The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-09-24

one with the factory; for the 100000
factory would bring with it seventy-five
workers, each of whom have one or two
dependents on him; and there would al
so come butchers, bakers and tailors-.
probably 200 people in ALL The new
comers would add to the ground values
Of Tacoma as the census reports show
about $500 each, or 100000 for the
200 Vacant lots near the factory
would advance in price. TO tax the fac
tory wonld be to kill the goose that lays
the golden egg; while to tax the added
values in vacant lots would not at all
discourage industry nor retard develop
ment. would exempt the factory lot
from portion of its normal tax That
is. I would gather the golden eggs after
they had been laid. but would in nowise
discourage the goose in her chosen occu-
patton.
Now. the wageworkers are a ma iority
of the stockholders in the great CO.
operative corporation known as the
State of Washington. 1t is up to you
to say whether You will call a halt in
the development of the state by rails
ing the rents of those tenants who i'm
prove our properties. If we continue
this policy the state will develop very
slowly. But if we change our policy
and say that we will collect fair rents
from all our tenants, the development
of the state will 90 forward by leaps
and bounds.
The Liyeryman's Rule.
If you were keeping a livery stable
vou would have a certain scale of
prices: $3.50 a day for a single rig; $4
for a double rig; $40 day for rlna
bout; $50 a day for a touring car. If
a certain man worked against the de-
velopment of your town; injured your
business; stood constantly in the way
of progress, would you let him have rigs
at ons-fifth the regular prices? Yet
that is precisely what we are doing as
landlords. Ii a man improves his hold
ings adds to the business of the city.
works for the development of natural
resources, we raise his rent, while we
collect from the speculator only one
fifth the rent we collect from the
farmer! Could anything be more alb
surd? Shall we not rather exempt i'm
from taxation, thus en-
the development of our prop
erty?
WagewOrkers Are Careless Landlords.
But what | wish to call special atten
tion to is the fact that you collect very
low rents for your property. You list
Your property at about one-thrd its
real value and then collect only 3 per
,cnt on this one bird valuation; where
as you should have & per cent on fail
cash valuation. When yon wish to bor
row money you pay 10 per cent or II
per cent per year. Why then do you
loan to spectators at | per cent? Let
us agree that it is to our interest as
landlords to refrain from levyino a tax
on Improvements created by our ten
ants; and that we will collect rent only
on what really belongs to us-belonging
to us by legal title and also by moral
title. that is on the community made
value; the ground value: the site value
or population value All these phrases
means precisely the same thing. They
mean the value which is owing wholly
to the presence of population, which in
rreases as population increases; de-
rreases as population decreases. When
the wageworkers left Everett fifteen
wears ago. the land values went with
them. When the wageworkers came
back, the land values came back with
them. The land values of a state be-
long both by law and also by right to
the people of that state. Legally we
own everything houses, machinery, rail
roads everything. But as it is not to
our interest as landlords to collect rent
on the industry of our tenants, let us
see what we ought to do regarding our
ground rents. Mind, we are not think
ing what we would do if we were land
lords, but only what we will do seeing
that by law and hv equity we are the
owners of the land of the State of
Concluded Next Week.