring
according to his accumulation of
wealth by industry, as we now do,
acts as fine on indu. ry and makes
wealth scarce just as tax on dogs
makes them scarce What an indi-
vidual produces by his industry, or
what he saves by economy, should be-
long to him and not beshort to him
II is his property-it is proper to him
and no one else-and what all the
community of a state, county or city
produces should belong to all who
produce it.
There is but one thing that all the
people do produce-that is land val
nes-not land, for land is a creation
by nature and not production by
man.
1t has been accurately determined
by Thomas G. Shearman, the great
7tatistician, and published in his lit
tie brochure called Natural Taxa
tion," that the economic rent of land
in the United States is exactly ade-
quate to all the expenses of nation,
state, county and municipality.
The so-called single tax is not a
political invention, but a great dis
covery by Henry George of how to
cqualize the earth to all. Columbus
discovered a continent, but it re-
nained for Henry George to discover
the earth for all, and how to equalize
it and it's opportunities to all to pro-
duce and live-at this opportune time
in this cycle of the worlds history
when every outlook seems so dismal
and our civilization seems to be
threatened with destruction like that
of previous civilizations.
/ hope Mr.. McCuistion and other
readers will get Henry Georges works
and learn all about the great reform
with fiscal name, the single tax.
j. G. BARNES.
Hindsboro, I'll.