The Mena weekly star., 1911-09-21
THE SINGLE TAX
 BECOMES AN ISSUE
State of Washington Adopts Henr, Georges Theory-Plan Encour- ages Improvement, and Is
 Gaining Ground Out West.

Tacoma. Wash, Sept. Before another year passes the state of Washington may be solidly for sin | gle tax.
 The subject has been discussed by the municipal commission of Taco ma and from there it has spread to Seattle, and before the agitation ceases 1t may involve the entire state. AL least that is what the advocates of the plan are hoping for.
 The single tax question is grow ing with leaps and bounds. With Seattle and Tacoma taking it up, with several men planning to run for the legislature. and one man w. II. Kaufman, of Belingham, pioneer single taxer-for governor on single tax platform, the tax reform scheme originally put for ward by Henry George is well into the limelight.
 Vancouver took up the single tax in a modified way and that city is growing faster than any city on the coast.
 It was the Vancouver example that started the single tax move ment in Washington. Visitors to Vancouver and Victoria gained a mighty impressive idea of what single tax" meant.
 The single tax men believe that if the northwest cities could adopt the plan it would not only stimulate building and factories tremenduous- ly, but would be an advertisement that would command attention all over the country.
 Taking all taxes off of improve ments-that's what the single tax would mean.
 How would that appeal to the tax burdened manufacturer or the building owner of other states? It gave wonderful boom in Vancou- yer building operations. It is work ing we'll in Alberta.
 What is the issue, then, that has grown up over night?
 The single taxers put all the tax es on the land-and on franchises which involve the use of land, such as street cars, railroads, gas com panies, etc.
 Your home would not pay one cent of taxes, your factory would go free, you would not pay one cent on account of your machinery, or your horse or wagon.
 The average home owner would pay a little more taxes on his land, but not one cent on his house. His total tax bill would be at least third lower.
 Unimproved land would be hit the hardest, for unimproved land is taxed the same as improved land.
 Land would be taxed on it's mar ket value.
 The net result, the single taxers say, is that the people who are hold ing vacant land for stiff price, would have to put it into use. And they could afford to, as there is no tax on buildings to be erected there.
 Why should we sting the land holder? you ask.
 Who gave the land it's value? The single taxers reply, "the people -of Tacoma gave 1t value" A corner in the heart of city is valuable only because thousands of people pass there every day. It's no better land than that on the outskirts.
 The growth of Tacoma has made the downtown corner valuable.
 The people are entitled to the in- creased value that they created, the single tax men say.
 But the single tax advocates have long, hard row to hoe. It will take constitutional amendment to give the municipalities the right of single land tax. Then there will be the fight with "big business" The cor porations won't sit idly by and let single tax pass, because single tax means that the corporations must pay their share of the public ex- pense instead of forcing Mir. Citi- zen to foot the bill.
 In this city plans are under way for the circulation of petitions ask ing for submission to the voters of an amendment providing for single tax. Bellingham is also taking up the subject, and Seattle is thinking seriously of the single tax. The single tax idea promises to become just as big an issue in Washington as the recall of the ju- dietary has become throughout the Icountry.
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