Evening journal., 1910-05-03
HENRY GEORGE
TALKS TO MEN
Tells Wilmington to Get to
River Front by Taxing
Marsh Land High
PREDICTS ANOTHER
RUSSIAN JAP WAR

Members of Mems Clubs and indus
trial unions filled tho basement Of st.
Andrews Church last night, to hear
Henry George. Jr.. speak ON social
Justice, al the invitation of the Mems
Club of ST. Anircw's Church Ia
introducing the speaker, the Rev. HUI
bert w. Wells said that the world
was opening a new chapter IN de-
mocracy. and that when women get
the ballot il viii be found that their
desire is not so much for the ballot as
for the industrial democracy behind
IT,
Henry George, Jr.. was greeted with
hearty applause, which broke out fre-
quently during his talk. He said Il
was fitting his speech should be given
IN "A church. for churches were now
turning their faces TO industrial prob
lens. He paid high tribute to
Eleuthere T. dupont. who preached the
gospel Of land taxation I'm Delaware
p century ago. hundred years in
advance Of his time.
Mr. George then gave the principles
Of single tax; briefly. that every man
has "a right to land. just as much as
he has 10 air and light. If they could.
men would have bottled air and light
and sold them; they did take the land
as property of a comparatively few in
dividuals. Mr.. George said the Bal
linger-Pinchot controversy was childs
play in comparison with the restoration
of the land as public property Did
God give Manhattan 10 William Wal
dorf Astor with his compliments? w.
W. Astor was now an Englishman, IN
a fair way To be Earl Of Coney Island
In the House of Lords, while his fortune
was being made by the people who
made Manhattan valuable land BY their
dense population Of Il. All over the
United States were immense tracts of
unused land. belonging to men who
purchased them for speculation: coal
and timber lands kept closed so that
production and competition would be
limited and prices kept up. From the
reduction I'm labor required for the
limited output. three men were seeking
one job and wages were kept low.
Thirty-fve men own one-seventh Of the
State Of California. only one per
cent. Of the coal deposits in the country
were In use.
Single Tax as a Remedy.
The Single Takers. said Mr.. George.
propose to remedy this, not by taking
away titles to land from private own
ers. but by taking land at the price
it would sell for in the market. They
would use taxes already I'm existence
on land. The trouble now was. that
land. especially I'm cities. was taxed on
valuation Of years ago. although its
value was greatly increased. Also
taxes were increased according to inn
provements made on the land. This
meant that men could tie up land. not
use il themselves nor allow others Ia
use &. while men who made improve
ments were punished for it. If this
single tax on land at market value were
made. there would be so much revenue
that taxes on personally and improve
ments could be abolished, said tn,
speaker That meant. mem would pa,
rent for their land to the communit,
whose property it really was.
The practical working-out is in sue
cessful operation over nearly all Aus
! tralasia. said Mr.. George. Later conner
found all the land grabbed by the pio
neers. When Scotland tried the plar
it brought on all this last summer
fight over the budget. Mr.. Georg,
having English. Welsh, Irish an
Scotch blood. said of course he ha
TO get into this fight. although he ha
gone over as a correspondent. Glas
gov had found model tenements n
solution of the slum question. The
determined to make slums unproftabl
by taxing the land on which they stoo
heavily. This could not be done with
out permission from Parliament. The
got licked four times in Parliament
c.outin..aa ~. .saonna ras.