The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-03-23
The Philosophy of Freedom
An Open Forun for Single Takers

| The subdivision of labor, incident to
exchange, makes it unnecessary for
the individual to go to Brazil for his
coffee, to China for his tea, to Texas
for his beef, to Minnesota for his
| flour, ETC., before he can eat breakfast.
One thousand men working in shoe
factory can make sixty times as many
shoes as 1000 men working individ-
ually. Through the subdivision of la
Dor one man can make 1900 pins or
200 horseshoe nails where he could
make one without such specialization
of industry.
The greatest exchanges are made,
as rule, on the most valuable land.
Some land on Broadway, New York,
| is worth s16,0OO,OOO per acre. The vast
volume Of exchanges made on sin.
gle acre of such land effects a saving
to the public and to the dealers of
probably millions of dollars annually.
The dealer pays the bulk of his saw
ings from this concentration of bust
ness, to the landlord, as rent. AS the
landlord did not make the land, this
should go to society as a whole, in
stead.
| While one man is raising wheat in
Dakota, another corn in Kansas, still
another is making shoes in Massachu-
sets, while another is growing cotton
in Georgia and still another raising
sheep or cattle in Texas, etc. BY ex-
changing these things, each of these
men may enjoy wheat bread or corn
bread, can wear shoes or WOODEN or
cotton clothing, can eat beat and NUT
ton, etc. In the last analysis each
man has produced all of these things.
Exchange and the subdivision of labor
has multiplied each mans share of
each of these commodities. Were it
not for privilege, due to highway mo-
nOpoly, unjust taxation and financial
systems, etc., his share would be much
larger, but as it is the privileged
classes take toll all along the line.
The most valuable productive area
on the American continent is Man
Greater New York. Men are willing
to pay vast sums for the privilege of |
exchanging wealth on each acre of this
island. Whatever they are willing to
pay would be the tax under single tax
For instance, when in Chicago in 1893 |
| was shown three splendid twelve
story buildings and was told that the
lots were the property of widow
that she received $4,000 annual
ground rent from each of the three |
lots, and that at the expiration of the
lease the three magnificent structures
become her property. The buildings
nhah Ivy, oh CO oo1,t
of these tenants is paying over $780,
600 annually for the use of a lot. I'm
der single tax this prodigious tribute |
of ground rent would go into the pub
lie treasury and would be equitably dis
tributed among the governments of |
the city of Chicago, the county of Cook, |
the state of Illinois and the United |
States of American.
Whenever such lots as these, either
in New York of Chicago or else
where, whether improved or not, cease
to be desired, they will cease to pay
taxes under the single tax, and not |
until then. Contrary to your opinion,
so long as there is competitive demand
for them they will pay taxes under this |
system.
Rents in cities would probably fall
and the people would spread over the
whole city, instead of living packed
like sardines. The aggregate rental
value might not exceed the ground
rent now paid on land in use, as you
assume, but population, and incidental
ly land values would tend to scatter
in cities and concentrate in the rural
districts.
You say you do not know how much
the Standard Oil companys dividends
are, and that you are ignorant of the
proportions of it which are ground
rent, interest, profits, return on ficti-
tious capital, etc. It's dividends for
1902 were s45,OO0,000; for 1903 they
were $44,000,000, and for 1904 they
were $36,000,000. In addition to this |
the company usually sets aside mil
lions Of earnings to use once or twice
in a decade to suddenly swell divi-
dends and thus boom it's stocks and
enhance it's credit.
There are only three factors in the |
nroduotiay, Of uyoo1th T,baco ono 1on1 |