The independent., 1903-05-14
Land values Without Labor

written for Henry George Edition
of The independently
In the year 1926 the West India
company acquired from the Indians,
through Peter Minuit, the right Of
possession of Manhattan Island,
which contained about twenty
thousand acres of land, for the sum
of twenty-four dollars, about one
tenth Of a cent per acre. The COM
pany did not sell the land thus ac-
quired, but permitted any one to Sc
lect such as he wanted to use. The
original members of this community
were mostly traders, requiring for
residence or store but small lots of
land, which they selected without re-
gard t5 TniffoT Tmity other than that
suggested by the formation of the land
itself. 1t was not till 1856 that there
were any streets or other public i'm
provements; yet as early as 1643 a
lot thirty by one hundred and ten
feet on what now is Bridge street was
sold by Adam Jacobson Van Steen-
Wyck to Anthony Jansen Van Fees
for twenty-four guilders, equal to nine
dollars and a half
In 1856 survey of the city of New
Amsterdam was made, and the city
laid down on a map which was con-
irmed by law ito remain from this
time forward without alteration" At
ter this time grants of land were
made only to actual settlers on con-
dition that they should be improved
at once; and several persons who were
disposed to keep the lots which had
been previously granted them in their
original condition for speculative pur-
poses, were ordered either to build on
them or sell, and If they refused to do
SO. their lots were taxed.
Larger tracts OF land in the out
skirts OF the town and beyond were
granted to settlers for farming pur-
poses, while other tracts were re-
tanned by the company for its own
use as farms, one of which, bounded
by what is now Fulton and Chambers
streets, and Broadway and the North
river, has since become the property
OF Trinity church corporation.
At very early date piece of land
was set aside as burial ground for
the English, situated north of Bowl
ing Green and west of Broadway,
which in 1856 had become SO full of
dead mems bones as to make it de-
sirable to close it up and select site
for a new one; but it was not till ten
years later that this was done, when
the old graveyard was divided into
four lots, each twenty-five by one
hundred feet, and sold at auction,
fetching a price, although no labor
had been exerted upon them. The
new site chosen for the English
church was nearly opposite the head
OF Wall street, running from Broad
way to Hudson river, part of which
was set aside for graveyard. 1t is
on this land that the present Trim
ity church and graveyard are located,
which together with other large tracts
of land that have from time to time
come into possession of the English
church, or practically the same or
ganized body, that now forms the
basis of the great wealth and power
of the Trinity church corporation. The
land between the old and new grave
yards was at that time occupied by
the gardens and dwellings of Mr..
Vandesrist and Mr.. Van Dyck, which
as well as the old graveyard site,s have
since undoubtedly changed hands
many times. But all the land de-
scribed, whether it has changed hands
or not, whether it has had labor ex-
PENDED on it or has remained
graveyard, has acquired an enormous
value. The first Trinity church was
built in 1896 and destroyed by fire
during the revolutionary war, but the
value of the land was not destroyed
with it. Could this undestroyed value
owe its existence to the destruction
of the labor value Of the church? IL
the present Trinity church and all
the receptacles of the dead attached
to it, and the accumulated remains of
the dead that have been buried in
them during the past two hundred
years were to be removed from the
land, the value of the land would not
move with them, but would be en-
hanced; and If this land were to be
sold at auction today, it would realize
many millions of dollars; and It will
hardly be claimed that these millions
represent the result of the labor that
has been expended upon 1t.