The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1913-10-04

, and the taxation of the communal
value of land has been stated persis-
tently. clearly and consistently by the
| Socialist orators on hundreds Of plat
forms and in their election literature,
| and their victory has been complete.
The leaders Of the Socialist party
are intellectuals who have freed them
selves from the old Socialist antipathy
towards capital as the eternal and in
evitable antagonist of labor They are
clear that their first duty is to re-
1ieve both capital and labor from the
trammels Of land monopoly; and they
are confident that the problem Of the
relations between capital and labor
will then be solved by a progressive
and frictionless>. development Of COL
lectivism.
Simultaneously with the over
whelming victory Of the democratic
programme Of the Socialist party at
the pools, the President of the Re-
public, DR.. Rogue Saenz Pena, has
nominated, as Finance Minister, DR..
Norberto Pinero, who, as Finance
Minister in 1906, introduced and car
ried into law drastic bill for the
separate valuation and assessment Of
land values in the Federal Capital
and the National Territories. The val
'uation was actually carried out: but
reactionary government following
suspended the application of the as
sessment.
It has been the consistent policy Of
the present Argentine president since
his election In 1910 to break up the
whit ~, ha al
the development of the Argentine.
His first attempts, through successive
budgets brought forward by his Fin
| ance Ministers, DR.. Rosa and Senior
Perez, failed through the resistance Of
| congress largely representing the
landed interests. DR.. Saenz Pena
finally secured, by persuasive means
which remain a mystery, the passage
Of the new Electoral Reform Bill,
| which made the ballot secret and
compulsory on all electors. The first
application Of the new law, in the
! elections Of last year, was a sweeping
victory at the polls for the Radical
! Party, who represented the aspira-
tons of the people for popular gov
eminent. The victory of the Demo-
cratic programme Of the Socialist par
ty at the election on March 30th still
further strengthens the hands Of the
president. It is therefore quite prob
able that the taxation reform, destin-
ed to relieve industry and break up
land monopoly, will now have a fair
chance of being carried into execu-
ton. The Socialist leaders have al
ready expressed publicly their salts
faction at the nomination Of DR.. Nor
berta Pinero and recall with approx
al his Land Valuation and Assessment
| Measure of 1906. =.
Unfortunately the recent election
was only for three deputies and one
senator in the Federal Capital, and
the election of last year was only FOL
one-half of the members of both
chambers. A large member of sena-
tors and deputies therefore still rep
resent the old regime of electoral
fraud and oppression. II Is likely
however, that the unmistakable de-
mand of the people, as evidence by
the election Of March 30th, will have
salutary effect upon all senators and
deputies, and make less difficult the
truly patriotic and far-seeing policy
inaugurated by DR.. Saenz Pena. He
has no easy task befor him, not only
in the matter of land and taxation re.
form, but also In the financial s1tua-
ton of the nation, which is bad.