Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-09-11

and this enables it to raise prices to
the maximum of what the public can
afford to pay for coal, while on the
other hand the trust pays almost no
taxes on the land which it is with
holding from USE Under the single
tax the trust could keep ON holding it,
coal lands from use if it so choose,
but it would have to pay the public
for the privilege of so doing, tax
equal to the full rental to it, of such
lands.
Would Lower Price.
Is there anyone who can not readily
see that the coal trust would either
let go of it or hasten to open them
up and work them? And in either
case the result would be a healthy
drop in the price of coal and at the
same time a demand for more men
to work the newly opened coal fields
| Would this cause the wages of the
employees of the coal trust to drop.
Perhaps little, but not in proportion
to the drop in the price of coal, foi
their employers would have to pay
|
could in order to get men to work fol
them. This would be true of all in
dustries and could we not afford II
| have our wages cut in half if nee
essary, provided that the price of al
commodities were to fall to one-thlr
of what they are now? Would we no
be the gamers? The competition nov
| nd fo
the wages of an employer but unde
the single tax the competition wou',
be between employer and employer
for the labor of the workman. Wha
is true of the coal trust is true of al
other industries. "All roads lead t.
Rome"
Take whatever industry you will
and you can trace clearly the fact thu
wages always tend to the minimum
to the private ownership by a few q
that storehouse of nature which Is III
tended to supply the needs of all. Wer
it not for the private ownership o
land. the Standard Oil trust could no
have a monopoly of oil nor could tn
coal trust claim. through the mediut
of George F. Baer that it has a divin
right to monOpoliZe the coal fields.
will quote from page 32S, Protectio
or Free Trade" by Henry George.
show that land monopoly, or in othC
words the private ownership of Ian
is the power which enables, and some
times even forces the capitalist I
squeeze" labor.
Need Gives Leverage.
The quotation: That a rich en-
ployer "squeezes' needy workme
may be true. But does this squeezin
power result from his riches, or the
t need? No matter how rich an en-
ployer might be, how would it be pc
; sible for him to squeeze workme1
who could make good living X
themselves without going into his ell
ployment? The competition of worl
man with workman for employment
, which is the real cause that enable
and even in most cases forces, I'll
( employer to squeeze his Workme
= arises from the fact that men, deba
red from the natural opportunities
: employ themselves. are compelled
t bid against one another for the wage
of an employer. Abolish the monOpO
D., that forbids men to employ theI
selves. and capital could not possib
Cypress labor. In no case could Il
= capitalist obtain labor, for less tha
the laborer could set by employir
4 himself. Once remove the cause
e that injustice which deprives the
l. borer of the capital his toll create
2 and the sharp distinction betwe'
capitalist and laborer would in fac
= cease to exist.
t l think that the foregoing is sui
;, cient to show that labor is not figl