The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-01-24
FEUDALISM IN
UNITED STATES
DIR. Howe Asserts That Feudalism
Exists in This Country Similar to
That in the Greater Part of the Old
World.
FREE LAND IS ALL GONE

FREE LAND IS ALL GONE
Millions of Acres are Being Held,
Unused, by Speculators.-Higher
Taxes on Land of That Glass is the
Solution of the Problem.
"Few people realize that feudal-
ism has come into existence in the
United States similar to that which
still prevails in great part of Eur
ope, a system which up to the French
revolution was the prevailing method
of land-ownership in all European
countries"
e. 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, "The High Cost of Living"
just published by Scribners.
| DR.. Howe tells how food production
and distribution in America have fall
len under the control of wheat gamb-
lers, warehouse men, cold-storage men
packing companies and land specula-
tors with private ownership and con-
troll of the railroads, terminals and
banking facilities as other important
factors.
The Passing of the Land.
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 Amer
lean agriculture, according to DR..
Howe is the system Of land tenure.
He says:
"The free land of the West is all
gone. The inclosure of the public do
main ended the first great era Of
American history. 1t marked the close
Of an era in the history Of the world.
For the inclosure of the free land
ended the freedom of choice enjoyed
by the city worker, it ended the free
dom of choice of the would-be farm
er, in a sense it ended the freedom
Of the western world.
The Rise of Speculation.
"And when the free land was gone,
all land began to have monopoly
price, irrespective Of it's real value. It
acquired a speculative value. No
longer was land desired only because
of it's greater fertility or nearness to
the city. All land now had a scarcity
value, a value due to the fact that all
of the land was privately owned. Then
the price of land began to rise.
"It rose with great rapidity. A mill
lion incoming immigrants increased
the demand, not only for land, but for
food, as we'll. And this increasing de-
mand upon limited supply affected
all land values. It has been especially
operative during the past few years.
"Fifty years ago land in Iowa, H.
linois, Kansas, Nebraska and the Da-
kotas was held at from So to SIS an
acre. Today it is held at from $100 to
$500 an acre. The farming land in
America is held at a higher price than
it is in England.
"This speculative price Of land is
one explanation of the decay Of agri-
culture and the failure of farming to
keep pace with our needs. The man
of average capital is unable to buy
or to make living on the land at
the price which he has to pay for it.
From 1900 to 1910 farming land in
creased in value 118 per cent
The Hope in Taxes.
"About our cities, even in the east
ern states, millions of acres Of land
are being held idly, indifferently, and
by inertia, Just because it costs little
to so hold them. And slight increase
in the taxes on land would bring
much land on to the market, while a
| very small tax upon the great rang.
es of the West would lead to their
being broken up for settlers.
"And if the tax upon the land were
made sufficiently heavy, men would
take only such land as they actually
needed or as they actually worked,
| whether it was 10 acres or 100 acres.
They would pay an annual tax to the
state, not unlike the rental now paid
the landlord. But they would then be
free from all other taxes and in addi-
ton the great quantities Of land
brought on to the market would ma
terially cheaper the rental Of all
land. For as taxes on land are in
creased the price Of the land diminish
es."
BULL ASSOCIATIONS VALUABLE