The Washington herald., 1909-11-15
Single Tax Theory.

! Editor The Washington Herald;
I I'm a recent issue Of The Washington
Herald my esteemed critic. T. S. Car
| lysle took exceptions 20 comparison ]
made in an article on the single tax
I theory between Lord Macaulay and
Henry George In that article I did not
state that, so far as scholarship and
literary attachments We're concerned,
Henry George was the compeer OF Ma
Caulay. neither did 7 state that he pos
/ sessed the hrilliaRCy the versatile
talents. and dazzling flights Of oratory
that eminentlv characterized the great
English historian and essayist What ]
did say. and with all due Difference 10
the opinion Of Mr.. Carlysle. still main
tain. was that Progress and Poverty
ranked with Nacaulay's History OF Eng
land" so far as its stately flow Of lar
guage and eloQuence of diction was con-
/ cerned. To be sure there is q vast dif-
ference between the vocabulary OF Ma
Caulay and Henry George. but that does
not initiate against the Characterization,
so strongly objected 90 by my critic.
one great beauty Of the state papers of
Horatio Seymour written while he was
governor Of New York. was the large
I
two sylables; stHI. his writings were
models OF stately and eloquent diction.
| Mr.. Carylsle could. with great prOdt.
construct some of his ponderous and
ofttimes turEid sentences, after the style
OF this eminent man.
There were many other traits possessed
by Henry George In common with Ma
caulay. While they were as far asunder
In some respects as the two poles. in
other important things they were alike.
Alacaulay enlightens inattentive minds;
so does George. II is impossible not 10
understand them They both approach a
subject under every aspect. They turn
Il over on every side. Il seems as though
they studied 90 make themselves under
stood by every individual They calcu-
late the scope Of every mind. and seek
for each fit mode of exposition. They
take ms all by the hand and lead us 20
| the end which they have marked out
/ beforehand I'm reading the masterpieces
/ Of these two men we find they both set
out from the simplest fact. They descend
/ To our level They bring themselves even
| with our mind. They lead us on and
smooth the road Throughout We rise
gradually without perceivng tho slope.
and az the end we find ourselves at the
/ top, after having walked as easily as on
the plain. Where a subject Is obscure,
| they are not content with n first ex-
PLANTATION; they give a second. then a
third. They shed light I'm abundance
/ from all sides. and they are never proIix.
| In reading their words we understand.
| IL We do not always agree with them.
There is also a similarity in the exact
style. the antthesis OF Ideas. the har-
monious constructions. the artfully bal
anced paragraphs, the vigorous sum-
maries, the regular sequence Of thoughts,
and the fine arrangement OF the whole
The arguments Of Henry George tend
TO single aim Like Macaulay, his elo-
quence is captivating All his phrases
have tone We feel that he would
govern minds that he fights as he dis
cusses. Like Macaulay's history. the dis
cusSlon in Progress and Poverty seizes
and carries away the reader. He. like
Macaulay Is impassioned for his subject
lie pleads his opinions. He has that
/ energetic, sustained and vibrating tone
which almost cOnquers belief. His thought
is an active force. It masters the heart
by Its vehemence. while at the same
| ume' Il almost masters the reason by its
elOQuence
II has been stated by a celebrated
fiehch philosopher that "in the hands
| Oh cicero, the dogmas OF the stolcs and
the dlalectlcs OF the acadericians lose
their prickles. The subtle Greek argu-
ments become united and easy; the hard
problems OF providence. immortality.
highest good, become public property
In the hands Of NJ. Theirs the most in
vowed questions Of strategy and finance
are placed within reach of everybody
Ihoer the guidance Of that other eminent
frenchman' NJ. GEizot, the history OF
civilization Is made plain and easv tn
the comprehension Of even school chill