The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-03-02

was a fight against enforced taxes.
The spring of action in the movement
of mankind toward a higher civIlizl-
ton for several hundred years past,
had had little basis other than the
question of taxation, and witha! we
have not yet advanced much beyond
carelessly following the dictum of the
French minister who said that the
"Science Of taxation seemed to be t"
pluck from the goose the largest amount
of feathers with the least amount of
squawking."
In some parts of the Union the in
dustrious goose has commenced To
squawk about the needless rebb ries of
feathers. but has hardly peeped in
Maryland. Baltimore kisses the hand
that plucks and the counties generally
do not know that they are robbed a
mere discussion of possible evils in tax
alton afflicts many of their citizens with
cold shivers.
Consider for a moment the associa-
ton between liberty and local tnx.tion.
Liberty means something more than The
right to put slip OF paper in the bal
lot box. 1t means tie unobstructed
right to own ones self, to put ones
faculties to their best use, &c create, to
bull l, to manufacture, to set nature at
work according to ones will, without
let or hindrance at any point. 1t also
means of course freedom of speech and
of the press, freedom of movement and
a right to think whatever one will,
whether it be pleasing to the majority
or not.) If | am right, lot US see
whether we have liberty in Maryland
in state or county.
II | desire to make a purchase of
merchant or lumber dealer, / may aot
do so until he has paid large taxes upon
his stock in trade aud Of times licenses
for the privilege to do business. My
free right to trade with him in respects
that might be useful to me and bene-
fetal to him is checked. His right to
buy and to sell, as natural as is that of
breathing and as essential to his liberty.
is hampered and almost destroyed in
many cases. He would like to do
thing advantageous to the community
and to himself, and the community
compels him to pay for tho right as if
it were . privilege.
II having completed my purchases
from the merchant or lumberman take
the things 10 bought and frame them
into the form of house, my taxes are
increased not once but for as many
years as the house may stand. Protec-
ton against the winters cold and the
summers heat, therefore. Is not freely
enjoyed ss = right but bought as 4
privilege. The possibility of my ON
ploying my fellows under circumstances
advantageous 10 both sides is diminish
cd.
SO if I furnish my house I find the
State and county At every stage IN the
production of the furniture l would buy
have levied their toll upon production
and interfered bY licenses and personal
taxes with the freedom OF the producer
in selling and my freedom In purch as
ing.
If I am possessed of tract of land
and plow and fertilize it; if | build
fences around it; if l plant fruit trees
and develop an orchard; if furnish my
farm with live stock the better to enable
human beings to live; if build silos: if
I beautify my place by setting out roses
and lii acs and shade trees, in every in
stance my liberty to do these things is
restrained by taxation, and finally for
every increase dollar Of valuation that
comes from such exercise Of my indus
try, the state and county take one or
two cents per year and keep on taking
it SO long as l maintain these improve
ments. Meanwhile the trsct of land
adjoining me whose prudent owner has
made no improvements, is taxed less
and less accordingly as my improved
land is taxed more and more. The
holder Of idle land quietly waits to re-
ceive profit from the incidental re-
suits of the industry of myself and Of
other men of like disposition and waits
also until the pressure Of population
shall give the land a value his own
efforts have not contributed to call into
being.
In the brief space of letter it is not
possible to more than indicate the loss
of freedom to which we are subject by
laundering in our treatment of the
matter OF taxation. We should know
however. that state, city or county
NAV Cypress its citizens by improper
use of the taxing power quite as much
as any people were over oppressed by
crince or potentate. The oppression
lies in the fact of interference with
freedom to do good things. not in the
form of the Oppressor.
The working men of Maryland have
realized this wrong-doing and have de
nounced 1t in the meetings Of their state
federation. At the last session of the
State Grange, subordinate oranges were
urged to study taxation from this point
of view. In 80 doing farmers of the
lange were following at q distance
the farmers Of several states Of the
Union.
The farmers who have just taken
control of North Dakota, casting 80 PEI
cent Of the votes Of the State, demand
that land should be taxed according to
its value irrespective of Improvements
The State Grange, the farmers, organi
cations and the labor unions of the
State of Washington are unitedly de
handing exactly the same change in
methods in that State. Farmers of
North Dakota and Washington were
alike powerfully influenced by the
action of the farmers in Alberta, Sss-
katchewan, and British Columbia where
no farmer finds his taxes increased be-
cause he puts his land to use and i'm.
proves it in any appropriate manner.
Similarly the Canadians followed the
lead of the farmers Of New Zealand
and Australia. Great blows for liberty
are being struck in this country in the
Far West and their echoes xre heard
even along the banks Of the Chesa-
peake and Potomac.
In such work the farmers organizations
of Maryland and other States find ample
justification and support in the final
report of the recent Commission on
Industrial Relations. Only last year
the Manly Report. prepared for this
Commission. discussing direct methods
of dealing with respect to the land ques
ton, after suggesting prosecutions to
cancel land and water rights obtained
by fraud and recommending a revision
of the land laws, declares in favor Of
the principle Of "the forcing Of all
unused land into use by making the tax
on non-productive land the same as on
productive land of the same kind and
exempting all improvements To this
our counties as we'll as Baltimore City
must come for the reasons here sugges-
ted and for other reasons hereafter to
he UnnlH ahvanca Our