Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1921-08-31
BOSCH AND BUELL. ON KELLER BILL
Mr.. 9osch's Rejoinder

MT. s008Cux HSJoIn0er
(Which was sent to the Minnesota
Star for publication August 17th.)
Mr.. Buell. agrees that labor creates
all wealth, but denies that nothing
but labor can. be taxed. He makes, no
distinction between the levying of
taxes and the paying Of taxes, and al
80 confuses the idea Of value and
price. r.. II. Fl I'll II
The Government can levy taxes on
property, land or something else, but
it must he paid in dollars. In order
to get the dollars we must first give
an equivalent in labor value.
BY paying salaries, wages,s ETC., the
government reduces again the reven-
ne it receives to terms of labor. Now
this labor equivalent that the govern
ment absorbs, labor cannot have for
it's own use. II the government could
take the land, and use 1t piecemeal,
If one could simply hand over a por-
| ton of the so-called land values. there
would he something to Mr.. Buell's ar
| gument. AS it is labor must constant
~ create value, in order to pay taxes
ulrect anu lnQlreCt.
The price of land depends on how
many people want one particular
piece. In New York City land sells by
the square foot; in New York State
farm land is given away il one pays
for the improvements. This abnOr'
NAL condition is caused by our in
dustrial system and no system OF
taxation alone will change it.
Mr. Buell. wants me to point out
some "unearned increment" other
than land values. AS l wrote in my
first article, society collectively ere
ates the value, or rather the price Of
! land; but it also creates the demand
and the price for all professions and
vocations. OF what value would sci
ence. or art he if there were no civil
lied society? During the war period
somebody got % billions of dollars Of
whereabouts in excess profits-a sun
equal to the value of all farm land in
the United States. This sum, which
is the difference between the selling
price, or the value of labors' pro
duct, and the wages labor received, !:
an ''unearned increment" large
enough perhaps to engage Mr.. Buell.!
casual consideration. Remember tina
labor creates all wealth.
l did not mean, nor say that the
steel, coal and oil trust could breal
their land into small holdings, bu
that owners of agricultural land could
Keller himself says that only 4 pei
cent of all farms owned by landlords
will pay taxes under his bill.
/ But l repeat, that the holders of
monopoly, coal, timber, oil, etc.. car
pass on any tax except the profits
tax, because they control the output
! and the price of their product.
! The land values tax will not limit
the price which monopolist can de
mand. Our dispute is about the kel
Ter bill which will abolish the excess
profits and the corporation income
taxes. If Mr.. Buell. does not favor
the abolition of these taxes, why does
he support the Keller bill? He says
that he believes in public ownership
and that the values OF natural mono
poles are created by the people, and
morally belong to the people Then
why 20 thru tedious and makesnH'
process of taxation?
Single takers say that the land val
ues tax will hasten the development
of our natural resources, lncludlhe
| timber land. Mr. buell. says AO" IAoa
a heavy tax on stumpage value after
the trees are cut will not cause timber
to be cut any faster.
! am reminded of an old story: a
man borrowed a kettle and returned
it cracked. The owner sued for dam
ages. Said the defendants lawyer to
the Judge: "Your Honor we have
three lines of defense: first, the ket-
tie was not cracked when we return
ed it; second, it was cracked when
we got it; third, we did not borrow
it at ALL
No. Mr.. Buell., l never sold anything
to a vacant lot or any kind of lot, nor
to an unused mine or q flowing well.
Will the single tax cause an I'M
| mediate increase in population!
But enough, we will discuss In the
debate the merits of the land values
tax as embodied in the Keller Dill,
! which also abolishes the excess pro.
| fits tax.
I select Willmar as the place. We
can make arrangements by private
correspondence.
J. B. BOSCH
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