The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1915-02-27
THE LAND QUESTION.
Chicago Public.)

L
The Houston, Texas, Chronicle 10
endeavoring to attract immigrants to
Southern Texas. 1t is conducting an
active campaign to that effect, and Ia
asking the cooperation Of South Tex.
ans, Offering the following inducement:
1T is demonstrated fact, has been
proved time and again, that each home
buyer added to the population OF q
community increases the value Of other
property in that locality to at least
one-half the extent of his investment.
Furthermore, that the actual money
value OF each new inhabitant to the
business interests of the community 10
equivalent to at least one-fourth of his
annual income. Therefore an influx of
newcomers to any community adds
new values to each individuals prop
erty holdings or business interests"
In other words, the influx of popula.
ton will increase land values and en-.
able landowners to get higher rents
and selling prices for their lands. Il
will also increase business, but bust.
ness enterprises, unlike land, are not
fixed in quantity, so that those whose
money is invested In other things than
land can not be assured of the same
gain that immigration will bring to the
landowner. The mountaineering bus
mess man may do more business. but
he must expect to pay more rent for
the privilege and, in most cases, will
find himself no better off In the end.
But where does The Chronicle OK.
pect it's immigrants to locate? In its
editorial columns it calls attention to
the increase of tenantry in Texas, and
1t clearly shows the cause in saying:
There are more than a million acres
of unoccupied and untitled land In
Harris county, and it is unoccupied
and untitled because the owners will
neither use 1t nor sell it-for to hold 1t
at prices and upon terms which the
man without capital can not meet 10
equivalent to refusing to sell it."
Then it goes on to say that similar
conditions exist elsewhere. While they
do exist would it not be well to inform
prospective immigrants of the fact?
Should they not be told that they must
pay inflated prices to get land, that
their coming will tend to still further
initiate prices for later corners to pay,
and that the benefit of all this will not
go to them, but to certain spectators?
In the same issue The Chronicle sug.
gests the following as a parallel to
the land situation:
IF the bakers and sellers of bread In
Houston should keep baking bread and
piling it up and would neither use It
nor sell 1t, expect at prices the people
could not afford to pay, the people
would not starve, but would find way
to get bread"
This does not present a parallel situa.
ton, for In such case bread could be
imported into Houston, consumers
could bake their own bread or use sub.
stitutes, or the makers, finding an ever.
increasing supply of perishable stuff
on their hands, would find themselves
unable to maintain their monopoly. But
such remedies are not available for
land monopoly. Lane can not be i'm.
ported from outside, and the holders
are not increasing the supply and piling
it up. Their monopoly is made secure
by the fact that the supply of land is
fixed. In spite Of this let us hope that
1t is true, as The Chronicle states, that
the people will find a way to get land.
Such way is provided for In two pro.
posed Constitutional amendments now
before the Legislature. One provides
for home rule in taxation, allowing
Texas municipalities to raise all local
revenue by taxing land values alone.
The other makes it possible to apply
the same reform to agricultural dis.
tricts. The adoption of these two
will force those who are
holding land out of use, to let go Of Ii,
and give those chance who want to
use 1t. Then when immigrants come
they can get sites for their homes with
out paying monopoly price, and the
benefit Of whatever increase In values
they may create will go to themselves.
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