The Detroit times., 1913-03-08

more now than then; the tenant has found out how
70 i've upon a less proportion OF the yield and ID
rorced to do the best he that.
Is a schoolhouse built? Is a church dedicated? Is
railway constructed? Is oil struck? found?
Is new crop developed? DO the people become less
rude and more civilized In some remote region? In
each and case. in the case Of any imaginable
step In progress 1t is the landlord who gets the money
dement's The case OF the Assouan Dam. instead OF
being local condition, is universal. worldwide. II
that the nations OF the world gave attentions
TO the development some plan by which the deck
room the good ship Earth may be pareeled out to
those who must make local and exclusive use of It,
without prejudicng doing injustice either those
VINO are now willing to be excluded to the unborn
generations who cannot be consulted, but who are
born into the world with good a right to its use a.
that possessed by the children OF land owners
The thing Is not simple In application but the
principle Is This great Zeppelin belongs all of
passengers alike. Let think of 1t for moment
great floating hotel. In which some OF have the
best and most spacious OF rooms, stowaways
In the hold, some have hammocks In the forecaste,
some first cabins some second cabins some saloon
staterooms We all have equal natural rights In her
how shall our unequal occupancies be equalized?
The answer would be given in five minutes by any
good high-schoo student. He would say, Let every
body pay rent for the room he uses and divide the
fund.-"
Suppose it to be Office building. owned in COM
mon by its tenants. The drug store in the corner
the street would pay high rent to the common fund.
The bank on the second floor would also pay high
rate. would the y-goods store surrounding the
drug store. The lawyers and doctors In the upper
stories would pay upon the value OF their Offices and
the cubbyhole occupied by the struggling dentist
the value of the room from which he excluded all.
Out OF the fund would be paid insurance, upkeep.
Waterman. elevator boys janitors, scrubwomen. and
all the taxes and expenses OF the building. and the
balance would be returned In equal dividends No
would have any advantage over any other the
plan would be absolutely equitable, and so plainly
so that II could fail to he suggested by any In
tegent business man tn whom the problem or such
ownership with diverse and>exclusive posses
sion propounded.
Now in spite of all the complexities of society and
the hoary institutions hallowed by legend and
fled in the course OF hstory-in spite of everything
which be urged against the statement-the earth
is a great dwelling place. owned In common and
cupied In diversity The evils of the situation
plain, and the greatest step which be taken to
end them seems to me equally plain. The owners
OF land everywhere should to their co-owners who
are excluded the annual rental value of the priv
ilege enjoyed. Such plan would furnish fund In
the Of the earth. In the Of the ship or
office building which would pay all community
charges and the tenances OF all would be edua4ised.
He who had most OF the thing belonging to all would
paw most He who had little would pay little. He
who had would pay nothing. All would be
equally benefited by the expenditure Of the tax col
lected all other would be abolished, and alb
solute Justice would be realized in the Of the
earth No one would could afford to pay thus for
the use OF land unless he used it-and so Monopoly
OF land would be destroyed This Ia the political
economy Of the future In other way can the
Of be long satisfied in their tenancy
of the decks Of the good ship Earth.