The labor world., 1916-12-30
RADICAL CHANCES
IN TAKING LAWS
Texas Land Commissioner Re-
commends Remedial Measures
to Help Tenant Farmer.
BY DANTE BARTON.

NEW YORK, Dec. 2S.-To tax un-
used land into use, to impose gradu-
ated super-tax on landholdings of
more than certain acreage, and to
provide a specific inheritance land
tax on land Inheritance of more
than a certain acteage are the off,
cial recommendations of the commits
sioner of the general land office o.
Texas in a report just recently issued
to the governor of that state.
Confirming the findings and con-
clusions of the United States commits
sion on industrial relations concern
ing the evils of tenant farming and
the growth of huge landed estates in
the southwest, the report contains
sweeping condemnations of the pre-
vailing conditions and urges radical
changes in the taxing laws.
Coming out at a time when the
high cost of living, when the non-use
of cultivatable land, when the indus
trial unrest in time of fevered pros
perity are engaging especial atten-
ton and when human rights are as
serting. themselves against antagonis-
tic property rights, the statements
and recommendations of the Texas
land commissioner are of Immediate
national significance.
Texas is Mexicanizcd.
Texas is Mexicanized with large
land holdldgs by individuals, firms.
corporations and the estates of de-
ceased PERSONS says the Commits
sioner, Mr.. J. T. Robisons Showing
from the records the facts that sus-
tain this statement, the report says: .
with the large land holding
shown herein and the refusal of the
owners to sell it at fair prices and
upon easy terms may there not be a
plausible reason assigned for the
statement in the Federal Census OF
1910 that tenants in Texas increased
during the last preceding twenty
years from 57.6 per cent of all the
farmers in 1890 to 52.6 per cent of
all the farmers in 1910. Should Meth
ing be done to check this increased
tendency to tenantry how soon will
our state be a commonwealth of alb
sent landlords? AS rule tenants
are somewhat in proportion to the
price of land. The higher the price
the more tenants
The United States commission on
industrial relations showed by the tes-
timony it produced in the hearings
of 1915 that by that time tenancy in
q great part of Texas had increased
to 60 per cent Of the total number of
farmers, and that in Oklahoma the
prevailing percentage of tenancy was
54.S per cent while Gin the 47 coun-
ties where the tenancy is highest, the
percentage of tenancy is 6S.13 per
cent" =.
Wants New Classification.
As a chief remedy of this danger
Gus condition the Texas land commits.
sioner recommends:
Put into effect that part Of Article
8, Section 18, of the constitution
which says the legislature may also
provide for the classification OF all
lands with reference to their value
in the several countless" for the pur-
pose of taxation, and when the land
is 80 classified or graded all land
of the samc class or natural quality
should be tad at the same value.
Thus law land of the same class by
nature is an adjacent farm should
be taxed tn, same as is the farm
land. a barbed wire fence which
separates them would not then divide
their value for taxation purposes as
Is now the &c.
2. "Place a specific tax per acre
on lan6 owed by one above Ger
tain acreage, and graduated accord
ing to, acreage. after the plan Of the
federal income tax law. In this re-
gard should be had whether the land
be adapted to grazing, stock-farming