THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
NOVEMBER 26, 1903.
The. Philosophy of Freedom
An Open Forum for Single Taxcrs
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THE MASSACHUSETTS SINGLE
TAX LEAGUE.
The , Massachusetts Single Tax
-league held its annual meeting" and
dinner at Tremont Temple, Boston,
' November 9, and elected the following
officers:
President, C. B. fillebrown; treas
urer, J. B. Willis;' secretary, Mrs. Jane
D. Mills; executive committee, Will
iam K. Peabody, Q. A. Lolhropi, Mrs.
Eliza Stowe Twitchell, W.'C. Colby,
Samuel Brazier and W. S. Crossrmin.
Alter a number of speeches, a bomb
shell was thrown into the meeting by
the introduction of the following res
olution: ,"lt is hereby reaffirmed ' that the
purpose of the Massachusetts Single
Tax league is (1) to promote an un
derstanding of the single tax as a plan
"which Henry George put into, practi
cal form In the proposition 'to abolish
all taxation save that upon laud val
ues,' and (2) to show, as proposed by
,s Mr. Post, 'the wisdom and the justice
! of applying land values to common
use, bo far as they will go, or so much
of them as may be needed for. the just
requirements of economical govern
ment.' It is further affirmed that any
contention or vote as to the right or
wrong of private property In land is
foreign to the purpose of the league."
President Fillebrown threatened to
resign if it were not passed. Then
the war began. Samuel Brazier, Q. A.
Lothrop and others opposed, but, af
- tor striking out the words "conten
uon or, me resolution passed by a
vote of 35 to 7.
President Fillebrown's address,
which follows, will give some idea of
fha fri''m 1 .-1 Via in1nL, nnirnn i ti V. -4
vate ownership of land:
- "Few people know of the distinc
tions made by Henry George and po
litical economy and the law between
Urivatfl lirnnortv In lnl nnrl nrlvalo
property in the things produced by la
bor, or between the private ownership
of land, and the private possession of
land; therefore, if you say that pri
vate property in land is unjust, or
that private ownership of land is un
just, the tendency is to close the mind
to further consideration of a state
ment which they are not qualified to
understand. One may attack with vig
or the private appropriation of ground
. rent (what land is worth for use),
and bo easily understood, while' an at-
inoix. Uivu lHaic UWlUJIBUip 111 . litUU
is very, apt to be misunderstood. 'Able
'men sometimes assert that the end In
view of -the single tax movement is
the complete subversion and over
tnrow of the", institution of "private
property in land. Five minutes of
such talk from one such man will do
, more damage than can bo repaired in
a long time, and all on account of a
, conf usjpn of ideas which seems un
necessary. This confusion arises
partly from a lack of clear under
standing, as to the meaning of terms,
but largely from applying to land the
tneory of ownership which in law ap
plies only to personal property. ,
"Coming to an analysis of the dif
ferent term3, possession, ownership
and property, used in describing the
tenure of land, we find that while not
synonymous, these definitions are of
ten used interchcangeably. The 'pos
session' of the dictionaries does not
always imply ownership; but posses
sion does imply that same physical
uuuijiuuij wuicn ot;iongs oi ngnt to
ownership, which right the legal own
ership grants and conveys. Henry
George's proposition was " to leave
owners in possession of land, and to
accord to that possession this legal
right of physical dominion by means
of a broad definition of the word
made to Include the right 'to buy and
pell and bequeath and devise. a right
universally granted to ownership and
"A land title is a title to the rights
and privileges which constitute its
value, and which, largely at least, are
the creation of labor. Title to the land
Itself, whether Its value la one dollar
or a million dollars, is necessary to
necurlty of Improvcmenta, Title to
the annual value of land tground
DON'T READ THIS
S'evetOuleM I! nT ! l four tariff) I.
