The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-06-12

7eTDT sTheory Explained.
The single tax MAY be easily de-
taxes lY6dn ih8Hfgfry. It involves in
deed0 the 9a1bSo6ltiohh' Of ali taxes what
ever for = eys9ue purposes, You might
still put 9fegtllaftve 81 ,Prphibitiya tax
upon dogs if you want to keep them
out of town. You might still put such
tax upon opium, if you want to dis
courage it's use; Or upon Intoxicating ,
liquor If you want to stop or restrict
its sale. You might still put a tax
upon, houses If you don't want houses,
or factories If you don't want fac
tories, or store goods If you don't want
them. But the single tax would abol-
ish all taxes upon anything you do
want. It would do this in order to
make these things cheaper, so that
everybody can have enough; AMI in
order to increase their manufac ture,
so that everybody can have steady
employment, whether as business man
or hired man. -
Am asked then If we would abol-
ish government? No. Am asked
where we would get revenues for gov
eminent it we abolished all taxes?
We should get revenues by taxing land
owners in proportion to the value Of
their land, and whether their land was
commercialized and capitalized or not.
Am I asked whether. if tax would
make houses and goods dear, it
| wouldn't also make land dear? Not at
all. Every business man knows that
| 1t would not, and every intelligent
| business man knows the reason. A
| tax upon~things that have to be made
| adds to the cost of making them; but
a tax upon things that exist naturally,
but can be monopolized, adds to the
cost, not of making them, but of
monopolizing them. Consequently a
tax upon all land according to its
value discourages the monopoly Of
land and makes. land cheaper. ~
Now that is the single tax. Abolish
all revenue taxes, except so much of
! the real estate tax as falls upon the
value Of land. "a '"' > -, -
Is any enc thinking at this point
that the single tax would be hard
upon farmers? Why, that is absurd
| Farmers are land workers., not land
monopolists; and the, single tax would
fall only upon land monopolizers
How many farmers are there Whose
land is worth more than their houses
and barns and fences and machinery
and tillage. Their land would be
cheaper, but just as good. If they
wanted to take a farm on lease, the
land rent would be less than now
because SO much unused farming lane
would come into competition The
land monopoHsts would drop it. Il
they wanted to buy a farm, they
could buy for less, and for the same
reason. But of course If they wanted
to play landlord, going into town tx
live at their ease, and renting theil
farms to somebody else to do thu
work upon them, they wouldn't hav,
as much Of a cinch as they have now
The single tax would not fall upol
the farmers who farm farms; but i
would fall upon the farmers who farm
farmers.
We doctrinaire single takers woul,
make the tax, on land values SO hig]
that the annual value of land woul
go every year to the whole people
This would be the common fund 70
\ common uses in every community
But we don't expect miracles. W.
expect to Shift taxes from industry t
land monopoly by degrees.
The single tax aims to make oppor
tunities for work cheap, and to max
! work itself in constant demand an
profitable. Under present condition
there are, to express. it crudely bu
] ny, to IL.
This condition spells lack OF employ
ment, slackness in business, .chea;
! labor, and prosperous exploiters 9
labor. For there is one man Away
out of a job, always bidding agains
the other man, and alawys at tn
| verge of starvation and threatening t
. put the other nine in the same posi-
. ton. But reverse the thing. Max
1t ten jobs and only nine men, AN
then you have prosperity all along til
industrial line. And that my friend
| is what the single tax would do
| No man. who makes his living in tn
sweat OF his own face need fear til
single tax No man who wishes t
| get his living in the sweat Of tn
face Of his brethren can be expecte
to welcome it. The single tax Is tn
economic expression Of Gods Justice
We see the beginning Of, the singl
tax in England. we see It In salts
factory and progressive operation ii
| Australia. We find the German
adopting 1t In their municipalities
! We are waking up to it. IN the Unite,
II States. Those OF YOU who wish to Iiv,
4 upon the labor OF others are. not ex
pectde to Join. Bat how can any sta,
out il he is at all sensitive to the de.
s$lsmands Of justice in Industrial affairs
h This is no class movement. 1T ,wgoul,
q rid ID. US Of classes. Its motto il. II,
leach according t. his own earnings
{ land to all according to the corn,l1o,
'Ieaarn1iings"' each according to q iii
IoWn ministry an d to all according /,
stsoetal. grow .-s esesIsB AkER