Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-02-22

REMARKS.

state. The state is the initiative hand
ler of a part of his revenue now and
if this kind could conveniently be
made to support the state govern
ment such might be very desirable; it
would leave each county independent
to handle it's own revenue business.
2. Being farmer l do not claim
identified knowledge of city business
to lay down any authentic procedure
for the city assessment. What l have
put forth is simply suggestive
sketches. | am desirous that the city
expert would take up and improve
the matter
,. The figures given in the valua-
tion table will be found not to cores
pond with the state auditors figures
for 1906 by minus of $500 This
difference is caused by the fact that
the figures here given are those of the
assessors returns while the figures of
the state auditor are those resulting
from the altering made by the county
and state equalization boards.
The total footing of the state audi
tor also includes the valuation Of tel
egraph, telephone, express, and Sleep
ing car companies which the county
auditor does not handle.
SUPPLEMENTARY
South Dakota is so eminently an
agricultural state that it becomes
her moral duty to guard her funda-
mental industry with the keenest at
tention.
The unrestrained speculation in
land has caused the state to be over
run with horde of land spectators
intiicting a great damage to the pro-
ductive industry of the state. The
large number of renters scattered
about the state is a direct result of
this speculation and the abuse has
reached stage calling loud for rem
edy: the welfare OF society is at stake
and the state must step in as no in
diyidual effort will avail here. A
proposition now pending in the legis-
lature proceeds from the wrong end
Of the trouble and can only serve to
aggravate the matter although it has
a plausible appearance upon the sur
face
Let the state step in here with an
earnest and determined hand and reg
ulate the renting price to the lowest
notch but not so low that it would be
cheaper to rent land than to own it.
Then tax idle land according to its
quality on an equal with lands pro.
vided with the necessary factors for
production. 1t will not pay them to
hold idle land on speculation then
and to rent it out will pay but poorly.
You will thus take the Inflated val
ue out of land-you will squeeze the
water out of it-and it will come
within the reach Of the man who
needs and will till it. I'm this way
you will bring revenue amounting to
several times $25,OO0 into the state
treasury that you now propose to
take out for purpose of making
matters worse.
Is not the right to legislate in this
way within the eminent domain of
the state? The state now claims the
right to place a mileage price on the
transportation of passengers upon the
railways within the state, also the
right to regulate freight charges, it
has long ago placed a maximum price
on the interest charge Of banks and
loaning institutions. The state is
using this right in many branches of
business. Either it has the right or
it has not.
In as much as the state exercises
the right of eminent domain even up
on the person of the citizen and upon
his private property which is a pro-
duct Of his own effort, how much
more appropriate should it be exer-
cised upon property in land which is
not the product of man. No man has
in reality neither the moral nor the
economic right to lay hold upon land
and keep it in the dead grip of idle
ness, unproductiye, while another
man stands by ready and willing to
take it up for cultivation and make
it productive for the benefit Of him
self and for society.
Seltishness is vice in man which
proceeds from that natural and neces-
sary instinct in all creation-self-pre-
servation. 1t is the function Of law
to restrain this selfishness and to pro-
mote happiness in society.
A speculative frenzy has seized up
on the land -grabber; he buys land on
speculation and with crafty manipu-
lations sells it with gain to some
other speculator who again manages
to make a gain by disposing to a
third speculator and SO on infinitely.
Only the potent vitality inherent
i'm land can withstand such strain;
no other commodity could; but
whether land is withheld from the
control of the tiller by means of large
lordly holdings. as in Russia, or by
speculative operations, as in South
| Dakota, tile method has a baneful eff
feet upon society.
| In this frenzy of inflated values we
hear the farmer is greatly favored be
cause land that will sell at $50 to S7(
or more per acre is valued for taxa
] tion at only $1J.45 here in Lincolr