The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-04-23
FARMERS WANT
SINGLE TAX LAW
National Organization Will
Urge Congress to Pass Il
Necessary Measure
PAY ON SITE VALUE,
NOT IMPROVEMENTS

lators and Relieve Actual Farm Lands
Active Propaganda to Be Started
in Near Future.
WASHINGTON, April 5233.-The Far
mers National Single Tax league has
made the announcement that it pro-
j poses to seek legislation by congress
providing for the taxation of the site
value of land (exempting improve
ments and labor values) for govern
mental revenue
According to its literature. the league
is an organization of progressive farm
ers of the United States who realize
that the present moment when the new
congress is facing the problems of re.
construction and every industry is
looking forward to an era of expansion
is an appropriate time to launch new
economic movements.
'When the American farmer, said
one of the organizers of the league
''begins to organize to put forward
some economic idea, the student of
current movements can put it down
as certain that the particular idea is
calculated to be of direct advantage to
the farmer, and, indirectly, to tho
whole country.
Among the active members and
workers in the league are William
Bouek master of the Washington STATE
Grange; Western Starr. active in the
Maryland state Grange and progressive
farmer movements; F. F. Ingram, farm
! III
w Canada of Texas, editor of tho
Southland Farmer; l.. s. Heron, edi
tor of the Nebraska Union Farmer
Vaughn Hickman, Missouri; Lyman o
Perlev, Nebraska; Col Richard Dalton
Missouri; e. w Heath, Texas, and Mrs
Mamie Schelcnberg, Oklahoma, al
farmers.
SineeS the organization of the leagu
in 1917, a general propaganda has beer
conducted among the farmers of TIL
United States with a special depart
ment IN the Farmers Open Forum, tn
monthly publication of the Farmer
National Council headquarters. Thi
] will be continued and enlarged, an,
the farmers in every state will be or
ganized around the program of tn
league to push forward single tax legis
lation on a national scale.
: A special single tax news servic
4 win be established to reach the srura
I press, and speakers viii be sent on
& to address farmer conventions an
q audiences. Statewide and local singh
1 tax campaigns will be encouraged
B where the organized farmer. an labo
n sentiment seems to justify it.
Carl Brannin, executive secretary o
q the league, stated Yesterday that tn
q American farmer has undoubtedly
8 awakened to the fact that initiate
& prices for land and land speculatio
q threaten the industry of agriculture
d as proof. he cited the recent actio
of representatives of $50, 900 organize
farmers in forming the Farmers n;
tional council at Washington to pus
through congress a broad economi
program which demands, among othe
E things. that the cost of the war sha
q be paid partially from .'taxes that wi
81 force into use unused lands and otht
8 resources now speculatively held.
& The action of the Washington Stat
Il Grange in indorsing the single tax {
q convention after. convention, and I'll
81 stand of other farm bodies for the sill
q gle tax in some form or other was ais
y cited.
4 | MI EIoTdHHlu Ndlu ttltiA tiiC k'ibl'dct
d legislation. TO be sponsored by Il
c Farmers National Single Tax leagu
t will be designed to carry out the d
y nand of the national council to NAL
,r speculative land or site values pay
large part of the cost of the wa
Rural land values have increased
least 80 per cent since 1910 and eli
land values much more. These valu
e he said, do not represent the labor
n. the individual owner, but are the I
.. suit Of growth and development of t
: community, and tho fact that land spe
= ulators are holding land out of use T
&c higher prices.
VI The plan of the league would be
ri take part, ut least, of these values
le taxation, and abolish taxes and tart
k on all labor products and neeessiti
He said this would really mean that t
average farmer would pay less tax
- because he has little site value in laI
while it would make the owners of "
liable city building sites and speculate
farm lands pay heavily or put th
land to use. Two per cent of the Pr
pie, he pointed ont. own so per cent
the site value of the land (rural a
urban) of the United States.