The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-23

[ building There was a wilted floral piece in the shape of horseshoe on his desk, and Uncle Joe Pastoriza, still in his shirt sleeves-literal ones, with an adorably democratic border of immac- uate undershirt at the wrist-was sign ing a pile of documents that reached half way to the ceiling.
 He stopped work just long enough to- shake hands and flash his famous win ming friend f-the-people smile I knew him for the very best sort of typical American the minute I looked into his lean humorous, determined face, his eyes full of wisdom and kindness. He is type you rarely find in the north. He is a product of the southern melting pot so pleasantly peppered with Latin tenn perament.
 They're right in calling me a crank" he said, not lifting his dark eyes from his papers. Sometimes it takes crank to move forward the machinery Of the world eh? They thought I'd ruin the whole works But when nothing blew up and nobody got hurt but a few real estate spectators, the people began to see there was something in old Joe's crankisms after all.
 NEW YORK A PLUM FOR HIM
 I'm going to live ten years yet. And before 1 die the town of Pueblo, Col, IS going to be a simon-p pure single tax com munity. It's commenced already. But it will outdistance all the smaller single tax colonies like Tahonto, Mass, and Fairhope, Ala, because he state con stitution will be altered to give it free play.
 People are scared of single tax be- cause they think the income under it's principles will be insufficient to run the government It is just the opposite. IT the city of New York were under single %a r1rir ir11n ha ino TrO11 a community would be more than enough to run the entire government of the United States!
 But what's the use talking! These things have got to come slowly. 1n- quiries come to me constantly from all parts of this country and even from Eu- rope-I had a letter from England only yesterday-regarding the system we now use in Houston. ''As a result of our tax reforms in the first six months of 1913 building permits amounted to S2,636, 425, as against $1, 702, . 905 for the six months of 1911, nearly 55 per cent increase! By not taxing cash our bank deposits show a gain of $7,000,- 000 The taxing of land at its fair value has caused owners to put it to its best use, instead of holding 1t indefinitely for speculation.
 "A building boom followed and the establishment of many factories. The new buildings made rents cheaper, anu since 80 per cent of the people are rent ers instead of owners, the system has benefited a majority of the people. Our population increased by 25.Ooo in the two years after the adoption of the Houston plan of taxation"
 By this time the mayor had signed U. J. Pastoriza" to at least a million documents, and 1t was past o'clock high time, goodness knows, for a mayor to put on his coat and say, Home. Jamesw But Joe isn't that kind of mayor.
 He sticks around till every caller has been seen. He hunts his own matches, answers his own telephone, chases around the adjoining territory to see 1T he can find some letter-paper.. digs in odd envelope from the commissioners desk in the next room, and along about or so calls 1t days work, tidies up his desk shuts the window, puts out the cat and goes home to give his boy a les- son in single tax.
 That's Joe Pastoriza, mayor of Hous- ton.