The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-21
! WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
A Single Taxer Replies to Mr.. odIun

pleading for more equitable taxation and
deploring the fact that taxes on Mime
apolls real estate are so high that capital
refuses to come here and invest itself in
1t. BY real estate" I presume that Mr..
Odlum refers mainly to vacant lots or
iots occupied by poor or worthless build
lngs, as real estate" consisting Of land
and modern, p-to-date buildings on it
are not for SALE as rule. Mr. Odlum
thinks great Injustice is done to the cap
ltanst VINO has or wants to invest in va
cant lots. because the man who has in
vested in personal property is not chased
up and compelled to hand over a larger
percentage of taxes. Mr.. Odlum would
collect more personal property taxes in
order to make it easier for the vacant
land holder. But why should the vacant
land holder be thus favored? 1 wonder
II Mr. Odlum has ever thought of the
effect OH the we'll being Of community
of the two kinds. of investments If a
man Invests in personal property he makes
employment for labor in proportion to the
amount he invests. If he invests in a
stock of goods and "Opens store he per-
forms an Indispensable service to the com
munity-for it cannot get along without
stores-and he gives employment to labor
IN proportion to the volume of business he
does But suppose, Einstead, he invested
million dollars in vacant land. Would SC
doing give IS much employment to labor
or add as much to- the wealth Of the
community as hundred dollars invested
in almost any kind Of personal property
or business? No Except the work in
Volved in the transfer Of titles. a man
might invest in every vacant lot in Min
neapolis and it would not increase the
wealth of the city one cent or give one
days. employment to an idle man, so long
as the land is kept out of use. Why
c1,n 1,I1 Il, ,
by low taxes at the expense Of invest
ments that add to the wealth of the com
munity and keep labor busy?
AS matter OF fact not only does spec
ulatlon in vacant land not increase EN-
ployment, but-provided taxes are low
It actually prevents labor from being en-
pleyed.~ If taxes on land are low, holders
ot vacant land. in a. growing community
particularly. will be in no hurry to let go
and when they do, it will be at much
higher price than if they had big taxes
to pay. Reduce taxes on personal prop
erty and increase them on land values
and the community will increase in pros
perity, because land becomes more acces-
sible; reverse this operation and the com
munlty Will suffer from idleness and hard
times, because there is more money in
holding land idle than in using it. And
so long as there is money in holding land
idle, so long will there be idleness; and
likeness breeds poverty and poverty
breeds crime. That this is true is about
as easy of demonstration as that two and
TWO make four. Wealth that is acquired
by holding land out of use, comes out of
the producer of wealth, and he gets moth
ing in return-the land is not improved
either in quality or value by the sDecu-
lator who holds it out Of use. This in
dustry is doubly taxed-by the state and
by the land Spectator. Is it any wonder
Wa -tooxy H.. ~
the time and periodical panics? If q COM
munlty or state would be prosperous, then
1t must make it impossible to acquire
wealth from land, except by using it; and
the easiest way to do that is to tax the
land to the extent Of the value the COM
munity has put into it, and increase the
tax as the land value increases. Thus
the community will continually get back
the value 1t puts into the land, and there
Will be nothing left for the speculator no
matter how long he may hold the land
Idle. AS, the community creates all the
value there is in its land, presume Mr.
Odlum would see no Injustice in that
scheme. If he should feel like saying
something about "confiscation,'' I would
point out that. altho. the community has
madesit impossible for the Spectator to
acquire wealth by holding his land idle,
it has made it easier for him to acquire
wealth by using it, for he would not be
taxed IOr DelnS useful, as is now the case
And would it not be much better for him
to acquire wealth or. earn his living by
useful industry than to be able. to live in
idleness at the expense of others" I don t
see how 1t could help. adding to his self
respect and improve his character in a
way that would more than compensate
Tor any possible loss of dollars Gin the
sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread
is a command that 1 believe cannot be
dlsobeyed without serious results to char
acter, and embraces the land operator as
well as the tramp.
In common with many public men and
political platforms, Mr.. Odlum sympa-
thlzes with "the poor teamster with his
small homestead and two work horses y
and would improve his condition by in
creasing the taxes rs per cent on the
stocks of goods carried by large jobbers
and retailers and which the poor team
ster has to buy! But Mr.. Odlum's good
intentions are not unique. They are Of
the same kind as the protective tariff,
which. was devised especially for the bene-
fit Of the American workingman, and
which compels him to pay from SO to 100
per cent more for his own products than
the foreign workman can buy the same
products for.
II Mr.. Odlum is inclined to continue the
study of the principles Of taxation from all
sides, and can spare the time, woulI
advise him, or anybody else, to get a
copy of a little book entitled Natural
Taxation by the late Thomas G. Shear
man Unless Mr.. Odlum has already
studied taxation from all points, he will
get some valuable ideas out Of that book
e G. Erickson.