The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-02-09

In communities outside of Fairhope,
all public services and government ex-
penses are paid by taxes, and in addi-
ton the owners of land are able to col
lect large sums in ground rents and
! land speculation. All Of these sums
must necessarily, in some way, come
out OF labor. At least, they are paid
by the people who inhabit these COM
munities, either as producers with less
reward for their work, or as consum-
ers by increased expense of living. ut
follows that in Fairhope, with no in
creased burden upon her people, she is
able to collect in rent both the amount
which the government collects in taxes
and the sums which the landlord takes
in rents and land speculations. If a
man will pay rent and taxes also, he
can easily pay much larger rent to
include the taxes. The aggregate of
these sums is determined by the COM
petition which Fairhope offers with
other localities.
The especial advantage which she
offers to settlers is obtained through
her policy of devoting to public use,s
for the equal benefit of all her people,
all the sums thus realized.
These sums are rapidly becoming suf-
Z ficient for such undertakings in the
4 line of public ownership as her needs
require. The benefits of such owner
ship, of course, reinforcing her other
resources For instance. the proceeds
or revenue from her wharfs has in late
years been about equal to her revenues
from land rents. The services of the
wharf are furnished as cheaply as at
other wharves along the shore, but
only the pay to the wharfinger for his
labor goes into her treasury, Fairhope
labor goes into private pockets.
In fact, to residents upon Fairhope
lands there is charged no wharfage
Tor foot passengers, but to others such
wharfage is charged, at the same rate
as at other wharves on the shore.
With these considerable sums COM
ing into her treasury Fairhope will
hereafter be able to provide herself,
on cash cost basis, with all the rea-
sonable public services she needs.
In the beginning, before her land
values developed, she was obliged to
resort to temporary expedients to Sc
cure such public services as she was
obliged to have. but it has never been
her policy to go into debt and -jeopar-
die her property.
These services when once installed, |
bring additional value to her lands, |
and enable her people, without addi-
tlonal hardship, to pay still larger |
rents and thus Fairhope becomes an
example of both the single tax and
public ownership.
During the first year nc rents were
charged, but since then her income
from that source has steadily increased
and her public work instead of being |
done by volunteers, has been done by |
labor, paid from her funds thus raised |
All of her income, above what is needed |
for the payment of taxes. is returned |
by her to her own people the same year |
lE payment for labor at her public |
works. Roads and bridges have been
thus built besides other work of a pub
lie nature.
One of the earliest of public works |
needed was wharf where the boats of |
the bay might land. So gradual is the
slope of the bottom of the bay at Fair
hope, it was found necessary to build
out into the water over eighteen hun
dred feet before sufficient depth could
be reached. To build a wharf of such
length required fund of over $4,000