The independent., 1903-12-03
The Philosophy of Freedom
An Open Forum for Single Takers

the thoughts of man draw tendency"
from all his experience and environ
ment The roots unite to support and
nourish the trunk. So the nature OF
the man combines all the tendencies
of his thought into one great funda-
mental structure. From the trunk,
the limbs, branches, twigs, diverge in
all directions Socialism, democracy,
republicanism, populism, are but di-
vergent branches, hardy limbs of one
trunk.
That trunk is the erroneous idea
that the life of men and of states is
to be regulated by legislation. For
every i'll that is discovered, there must
be remedial law. Money, trade, all
the varied relations of men and So
cieties-laws must be passed about
them. One says gold, another silver,
another clamors for paper-but all
want laws on the money question,
that shall give arbitrary values to
some one class of commodities or toh
ems. Railroad corporations are OPP
pressive--laws to fix freights, laws
to punish conspiracy, laws to prohibit
rebates, finally laws to operate the
trains (for such is governmental own
ership)-these are the remedies pro-
posed. Always laws, laws, laws.
A physician once went on duty in a
hospital ward where number of pa
tients were convalescing from typhoid
fever. His predecessor, in transfer
ing the patients, told him the condi-
tion of each one. BED One has some
trouble with digestion for which he
is getting hydrochloric acid; and con-
stipation for which he is getting GER
tain pill; and weak heart for which
he is getting digitalis, and sleepless-
ness for which he is getting bromide
OF sodium. Bed Two has diarrhoea
for which he is getting bismuth; and
headache for which he is getting bro
mlde; and weakness for which he is
getting Strychnine; and want of ap-
petite for which he is getting pepsin."
And SO on.
When the retiring physician had
left, the new man gave the following
instruction to the resident physician:
stop all medicines. Give such and
such food, permit such and such ex-
ercise, let them get WE'LL The first
physician may have been democrat,
populist, a republican, a socialist.
What though he prescribed republi-
can bismuth, democratic opium, So
cialist digitalis, or populist strych-
nine; big doses or little ones. He
wanted to- regulate all the complex
functions of the human body by drugs.
The second physician was a single
taxer. He preferred to let nature do
her own work in her own way. But
he was not an anarchist. He did not
abandon the patients to their own i'm
perfect desires in their weak condi-
tion. He did regulate their food and
exercise, withdrawing what might be
harmful. And he would not have hesi-
tated to prescribe a drug had one
been needed. Take another medical
illustrations: Some physicians when
the patient is struggling with disease
and has high temperature, must i'm
mediately give drugs like antypyrin,
acetainlid, etc., which reduce temper
| ature. This reduction of temperature
is brought about by reduction of the
patients vitality. The fever is
brought down and life or strength
with it. Others simply apply water in
various ways, by bathing. spraying,
ETC., reducing SO much of the temper
ature as desirable, while at the same
time stimulating the patients vitality
SO that he can better fight the disease.
All comparisons are necessarily i'm
perfect. and therefore not to be ac-
cepted as arguments: for all the cir
cumstances must be exactly parallel
in both cases to permit conclusions to
be drawn from one case that will ap-
ply to the other Admitting at once
that the comparison between society
and a sick man. parties and physi-
clans. Is so imperfect that no logical
conclusion can be drawn therefrom,
vet 1t may still stand as an illustra-
ton.
The fundamental principle OF the
parties Is 10 interfere-to pass laws
10 give medicines: the fundamental
principle Of the single taxer In 10 fol-
low nature-abolish bad laws--give
society chance To regulate itself.
Hence the single tax itself ls but an
Incident In the single tax philosophy
II some better means than the taxa.