MAT 14, 1903
THE NEBRASKA
INDEPENDENT.
15
(Written for Henry George Edition
of The Independent)
It is often spoken of as a matter of
complaint that men's pecnniary inter
ests largely determine their attitude
towards the single tax, socialism and
changes. But that this should be so
Is as right as it is natural, and may be
claimed to arise from a kind of in
stinctive perception on the part of the
common people that any fiscal meas-,
ore which would further their inter
ests is likely to be just and right
In the nature of things injustice is for
" the benefit of the few; the many proa-
, per only by justice.
The difficulty of realizing off-hand
how very few can be the gainers even
pecuniarily by an unjust system, is
well illustrated by the great number
of farmers and wage-workers who are
led to imagine they profit by the tar
iff. But these mistaken citizens are
to be blamed, not for voting accord
ing to their supposed interests, but
for thoughtlessly accepting the dictum
of monopolists as to what their in
terests htpl The neonle are not mis
taken in assuming that whatever will
increase the general returns, for their
labor, in field and factory, in mine and
forest, at.desk andcounter and wher
ever useful service to society is ren
dered, is by that token a fair and
equitable thing to be done. But they
are constantly and systematically
misled regarding the tendency of cer
tain means as favorable or otherwise
to this end.
Those who lold to the doctrine of
Henry George that the common right
of all men to the use of the earth
should be maintained by appropriat
ing ground itnts for public purposes,
would gladly consent to put this plan
to the test of its profitableness to all
wage-workers, most capitalists and
the great majority of land owners
regarding the latter two classes of
course with reference to numbers only
and not at all to amount of posses
sions. ;
As to the first class, the landless
workingmen, probably there will be
no serious pretense from any quarter
that they would be losers by such an
Ttinn nf improvements and trod-
nets as would cneapen an aeoiww
of life, or by such a taxation of ground
values as would force into immediate
use all land now capable of yielding
ground rent and destroy all motive for
holding out of use any land not yet
so capable, v , - , t
Proceeding then to . the capitalist
class it will be necessary first to ex
plain that the word capitalist is here
used in its economic sense, of owner
of wealth used in producing or pro
curing more wealth, and not in its
popular sense of owner of monopolistic
privileges valued among the millions
of dollars. In the capitalist class,
economically speaking, would be in
cluded all owners of live stock, imple
ments, machinery, buildings and raw
materials of manufacture, from the
carpenter with his outfit of tools and
the .small farmer with his half dozen
cows, up to the proprietor of the great
mill or factory plant with employes
numbered by hundreds. Who of this
class would be losers by the removal
rf tiift hnrriensome taxes that now dis
courage the production of wealth, or
fcy the stimulation oi sucn proaueuon
through taxing into use all the lands,
mines and other natural sources of
wealth of "which society now has
need? Would the increase in wages
caused by the new demand for labor
hurt the capitalist? Certainly not;
cince the returns to true capital not
monopoly would be correspondingly
increased. True capital is but "stored
nn labor :" and its returns, whether
: in interest cn money or profits ot
trade or manufacture, always are ana
necessarily must be high or low when
and where wages are high-or low.
Would the cheapening of products
through the great increase of produc
tion injure the capitalist Obviously
not, as long as. exchange is free, and
human 'desires ;are unsatisfied. The
more "and the cheaper, the better for
alL ' l ": ' -.)'.-; .' :
The only capitalists who would lose
by the immensely increased wealth
production resulting from the single
tax would be the few who at present
enjoy special legal advantages over
their competitors, in, highway privil
eges, mine or; timber ownership, tar
iff protection and the like. These few
would lose, not: as capitalists, but ad
monopolists, to the -; general gain In
which -they! themselves would, fully
share.' U " ..T
. Finally, -who land - what proportion
the single tax? Not the modest home
owner whose house is worth twice or
thrice as much as the lot on which t
' stands, and is now taxed accordingly
fie would gain as an owner of real
estate in addition to his greater sain
as a worker. So with the working
farmer, whopo Improvements and
movable capital in most cases amount
to several times the unimproved val
ue of his land. The ordinary farmer
would gain as a taxpayer, would gain
as a capitalist tmd most of all as a
workingman; for the returns to labor
on the farm do and always must 'in
crease or decrease in direct proportion s
with the retains to labor in mill and
mine. So again we find that the only
land owners who would lose are those
few monopolists whose interests as
landlords, highway lords, coal barons,
iron kings and the like exceed all
their other worldly interests. Theif
few rule the world now through their
power to legally appropriate wealth
that other men produce, but in num
bers they are insignificant They work
their will with legislatures and courts
S 4-V a Kav 4V a ?aa fftnr
to count The people's elected repre
sentatives are their obedient servants,
but the people themselves when they
will can abolish the privileges and
end the evil domination of these in
dustrial Caesars without revolution,
without conascation, without disturb
ing reorganization of present indus
trial methods and with no curtail
ment but a vast extension of the
field of individual enterprise and
achievement
What is really expedient for the
people is right; and, conversely, what
is right is really expedient Contrary
to the ordinary opinion, the converse
is the more practical and available
form of the proposition, because while
the human intellect often fails in
judging of expediency the human con
science, however its voice may be
smothered or " falsified in verbal in
terpretation, speaks to the secret soul
the clear truth of righteousness.
