Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-05-30

ernment? -
have grave doubts as to the state:
ment of MIR. T. that ''the. agricultural:
classes unite with the wage earning
classes upon the program Of social
ISM" It I~were= . farmer L: should
hesitate quite long before subscribing
to the following proposition In Mr..
T:'s pamphlet regarding the manner
of making the land public property:
"As to remaining lands latter the
government has acquired the mining
lands perhaps no better method has
been suggested than that Of Henry
George. Briefly stated, it would be
TO gradually increase the taxation. On
lssd values until the tax sqsais the "a.
nssl reotsl value. Il then becomes .
rental. sad 10 no longer tax. aad thus
the common ownership ls established.
What sane farmer would consent to
such taxation If he could prevent It?
He may have worked for half q life
time to acquire ownership of his farm.
Then, when he has reached . position
where he can begin to reap some Of
the benefits of his arduous lsbors the
government will step in and make him
pay rental for the property. Another
man, who is young and strong starts
life with the same opportunities aud
with the same rental As the man who
has spent the best years of his lite to
get the property. Even the farmer
who rents his farm will be in q bad
fix. The owner will compel him to
pay the tax to the government and IN
additional rental to the owner. The
one who owns the farm may have re-
tired after spending bis working days
to acquire that farm. Would It be
justice to compel him to give it away
to the government-which would be
the practical result If the farm were
taxed for its rental value, unless the
renter can be forced to be satisfied
with less of the proceeds than he
would get under single ownership?
While here and there We may find
an individual sltruistic enough to
give up, ,his ownership of sueh prop
es+y forthe common good, the aver
ag6 man has TOO much seldshness, II
you wish to call It that name, to give
up his property for others. It will do
little good to attempt to explain that
under socialism all would be taken
care of as long as they were willing to
work. The average man prefers to
take care of himself. The spirit of
six thousand years is not to be eradi-
Gated In few years or even q few
generations. Any system that runs
too much counter to this spirit is
doomed to failure. The socialists re-
presented by Mr.. T. and his associates
pronounce the socialism of Bellamy
an idle and Utoptan dream; and yet
he only proposed definite means for
doing just what they are indefinitely
limiting at, and he carried it little
farther into the private lives of the
people. To me their ideas appear
beautiful enough if they could be
carried out, If human nature could in
moment shake of the ingrained ieeas
of the past, the desire to be independ-
ent of each other as far as possible,
and make them all altruistic, yea god.
like. But seeing NO possibility for
this to be attained, want to see the
upbuilding of party that can appeal
to the majority of the people, Offering
relief from monopoly in the instru-
ments necessary to them all. There
is not a consumer that would not be
benefited by railroads operated for
the good of the people instead of be-