The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-03-05
A. SINGLE TAX. ENTHUSIAST


New York Post: Among the men Of
generous mind who have had their
whole life-activity turned into a new
channel by the Henry George gospel,
Joseph Fels, who died at Philadelphia
last Sunday, stands out in a unique
way Between his record as a single
tax apostle n that Of the, late Tom
johnson there is, indeed, more than
one point Of resemblance; but there
arc also great differences. In degree
OF service to the cause in this country,
1t may be difficult to decide which Of
the two is to be placed first; no one
else, with the exception of Henry
George himself, can be named who has
done as much as either to promote the
spread of the single-taX doctrine among
us. Both, singularly enough, had made
their fortune in industries highly fav-
ored by the protective tariff; and both,
in faithful conformity with the free
frankly but gladly and Vehemently de-
clared that the system through which
they had become rich was legalized
robbery. Both showed the zeal of men
suddenly and completely converted to
a doctrine which impressed them not
only as the whole truth and nothing
but the truth, but as a message OF
earthly 70 But
here the resemblance ends.
Tom Johnson was a man of general
mental and practical power: he was a
born fighter and manager OF men,: he
made an impression in congress and in
Ohio politics; and his great service to
the single-tax cause lay less in any
special contribution to. it's progress,
either through speaking for it or aid
ing it with money, than in the help
tNVN~ - I = -. % tH- tB
by the mere spectacle of a man of his
calibre throwing himself unreservedly
into its championship.
The service Of Fels, on the other
hand, while not consisting solely in the
liberal contributions of money which
have formed so important a part Of the
s~ingle-tax propaganda, was, on It's
personal side, Of a totally different
character from that Of Johnson. His
personal influence was due to nothing
noteworthy about him intellectually,
but to his evident sincerity and bcnev-
olence, and the manifest completeness
with which the Henry George gospel
had taken possession Of him, body and
soul.
The 1uXtaposition of these two rom
.inent eXemplars of the movement sug-
gests the thought Of the two-sided at
traction which the Henry George doc
- AAAS SNAAN ~ "
about its adamantine rigor and SIM
plicity that commends 1t to certain
hard-headed and clear-minded men.
who seize the argument Of Progress
and Poverty perfectly and enjoy, on
becoming acquainted with it, the thrill
ing experience Of a sudden intellectual
illumination and emancipation. II,
along with this, there is In the man the
sanguine spirit Of the aggressive re-
former If iE aacIy IN I1n1ofctor ND hnuy
the prospect Of the solution of the i'm
memorial problem OF poverty fires in
him a zeal to which few other en-
thusiasms can be compared, and which
becomes henceforth the ruling element
in his life. And in the case Of such a
mana man like Tom Johnson, for
example-one may feel sure that an
added force, and an added zest, Is
given to the original impulse by the
kind Of opposition which he most fire.
quently finds the doctrine encounter
ing.
Himself a half-educated man, but a
man of strong native powers OF mind,
he continually finds that the DIRECTORS
do not understand the basis Of the
doctrine they attack: in comparison
with him they are as the blind to the
o~ne-eyed. They strike aimlessly this
way and that. and he sees plainly that
they hit wide OF, the mark. Fortunately
for his ease of mind, he is in the posi-
ton OF being unequipped with the
training, and probably unendowed with
the temperament, which would enable
him to see the true objections to the
creed, while amply able to see the ir-
relevancy of the crude criticisms usu-
ally directed against it.
And while the teaching of Henry
George presents this kind OF attrac-
ton to the man of keen and vigorous
mind, it holds out to the emotional
humanitarian an attraction even more
powerful. That Mr.. FEELS found the in
tellectual side of Henry Georges argu-
ment convincing, we do not doubt; but
it is safe to say that it was not the
humanitarian appeal that gave to the
gospel OF. Progress and Poverty that
oVermastering power ave him which
led him to devote his life and fortune
to its f~urtherance.
Here is Gods green earth taken UP
by a favored few, whose selfish rapac-
ity alone stands between mankind anu
that felicity for which the human race
was destined by the Creator. How idle
to waste efforts upon any other reform
when here, literally at our feet, lies
the great treasure-house out Of which
all the wants Of humanity would be
supplied without stint but for the per-
Versity Of human laws-laws. too,
whose origin is to- be found in un-
blushing robbery. End land monopoly.
and we end poverty: and when we
abolish poverty we all but extinguish
vice and crime, and bring to an end
almost every form of cruelty and self
ishness. When, as in the case Of JOS
eph FEELS, we have a man who is not
only tender-hearted, but what William
James called tender -minded-a mai
not Of the tough mental fibre Of Tom
Johnson. but quite the r~everse-it is
not difficult to understand how these
notions Of justice and regeneration,
once they take possession of him, may
become an absolute obsession.
1t is, indeed, a curious mixture Of
strength and weakness that has been