GEO. B. ROUNSEVELL.
Cuba, N. Y,
I hereby offer eighty-four trillions
of dollars reward for an argument
against the single tax that was not
used with equal force and effect in
favor of African slavery. Being thor
oughly familiar with every argument
used in each case, I run no risk in
making this offer. W. H. T. Wake
field. ,vwvw,
WOMEN AND ECONOMICS
(Written for Henry George Edition
of The Independent)
The time has gone by among ra
tional people In which a woman who
Is interested in anything but embroid
ery, mending stockings or the latest
novel is "out of her sphere." The
"new. woman" Is better than the old
one and with their interest in pub
lic questions women have not lost,
but gained in womanliness.
Every girls' college has courses in
economics and women are learning
that if they would keep up with the
times at all, they must have an in
telligent opinion upon such questions
as the tariff, taxation and the func
tions of government. They must
lnow that socialists and anarchists
are not the same thing, neither are
they men who-go about the country
with a bomb in each pocket with
which to kill the government officials
should occasion offer. Intelligent wo
men, as well as intelligent men, should
know that the single tax is not a
scheme to deprive men of the land,
tut to restore it to them; that it is
not simply a rational and wise sys
tem of taxation, but a means by which
equal justice can be secured to alL
No one, either man or woman, can
live without using land, because from
it come all material things. Our food,
clothing and shelter can come only. by
applying labor to land, and women as
well as men must have these. Not
only have women the same desires and
needs as men, but they must produce
things to satisfy these desires or
accept them from others who do pro
duce them. Every woman, then,
should be a "working woman" just
as every man should be a "working
man." As has often been said, there
are but three classes of people work
ingmen, beggar-men and thieves.
If this be true and it surely is is
it not the duty of every woman to
study economics carefully and con
scientiously that she may know how
wealth is produced, why some people
have so much and others so little,
what is rightfully private property and
what is not, and other similar ques
tions? She should be able to see that
there is a reason for the large army of
the unemployed constantly menacing
the country; that with the large areas
of unimproved land everywhere about
us land waiting only for the touch of
man to bring forth enough to satisfy
the needs of every human being and
labor equally idle, begging for a
chance to work and produce wealth
she should be able to reason that
something is wrong; that there Is a
barrier in the way which must be re
moved if we would prevent the great
poverty and destitution everywhere
about us.
Women are said to be more tender
hearted than men, jet the majority
of them' are satisfied with giTini their
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i3o9 0 STREET, LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
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J. L. STEPHENS, PRESIDENT
$15.00 To Billings.
$20.00 Butte, Helena, Salt Lake and Ogden.
$22.50 To Spokane.
Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco and
Los Angeles, via the Burlington daily until June
15th, 1903.
4
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City Tickit Office
Cor Tenth and O Streats
Telephone No. 235
Burlington Depot
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Tel. Burlington 1290.
May Tours to California
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old clothes to those in want or In be
longing to various relief societies. Can
they not see that charity not only
does not abolish poverty, but increasea
it?
Free the land and thus make it
possible for everyone to earn a gool
living and charity organizations will
die a natural death. .
Under free conditions women need
not marry for a home, but will be able
to support themselves. Wives are to
day virtual slave's to their husbands
because they are not financially inde-
pendent A large number of women
are dependent upon some man for sup
port, a condition which is degrading
to both parties.
What we want, and what we must
have If we would save our country
from destruction, Is a clear under
standing of human rights and equal
justice, for women as well as for
men. We must not only believe, but
obey the law of equal freedom which
makes no distinction with regard to
sex, color or nationality. Every hu
man being has the same rights as ev
ery other human being and one of
these rights is to the use of land be
cause of our equal right to life and
the necessity of land to life. '
Let women, then, study social rees
tions seriously for their future 'wel
fare depends upon the right solution
of them. '
FLORENCE A. BURLEIGH. f
Germantown, Pa. V ; ' i-
We preach a religion sublime, we
practice a religion condoning injus
tice and fraud, then we pray for the
coming of the Uajcdoxa-Slficle Tax
-Paster. - -
GONCKBXIKO MINISTERS
(Written for Henry George Edition
of The Independent)
Having been a minister since 1886
and a single taxer since 1887, permit
me to say a few words about the ef
fect the single tax will have on the
ministers whose general conduct 1
have watched more closely for some
time.
The application of the single tax
will remove from their path along
with many other temptations, com
mon to all men under present con
ditionsthe temptation either to
keep silent or to take the side of the
rich and mighty on the great moral
political questions that arise from
time to time a temptation to which
so many now succumb.
Being like the rest of men econ
omically ' independent they ' will not '
act cowards or traitors for fear of
losing their positions. , , j - .
Characteristic of the present state
of affairs is the counsel I once re
ceived from arold, experienced and;
"successful" member- of the minis-
terial profession. Said he: "If you ;
want to be a successful minister, yoti
must leave reforms severely alone",
an eminently sound advice,, which, by,
the way, I have not followed.
. , ; m AUGUST DELLGREN.
Minneapoln, Minn. ; -
, ,1
It Is estimated that the cost of as
sessing and collecting the single tax
would cot exceed one-fourth of one
per cent, but the cost under the prea
ent system exceeds twenty per cent.
This saving would far store than sup
port public schools. W. IL T. W.
