The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1912-07-11

. should be required to contribute fol
the protection and privilege enjoyed
derived from the existence of organ
lied government.
But the writer, not long since,
heard one of the advocates of the
"single tax nightmare argue in q
public speech in favor Of such tax at.
ter this fashion: He said land should
not be taxed because it was given to
man by the Creator as gift, and
therefore not created by man; that
what man did not create should be
taxed and what man did create should
not be taxed. This reason for taxing
land alone is no reason at all. But
pursue the matter further. Suppose
a new country where but few people
reside. Now, land there will be
cheap, that is, value of land will be
small. Why? Because it requires,
generally speaking, the presence of
men in large numbers to make laid
value high. Take the same country
and let it become thickly populated
and the value of land rises. Now,
what created this value? Evidently
the presence Of men. So that, in fact,
man created the value of land. If
this is true and we are to tax nothing
created by man, what shall we tax?
Evidently, if the gentleman mentioned
above is correct, there is nothing we
might Justly tax. Because it appears
that man creates the value of land as
we'll as chattles, and there are but the
two general classes of property, land
or real estate and personal or chattles.
Now, the man who will receive the
first shock, should the single tax va
gary every, by any mischance, devel-
ope from dream into a law in Mis-
souri,, is the farmer and the land own
er. And the larger the farm the
greater the shock. 1t will be his
money that will pay the salary of all
public officials, build all public roads
and buildings, defray all public ex-
pense. They alone will be visited
by the tax gatherers, while the fell
low who loans them the money to
pay the tax will 60 free of tax. The
bond holder or owner of other valua-
BILE personal property may ride in
five-thousand.dollar automobile, on
which there is no tax, over the public
road built with the money derived
from the tax on the land of the farm
err merely because the farmer has
seen fit to accept the gift made by the
Creator-as suggested by the gentle
man above quoted.
Would this be equitable? Has any
organization seeking to bring this
about any right to dub themselves an
equitable organization of any kind?
1t would appear just as reasonable,
fair and just to require the farmers in
one county to pay the taxes for all of
the counties adjoining it or to distin-
guish between classes of people as
between classes of property. The
so-called Equitable Tax League"
would appear to much better advan-
tage if they would boldly nail the
black flag Of piracy to the masthead
of the single tax movement and def
antly proclaim their purpose to make
war on the farmers and land owners
of Missouri.
But the town and city man may not
sit supinely by and imagine he will
escape the wrath and evil conse-
quences to follow the enactment into
law of an idea so monstrously unfair
as the single tax idea. The town and
cities of Missouri but reflect the sue
cess and prosperity of the surround
ing farmers and agriculturists. Bur-
den the land with all the tax and the
tax gatherer gets the money and not
the merchant, business man or dayla-
borer. Burden the bond with all the
tax and he who owns it must raise
the price of the product thereof.
Burden the land with all the tax and
men, young and old, will leave the
farms and 60 to the cities and towns
and bid for the positions now held by
others. Burden Missouri lands with
this unjust tax and the city and town
merchant will find his rural patron
age falling off as those who wish to
own land will leave this state and
seek other states where land has only
10 bear its just share of the expense
Of state and government. So that