The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-02-02
BRITISH WORKINGMEN
TAKE ACTIVE PART
IN TAXATION TALK
Would Tax Land Values to Cover
Large Part of Cost of War.
(By Dante Barton)

(By Dante Barton)
NEW YORK, December-A great
movement of the organized working
men Of Great Britain to place at least
large part of the cost of the Euor-
pean War on land values was des-
cribed to the Committe on Industrial
| Relations by Richard McGhee, Irish
Nationalist Member of Pertinent who
had been a delegate from the Trades
and Labor Congress of Great Britain
to the Convention of the American
Federation of Labor.
On November II last, a conference
of 600 or more delegates from among
all the trades union organizations of
Scotland and parts of England was
held in the Trades Hall of Glasgow
to consider the cost of the war and
how to meet it," said Mr.. McGhee.
By unanimous vote the delegates de-
clared for a tax on land values and
ordered petitions to Pertinent to that
effect.
"This was much more" declared
Mr.. McGhee, ethan merely carrying
on the tentative proposition of Lloyd
George of two years and more ago.
This was the first expression of the
demand among all the working
classes of Great Britain for the taxa
ton of land values (Which are social
ly created) as being right in itself
for all periods and as being right and
necessary in supporting the cost of
| the war"
Mr.. McGhee is an aggressive up
holder in Great Britain of the Henry
George propaganda for the single tax
on land values.
"The convention in Glasgow" he
said, "is being followed by others,
with the workers constituting the
great majority of the delegates. The
whole labor movement is feeling and
saying how criminally absurd it is
for labor and genuine enterprise to
bear the increased burdens of taxa
ton, with the greatest of all priv
leges (the taking of profits in the
form of land values which society it.
self creates) is left to increase those
burdens still further"
Mr.. McGhee asserted there was no
2 doubt that the agitation and demand
; of the workers would soon force rad
: ical changes in the taxation system
, of Great Britain, and that land value
: taxes, leading to the exemption of i'm
. provements and of the results of la
Dor from taxation, would soon be an
important factor in all exchequer
, budgets.
Of the American labor movement,
the British delegate said that there
was truer democracy manifest in it
than in the British Trades Union
movement. II never saw in any coun-
try as fine spirit of personal lib
erty as supports the American work
ers demands for liberty in laws and
in industry said Mr.. McGhee. "In
England the labor movement is af-
fected by a sort of Toryism, a sort
of dependence on governement action
and control and on the established
order, which is splendidly lacking
here.
'The general run Of speeches at the
American Federation Convention and
the discussions at the Seamen's Con-
vention were of a wonderfully high
order. l noted especially the talks
by President Gompers and the Rail
road Brotherhood representatives.
"Your Seamen's Act, although it is
statute law, sets free the forces of
economic power and action by the
seamen themselves" Mr. McGhee de-
clared. He is an honory member of
the National Sailors and Firemen's
Union of Great Britain and Ireland;
he organized what grew into the
great Dockers' Union of his country,
and he called to meet in London the
first International Congress of Am
erican and British labor union dele
gates. That was in 1890, and one of
the seven delegates to go from Am
erica was Andrew Furuseth, now
world famous as the chief actor in
getting the American Seamen's Act
passed.