Evening star., 1926-09-01
LAND VALUE TAX|NG|
FOR FARMS URGED.
Unique Plan Proposed to
Help Grower Help Himself
Out of Present MuddIe.
BY j. C. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK, September 1.-Finan
ciers and business men who recognize
the fact that the farmer represents a
tremendous part OF the buying power
Of the United States and that his con-
dition affects every other line Of COM
merce and industry, have determined
not to help the farmer, but to help the
farmer help himself.
They hope to do this through the
medium of an organization called the
American Association Of Scientific
Taxation, just organized, but already
numbering among its members some
Of the most influential business men
Of the country. These men hold that
the farmer is being taxed to death. and
that to a certain degree it is his own
fault, since he has voted a lot Of de-
structive taxes on himself. They as
sert that the tariff is unable to help
him materially, in view Of protection
afforded things he must buy, but that
real relief can come from readjust-
ment Of State taxes, which. in the
main, the farmer has voted upon him.
self.
Tax on Location Value.
Readjustment and relief, they assert,
can come through the taxation on To-
cation value of Land rather than on
it's labor value. Charles T. Root,
economist and publisher, who is promi-
nent in the new organization, explains
It's policy as follows:
1T is vital that the farmer be given
substantial relief else the purchasing
power OF the Nation will receive a
Jolt that will be felt in our industrial
and manufacturing centers. The
American farmer Is the great market
for American merchandise. In every
State taxes today are levied on evil
dences Of the farmers labor. If he
has better bred cattle, better build
ings, better fertilized fields. better
fences-all evidences Of his own labor
his taxes are higher. In the cities.
on the other hand, these forms Of
unscientific taxation do not bear so
heavily
"The value Of the farm depends
on Its fertility and the farmers labor.
The value of city land is In value
Of location. The owner Of a city lot
can and often does let it lie year
after year in weeds and tin cans and
yet 1t goes up and up in value with
out a stroke Of work being applied
to it. Thus the same tax system
which piles taxes on the farmer by
reason Of his labor on his farm places
a. premium on the vacant or made
quately improved city land
City Owners Exempted.
Mr.. Root pointed out in this con-
nection that pavements. sewers. water
mains and other improvements had
been made available to 700 miles OF
unimproved property in Greater New
York. the most congested city OF the
country.
This means" he continued. that
farmers are paying in taxes on their
labor a sum which Is being exempted
to city land owners who put no labor
into their vacant lots. The last census
gives the value Of all farm property,
machinery, buildings, live stock and
lands as $4,000, 900, 900. Most OF this
is pure labor value. The value OF the
raw farm Is only 10 to 20 per cent Of
the whole, SO that it Is conservative to
say that the farmers of the United
States are paying taxes on about $780,
900 ,OOO, 900 annually on their own Ia
Dor and to their own States. This Is
no small item in the farmers pros
perity or their purchasing power. The
cities are getting an unfair advantage.
Untaxing Is Proposed.
",rhe quickest and surest way to
helm the farm situation is to make the
farmer more prosperous by untaxing
him. The cities and the manufactur-
ing centers should lead In the move to
untax the farmer in the various
States. for if they do not the purchas-
ing power Of nearly half our popula-
ton will shrink and prosperity of
business and industry will shrink with
it,
Prof Irving Fisher. head Of the de-
partment Of economics of Yale Uni
versity. heartily indorses the prin-
ciples of land value taxation outlined
II Pnnt