Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-08-23

wheat markets, and that certain well
informed American politicians see also
N reciprocity the certain destruction of
the farmer of the middle western
states How both can be DESTROYED by
the same thing is difficult of compre-
neaslon, and yet the speeches seem
equally convincing.
Something has been said editorially
IN the Free Press of the single-tax svs-
tenn of the city of Vancouver. The sys-
TEN used in this wonderful city is not
the genuine single tax theory of Henry
George. Primarily because Henri
George proposed the public ownership
OF all lands and leasing thereof to in
dlvldTals. He proposed to compel the
iandholder to pay rent to the govern
ment IN proportion to the desirabiltv
OF his holding; that as the community.
rather than the individual creates. land
value, 1t may, with perfect equity, APP
propriate It,. This theory of Henry
George was designed to prevent a man
from buying a cheap lot for speculation
and doing nothing to develop it-simply
holding it while his neighbors on either
side erected expensive improvements.
thus enhancing the value of his vacant
lot and making the Spectator wealthy
by reason of the industry AID invest
ment of his fellows. However, Van
couver, in measure achieves the de-
sired result without the governmental
acquisition of all individually owned
lands. The city exemps from taxation
all improvements on land and imposes
the tax burden on the land itself. In
other words, the location being the
same, the man with the ten story sky
scraper pays the same tax as his neigh
Dor with vacant lot. The owner of
the vacant lot is thus compelled to
build or sell his lot to some one who
will construct building thereon. The
owner knows that his tax will be the
same whether he builds one story or
ten. The result is the encouragement
of building large structures.
For ten years the city tested the sos
exemption of taxation of buildings.
Then. for four years the city tested the
Is per cent. exemption of buildings.
Now the buildings and improvements
are entirely exempted. Since January
l, last, not dollars worth of buildings
bears a tax. A recent investigator
comments as follows: Vancouver has
demonstrated beyond cavil that on
who builds human habit 4tion is ben
efactor rather than an enemy of the
human family. Here the owner of
comfortable or luxurious home contrib
utes no more towards the fire or police
department or the public schools of the
city than the man or woman who owns
the contiguous vacant lot. The man
who builds million dollar Office build
ing is not forced to contribute any more
towards maintaining the public parks,
library or other institutions, or even
for fire protection, than the owner of a
similarly situated vacant lot. The own
er of a fireproof apartment house equip
ped with all the conveniences known
to modern civilization is not compelled
to pay into the municipal treasury any
more than the owner of firetrap."
All this sounds nice, but one may
easily mistake the plausible for the
actual and by sophistry deceive him
self. After all, failed to see how we
can prevent the Every rich' and the
very poor" by removing the tax from
the palace of one and placing it on the
potato patch of the other. / cannot
understand how removing the tax from
property chiefly owned by the very
rich and placing it entirely on the
property OF the comparatively poor
will accomplish anything. except ben
eft the wealthy man at the expense of
the working man. While Single Tax
is regarded as progressive, could not
resist the idea that after all it is pro-
crossing backwards. While it may
stimulate the building of numerous sky
scrapers and other improvements. still
when the supply of such becomes great
er than the demand, the rents of nee
essity must be low to the points of loss,
and with more buildings more losses,
and eventually failure, bankruptcy. OBJ
livion. ]. HENRY BENNETT.