At TINE WIHH.l JNCJ till i. II tMrorn,
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ALPIIiE MEDICAL GO,,
1,138 Myrtle Ar, llrooklyrt, N. V.
rent) is not necessary fo the security
of improvements, which would be
equally secure whether one-quarter
or three-quarters of ground rent be
taken in taxation. The dictionaries do
not include land value in their defini
tion of land,. Land itself,, deprived of
the rights and privileges ' pertaining
thereto (that is, land with the ninety
nine years' restriction of a tight and
high board fence around.it) has no
market value. The value of land Is
in large part created by the tributary
surroundings which are provided
through taxation, and hence such val
ue i3 largely the product of the labor
of the community as represented In
its public and quasi-public outlays. A
man who owns land" dwns the soil,
which of itself has little or no value,
and he owns every right and privil
ege, fee, title, etc., pertaining to the
land from zenith to earth's center ex
clusive and absolute as against any
otner individual, but qualified,. and
conditional as against the community.
"Private ownership of land 'may be
defined as that proprietorship Of the
rights and privileges pertaining to the
situation which extends to the exclu
sion of all other persons (person be
ing limited "in -law , to 'an individual,
or a body corporate, other than the
state'),' but" subject always to the
claims of the' community to its share
In the value of those rights and priv
ileges, so far' as that, value is a social
product, the same to be asserted and
maintained by means of the sovereign
power of taxation. .
"Property in. land; ' ownership of
land, in law, means tenure, holding,
jight of possession (subject to the sov
ereign right of taxation) and no more.
The owner can have no more enjoy
ment 6f theso rights than can the
possessor, as' defined by Henry George.
Either must have an exclusive enjoy
ment (proprietorship) in the benefits
of which no one else can share except
through the agency of taxation. The
rights of the public are the same un
der either definition.
"If, under the single tax. landown
ers should be allowed to retain a small
percentage of rent, there is no moral
difference whether such privilege at
tach to their ownership or to their
possession, for in either case there is
no recognition of the right of the
private appropriation of ground rent,
no compromise with any wrong' at
tendant upon ownership that does not
attend alike upon- possession.-
It is not individual proprietorship
of land, but the private appropria
tion of ground rent, which is charged
with maintaining Industrial slavery.
True it is that under present condi
tions 'when land value is made pri
vate property the law of equal ' free
dom is denied,' but under the single
tax this would not be true. Any de
gree of justice or injustice, with the
single tax or .without, would be ex
actly the same whether, the tenure
be called property, ownership or pos
session. iJ, What practical difference
then does it make, whether . the tenure
be called, by one name or the other?
The private property in land of which
Herbert Spencer and Henry George
treated was the untaxed ownership of
our day and generation with its pri
vate appropriation of ground rent. It
is confidently asserted, as shown by
the context, that when Henry George
said 'private property in land was
unjust' he must have meant private
property In land values.
It. Is sometimes said that if land
owners can rightfully claim owner
ship they are entitled to all the ground
rent; that the common right to land,
and the common right to rent, go to
gether. How can this bo true, when,
under the land tenure of today, which
is that of ownership, no one claims
that the landowners of Boston are en
titled to all the ground rent, but only
to that part which la not taken In
ixatlon. Their own claim falls
short of 'all' by the SS.&00.000 now
yielded up In taxation. In case the
demand of taxation should be twice
as great, would they bo any more than
now entitled to all? It la not easy to
see how ownership can rightfully car
ry with It tho private appropriation
of ground rent, because thtre has
never been a denial, but there alway
his beeu a recognition, of the sov
ereign power and right to tax tho
land. Private ownership to land la no
Injustice to anybody today, nor has It
hern at any time. The untaxed pri
vate ownership of land value as It cx-
Uta ttHiiiy I unjiiMt. Thlt does not
mean that th ownership t unjtut,
Mil that tut to tax It is unjust. An
aUulut ownmhlp In laud, such as
U Ihrnrrtlt ally revoRnUed in th prod,
u u of lalor, would b unjust, but no
uh 'absolutw ownership of Und I
rH-CKMie! In the law iHmkn.' Its
tcuur Is always subject to taxation,
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We will deliver the following $10.00 combination to any towns
in the state of Nebraska, freight prepaid by us, any time during the
month of December, 19C& Reference: First National Bank or The
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i lb Fancy Mixed Candy .50
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5 lbs Fancy Bulk Currants 50
1 lb Bakers Chocolate ;50
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C lbs Choice: Prunes. 50
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4 lbs Fancy Nectarines ,, .'50
4 lbs Fancy Muer Peaches , 50
0 lbs Fancy Japan Head Rice............. r.0
z ans lu oz. uream Tartar Jtiaking Powder. . . .
