The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1918-01-05
SAYSFEuDht|SM !
EXISTS N:THE i
UNITED STATES.
Commissioner Howe Treats Land
Problem in New Book; Must
Tax Land Values.

NEW YORK, Jan. 3.-"Few peo-
ole realize that feudalism has come
into existence in the United States
similar to that which still prevails in
q great part Of Europe, a system
which, up to the French revolution,
was the prevailing method of land
ownership in all of the European
countries"
This is one of the many surprising
statements made by DR.. Frederic c..
Howe, immigration commissioner of
the port of New York, in his new book
entitled THE High Cost of Living,
Just published by Scribners. DR..
Howe here tells in clear, swift SEN
tences how food production and dis
tribution in America have fallen under
control of wheat gamblers, ware
house men, cold storage men, packing
companies, and land spectators, with
private ownership and control of the
railroads, terminals and banking faci-
lities as other important factors. He
says:
'"There is submarine zone about
the farmer which costs our people
hundreds of millions annually. These
agencies include the railroads, the
warehouses, the terminals, the
slaughter houses, and the banks"
But overshadowing every other evil
that is sapping the vitality of Ameri-
can agriculture, according to DR..
Howe, is our system of land tenure.
OF the many important and fascinat-
ing chapters of his new book. prob
ably the most important is that on
"Opening Up the Land" He says:
How to Open Up Land.
The free land of the West is All
gone. The enclosure Of the PUBLIC
domain ended the first great, era of
American history. 1t marked the close
of an era in the history of the world:
For the enclosures of the free land
BY the city. worker, it ended the free
dom of choice of the would be farmer,
in a, sense it ended the freedom of the
western world.
all land began to have a monopoly
price irrespective of it's real value. 1t
occurred SpecHat h> value; NO
t Of It's gr e a fertiity or o nearness to
the city. All land now had a scarcity
value. value due to the fact that all
Of the land was privately owned.
1t rose with great rapidity. million
incoming immigrants increased the de-
mand. not only for land, but for food
rs we'll. Anu lNlS INCREASING ueilldHi
upon a limited supply affected all land
values 1t has been especially operat-
i've during the past few years Fifty
years ago land in Iowa, Illinois, Kan
sas. Nebraska and the Dakotas was
held at from SO to IS an acre Today
it is held at from 500 to $500 an acre:
The farming land in America is held
land.
This speculate tive price of land is one
explanati on of the decay of agricul-
Keep pace with our needs. the man
of average cal ital is unable to buy or
to make a living on the land at the
price which yooH he has to pay for it.
creased in value 11S per cent.
Not only is the would-be farmer ex
cluded from the land by prohibitive
acres res are held in great estat t' While
over 40O,OOO.O00 acres of land enclosed
= in farms is not under cultivation a
3l While L;so food has almost reachHd
lions Of people are herded in tenements
and about the great industries, while
hundreds of thousands Of farmers have
cent Of our 100000 farmers are ten
ants, there exists in this country land
enough. if converted into moderate
homes for at least 10000, 900 people.
50 How can idle landholding be ended
How can we limit the amount Of land
man may, own to that which he ac-
can. we break up the 200 100000 acres
held in great estates and throw open
to use the 4o0,OOO,Ooo acres enclosed
owners?
Taxation Of Land Values.
OF all the measures proposed for
- the solution, of these problems the
and most effective. 1t will do more
than all other measures combined to
create that fluidity of movement from
the city to the country and from the
country to the city that should be the
principle Of industrial efficiency and
Of industrial decomracy as we'll The
immediate e. effect feet, Of Of Increasing the
So reason why men want more land than
they can use. They are holding it
against the needs of society
This reform, known Generally as
the single tax, is comparatively easy
TO- inaugurate: 1t can be put into
effect by the legislature of any state
taxation exists. by an act which ex-
empts from local taxation all houses
barns, improvements, growing crops
20 every nature and description. By
merely exempting these kinds of prop
erty from taxation all taxes will a1l-
other taxes will be levied. AS a result
the taxes on land will be automa ticalIy
increased. And if the tax is heavy
enough it will discourage the holding
of land for any other purpose than
production.
About our cities. even in the eastern
states, millions Of acres Of land are
being held idly, indifferently, and by
INERTIA, just because it costs little tc
50 hold them. And slight increase
in the taxes on land would bring much
land onto the market, while very
small tax upon the great ranges OF
the. West would lead to their being
. broken up for the settlers.
And if the tax upon the land were
made sufficiently heavy men would
take only such land as they actually