The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1913-12-05

The renter ciSI'N' a. I'D p"l eYDas,
such buildings as he needs and ~
all the taxes. When his lease er''
he must pay the Increased rent vS'' a
his own improvements make possaS
to charge, or else move. abandon,f
his own building Some recent ,.1
show the almost fabulous price vh;'
the absentee landowner receives W.
he does sell London real estate in -
more favored sections.
What is Great Britain to do aho,
il? Democracy, which is, or at ,o.'
should be, the policeman and the nss
ner of industry, is already in the n
ted Kingdom doing something a.,
plans to do more. Let we'll epou,
alone" no longer satisfies, much T..
let bad alone, lest the change bin.
worse"
National Ownership Makes Heasx,.
Three general plans of land refo,,
have been seriously considered az
each, to degree, has been adoots
The three plans are nationalizsto,
of the land, the small holdings DOLL,
and taxation. Twenty years ago n,
great Gladstone said: If the tim.
comes when the British nation 6n,,
that the land should be nationalns
and it is wise to do it, they have =,
perfect right to do So" Nationaln
ton which means the ownership h,
all the people of all the land, is oDs,
" talked. Indeed, it is put into prs.
tical effect to a degree in governmen
purchase and ownership in the Land
purchase acts. That striking form n
naturalization known as the SIM.
tax, which brides itself on being q.
fected without compensation and b,
the confscation by the state of ca,
nomic rent" has many strong advc
Gates. Rent being a value created !,
the whole community, say its suppor.
ers should belong to the whole CON
munity. All economic rent, the rent
of the actual land apart from Sle in
provements. is unearned Increment
The single takers would confiscate not
the land to the state. but the rent
Compulsory Sale and Leasing.
Another form of land nationalizatia
is considered, though not seriously.
This involves the taking over Of al
the land by the state, with compens,,
ton to the landlord. Small holdinn
by compulsory purchases and small
holdings by compulsory leasing are
other plans actually pursued. Under
these schemes the landlord is com.
PEELED to sell or lease small acreaga
for actual farm use. Land hire by the
state and land purchase are involved
in this general scheme. A more dras
tic measure has just been proposed BY
Mr.. Will Thorne on the house of com
mons. Under the Thorne bill it would
be illegal for any person to hold, In q.
ricultural districts, any land, exceed
ing fifty acres in extent, in waste or
uncultivated state, unless it shall not
be possible to cultivate such land aa
profit, or unless it shall have been
devoted to some purpose Of public
utility.
"A Tax to Burst Land Mosapey'
The real attack upon the shdtts
present land ownership, the one about
which the fiercest contention has u
ken place. is that in Lloyd-Georges
budget of taxation. Many forms Of
land taxation have been proposed
considered and, occasionally, adopted
Land value taxation. in some form, en-
tiers into discussion everywhere This
new land taxation, however, recent!
carried into effect by the Liberal gov
eminent, is not a tax to raise revenue
but, to quote the pungent phrase Q
the chancellor of the excheQuer in pr
posing it, "a tax to burst the Ian
monopoly" This new system of tar
ton included five per cent. duty Q
royalties, a taxation of gifts
nature or windfa!ls. 1t included a t,
on the capital value of unworked mi
erals. thus stimulating the exploitatit
Of mines hitherto unworked. The il
portant principles of the new taxatio
however, are involved in the incr
ment tax. the tax on undevelop,
building land and on leasehold reye
Slons. Under these sections two ia
values are placed on land, the ST
value and the improved value. II
tendency of the tax, as shown by i
actuai workings, is to bring moi
Oulidlng land into the market, thu
relieving congestion in the cities an
the country.
Under the system of long leas
loids' which is peculiar to Great BIZ
am the owner of the freehold o.
AIMS, on the expiration of the lease
Is railing in," to employ an Englis
}nrase-"a property which has sui
'.an'iaiiy increased in value by reaso
u the general growth of the commu,
" and independently of any expend
.ure OF labor or enterprise on the pal
If the owner"
Inc budget levies ten Der cent dut