3 Packages 10c Baking Soda.
3 Packages 10c Corn Starch ', . .
3 Packages 10c Gloss Starch. . . . . .
1 lb Pure Black Pepper. ..................... ,25
12 bars Good Laundry Soap .50
3 Bars 10c Rising Sun Stove Polish !25
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emerlng Lincoln add 75 cents to pay part of Irelght.
Branch & Miller Co.
Box 29C2. Cof. lOtn & P. St.,' Lincoln, Neb. What we ad vertise we do
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HOMESEEKERS' EXCURSION.
- One Fare Plus. Two Dollars
For Round Trip.
Dates cf Sale November 3rd and 17th.
To Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Canadian Northwest, many points in Nebraska. North
and routh Dakota, including Uonesteel. Keturn limit 21 days.
Address
mgr-R. W. McGinnis,
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and tothe superior, right of eminent
domafn. Feudal tenure would seem
to have been a rude recognition of .the
principle that the beneficiaries of a
government should pay the expenses
of government.
"Henry George said himself that
the state might confiscate private
property in land, but it was needless,
and should be avoided, because the
injustice (hedoes not say the owner
ship) could be abolished in a simpler
and easier way, by confiscating (tax
ing into the treasury) the rent of land.
'It is not necessary,' he says, 'to con
fiscate land; It is only necessary to
confiscate rent.' And again, 'people
are led into confusion by assuming
that we propose to take land from its
owners.' What people need to see In
order to Incline them to the single
tax is not so much 'the wrong of pri
vate ownership,' a phrase which often
both violates and confuses their moral
sense; but 'the wrong of the private
appropriation of ground rent,' a
phrase which does neither.
"Inasmuch, therefore, as the opera
tion and efficiency of the single tax
would be tho -same under either of
these three names or forms of land
tenure, cannot single taxers well afford
to disregard this point upon which
they themselves a3 well as others arc
disagreed, and unite upon a declara
tion of purpose in which all may bo
agreed?"
4 lWrg Alryi, 1.1. coin, N
trak NuTK'K
In tht Mtr1rl Court of I.nrtrr County, Ne
lrW. In 1 In usuttrrof ll i Iudkc of name
ofllfiiry tifrUfJuim-n.
NotW l hrrrl'y f Wen tht I hare fUH rl
Utintnthv iltMrL i rourl of I nm irr tmui'y
Nvl'rk, 1 rttyln ttwtt my rtin l rtmnj-cl
from "Ilcfuy ticrljijnrn," lo "Henry Jvhn
. ' for Hi tbt il nm "i ririn-
irn" I immlly mliritf"rnrl aixt m mi
tr'llfl. Hint n h h( lltnit HA ml rTnnin
rliUn h'Nl l.trnut c'tifiititii, rin)rrmii nt
nl Inroumti-nrr, Iht rityrr l Ih -iltlon
li Ihftl Ut wawt Up rhtnf-l t.i Ilrnry Jihnm,
UKNHY.IHIJrJAS"fcN.
Tht vote In the Fifteenth Judicial
dlitrlct wai at followi:
Writ ove r, ipuUt 6.t'
Harrington, tpnlUt ,
KUher, republican ,,.,.,........r.m
Willi, rrpublKan 5,305
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$1 Bromo Seltzer "Do
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61 Dix Tonic Tablets. . '79c
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ratronlie our d?rrtlir.
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