The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-03-09
Mr.. Ralston's Letter.

To the Editor OF the Prince GEORGE S
Enqurer:-
The counties of Maryland, like II e
City Of Baltimore, must realize that by
their system of taxation they are poi
soning the body polite, paraly zing
progress, failing to do their duty by
the State and nation of which they form
part. What can we think of the
Logic of community which fine man
once for stealing chickens and fines the
man who puts up the chicken house
once, every year? The fine upen the
chicken thief is supposed to operate as
q dete rent. Does not the tiue upon
the man who would build the chicken
house operate against the making o.
improvements? And vet the farmers Of
Maryland have for years taxed them
selves for constructing houses and
barns and all the other things that go
to make life possible in the country.
Why wonder that Maryland is back
ward?
Why should not Maryland BIZ back
ward under such circumstances? Will
we not naturally put up the smallest
and most inferior impr, vemeut which
as a make-shift carries US through pre-
sent emergencies rather than improve
our lands so substantially as to attract
the serious attention of the assessor
D es not wisdom dictate the making Of
inferior improvements, when the county
causes the assessor 10 pursue US most
vigorously for building the best?
The argument is simple, the illustra-
tions are trite. In the old world when
taxes were imposed upon windows peo-
pie dwelt in darkness. Wherever taxes
are Imposed upon dogs their number
diminishes. License taxes keep down
automatically the undue establishment
of saloons. Are not taxes levied upon.
improvements exactly the same in the ir
effect as takes on windows, dogs, and
saloons? DO not such taxes therefore,
prevent our progressive farmers from
doing for the benefit of themselves and
the community the things which esten-
sibly We believe to be for the advantage
of all?
The effect of our procedure is funda-
mental. 1t becomes less profitable to
use land then to hold it out of use. 1t
becomes Improbable to employ labor
and our laborers suffer.
Under our system of taxation we are
driving the independent farmer from
the farm and turning over our land to
sSheAGo "ho AoNO iO
| in maintaining its fertility. We are
despoiling the granaries of the naticn
and robblng the coming generations of
the riches of the earth, that earth which
we should hold in trust for them as well
| as for ourselves.
Under this system of taxation, some
forty per cent of our farms is cultivated
| by people who have no interest in their
r1ooin n onl louo1nrr,a,,
| figure has risen within thirty years from
twenty-five per cent. If we continue
| as We have begun, in another thirty
years our country life will have so
completely degenerated that the indie
| pendent farmer will be almost unknown
and his place will be taken by those who
by that time will have become a rest
| less, shiftless and irresponsible teuantry
without pride or respect for the country
in and the land on which they subsist.
Today taking the whole United States,
| almost 20 per cent of the farming land
in tracts of 1000 acres and more is held
| by less than one per cent of che farm
| owners and of this land less than 10
per cent is under cultivation, whereas
land held in tracts up to 500 acres is
cultivated to the extent of 80 to 10 per
| cent. A large part of these smaller
| farms left uncultivated is as we know
held speculatively, as are the great tracts.
| Meanwhile two and one-forth million
/ of farmers-more than one-third of the
whole number-are getting in many
cases a difficult existence on farms of
| fifty acres or less.
The sons of the farmers of these
smaller tracts find the door of opportu-
nifty closed in their faces because the
| relatively large owners demand for the
| privilege of purchase of their lands q
| price which is prohibitive to industry.
Thus they are driven from our rural
communities to seek precarious livings
in the cities,or to 60 great distances to
| obtain cheaper lands. In this we shall
largely find the explanation for the fact
that the rural population OF Southern
Maryland was fully as great in 1920 as
in 1910, the Young men have been
drives from the agreeable climate and
natural advantages of Maryland far out
| into the West, even into the deserts to
| get the opportunities which existed,
but which were unavailable, at their
| own doors.
| Our whole civilization, our growth in
| population, our advancement in goy-
eminent, unite to build up and main
tain the value of land. No element can
be named not conspiring to this end,
whether it be school, church, lodge, fire
protection, police, roads and railroads
or what not. Every agency of govern
ment assists. None contribute TO add
one dollar to the value of personal pro-
perty or improvements, whose value
rests ever in the amount of human
exertion entering into their production.
1t would seem a simple thing that
those who receive all the pecuniary adj
vantages of government and civilization
should bear the burdens.
People deceive themselves They
say the government protects personal
property and improvements and, there
fore, their owners should pay proper
tionate taxes. They overlook the OBJ
vious fact that according as in a given
neighbour pod protection is given or
perfected, so land values rise. The
| possessor of personal property and
would be constructor of improvements,
| therefore. pays sum proportionate to
the desirability of the neighborhood for
the privilege of being there with his
personal property or constructing his
improvements and should not pay
doubly.
Nor for variety of reasons space
fUrbids me to enumerate, should mere
evidences of ownership of property,
like mortgages, notes, stocks, ETC., be
taxed. Suffice it to say that taxes upon
them do not stay where put but are
passed on to the borrower, making his
progress in the race of life more diff
cult. We might add that since the