The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-06-23
PREVENT SERIOUS
SHORTAGE Of FOOD.
80:
New York's Consulting Engineer
Says Tax On Idle Land
Necessary.

NEW YORK, June 21.-Henry e.
Can't, New York consulting engineer
and expert in Industrial management,
has reached the conclusion after trip
through the western states that tax
must be laid on idle land in order to
prevent a serious shortage Of food.
In an interview published in the New
York Evening Post, Mr.. CAN'T COM
mented on the Industrial situation Of
the nation in relation to war. He
viewed ths state of industry and civil
ian organization for war as he would
inspect a manufacturing plant that has
been put in his hand for analysis. =:
THAT we are short of the necessi-
ties of life is due largely to the fact
that not enough people are engaged in
the productive process" he said. III :.
we withdraw any people from the.
productive processes we shall be short
er still. Our conscripted army should
be raised as nearly as possible from
the non-producers. And the way to
get food is to force the people to till
the land.
"Our farm lands in many cases have
not been maintained at high degree
of productivity, anu many are no
longer titled. Such lands. having but
little value; pay low taxes. Similar
lands that have been maintained in a
high productive state pay high taxes.
Thus the thrifty farmer is penalized
for his thrift, and the. shiftless farmer
is encouraged in his shiftlessness.
Equal Taxation.
Equal taxation would tighten the
burden on the thrifty, and force the
shiftless to sell to one who was more
thrifty. The tax on idle land should
be so great that no one could afford
to keep it in idleness. Land which
was not titled would, under such a law.
soon revert to the state, and could de
sold at a no---inal price to those who
could till it.
I'VE are nation of individualists.
Each of us sees no harm in being idle
if he has the means of obtaining sup
port without work. We have not real -
lied that every person has to be sup
ported by his own labor or by that OF
others"
Mr.. Gantt's conclusion that food
production has fallen off alarminglyin
America is str;llingly shown by fig
ures presented by Or. Robert E. Chad
dock, Director ofsthe Statistical Lab
. ratory at Columbia university, who
has given the subject of food supply
and control special study and thought.
Said DR.. Chaddock in an Interview
Taxed to Capacity.
ITO understand the gravity of the
food situation it is necessary to go
back a little. Even before the war pc.
gan the United States had ceased to
be able to feed the world as formerly.
1t is no longer the worlds granary,
though many still believe it to be.
Statistics reveal the changes that have
taken place. First, the alteration@fn
the distribution of urban and rural
population. In 1880, 291A per cent Of
our population was urban In 1910, our
last census, the urban population had
risen to 46.3 per cent. From 1851 70
1910 the gain in urbs population
amounted to ,1S9 per ce! t. that of the
rural population to per cent
THE significant result O. his tend
ency to concentrate in cites -las been
a falling off. in the p, oauc>ion peg
capita of staple food p; oducts. Our
large exp is Of food st'-ffs since the
war seems to indicate t:a- American
agriculture was respondi:.s @ the new
demands placed upon it Eeally this
response was due more 20 favorable
weather conditions and 20 TIE readi-
ness with which meat p educ: on may
be increased, by the killing GA larger
proportion of the meat animals ton
hand, than to any real ',creaee in the
country's preparedness Il rroduce
food"
With due regard to all o.he. factors
that have discouraged the farmers
and sent their sons into the cities.
such as speculation and exp1oitationby
middle men and the social disedvant-
ages of farm life, such tar'm experts as
agree that our tax system is a. the. root
of the evil and that only h opening
land to the people by tn, xstio,s pol
Icy advocated by Mr.. =, ~ the
problem be solved. sss5.
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