SEPTEMBER 29,. 1904
PAGE G.
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
The Philosophy of Freedom
An Open Forum for Single Taxers
The Bea.st and His Burden
Kresh from his valet, breathing forth
perfume,
Swathed in the softest product of the
loom,
Full-fed and arrogant; the beggar rede
And cursed the laboring beast which
. ' he bestrode.
A pleasant beggar he, who asked mere
, mites,
guch as Possession of the Public
Rights,
Franchises, Rights of Way, and title
deeds
To profit by our children's child; en's
needs.
Another leaped upon the laboring
beast
Which faltered as he felt the load in
creased. The beggar burned with wraib, but
: found relief
To see it was his trusted friend, the
thief,
A man to scale a congress, tie the
hands
And gag the tongues, while forcing his
demands
For booty and for. bounty. Yet so wise
A cracksman he, he puts it in t'.ie guise
Of benefit to others, so that we
Snatch off our hats to; him and bow
the knee. .
But now the beast, by some strange
impulse fired,
Cried out: "Get off my back, for 1 am
tired.
I want to roll upon the earth. I need
To rest a little and I want more feed."
"Beast!" cvle?Mbs r&caS.etiiAtam
witn. nv
"We only ridt t
Did we ' not i
feoad.
p keep, you in ihc road,
le and feed ycu, you
would ifider
And starve tc
yonder.'
feath out in the grasses
"Ass!" cried!; the thief "are you too
blind -1 ape,
'Tis not you'j f ulgar strength ; which
carries nae, , - . ' .
But I supporfjypu by this tigbt-diawn
. rein? U ,. - . '
And I aia alEfit weary of the; strain,
So if you hfnh pain you want to slop,
I swear I'll rile the rein and let you
drop." j
"he lahfrrinir beast crifid nut In great.
r
grayed IdiBf thief to keep a steady
art.., fin -' "'..:- v- . ' ...
1 heRieeps his patient weary
Ne thief and beggar calmly
"imund Vance Cooke.
the blackboard, and prove the demon
stration." ' .
"Thet's easy, mister, mighty durned
easy. - What's tuet you ve got your
nand on?"
"My watch chain," I replied, a kttle
nuzzled.
"Where did yer get it?-'
All bartenders are inclined to be im
pudent, or, as they themselves would
term it, "fresh," if you allow item lib
erties; but I knew that Sam had some
object in view, so I answered, "At
the jeweler's."
"Where did he get it?"
' "At the manufacturer's."
"Where did the factory get the
gold?"
"Well, I suppose you want to know
where the gold comes from, eh?"
"Just so. From the mines, from the
earth," said Sam.
"You are right."
"Where did yer hat come from?
Where did yer clothes come frcia?'
"Hold on, Sara. My clotnes tauie
from sheen."
"Thet's so: but where did the fetuff
that made the wool grow coma from?"
"The grass that grew in the pas
ture, I suppose."
"Ves; it also came from the earth.
Where did yer shoes come from?"
"Earth," he said, answering his own
query. "Where did yer stockings come
from?" "Earth," he repeated. ' Where
does yer food come from?" "Earth.
Now, yer see, the fellow thet owns der
earth owns the base of supplies, as we
used ter say in der army; and it we
could, catch onier dr enemy's base of
Sl'JUe54 jffiOQld, JtAier enem was
otirs'widout anymore fighting, cause,
scon as they used up what they had
they would starve, unless they came
to us as prisoners of war. Now ihcn,
mister, a few men a mighty few own
the United States and the earth, the
base of supplies fer the hull of us.
Thet's the reason we are prisoners of
war! Thet's the reason we are slaves!
Thet's the reason I tend bar! Thet's
the reason them fellers live all their
lives under ground, piling up money
fer you fellers, see?" -
c
SUPPLIES.
' There, is a
i Lincoln street
ayrt ill a ,m-."i
ges. Most
lucticn
;ng ihem,
:k. He
;ake
Louis F. Post, in his work on the
land question, brings the same subject
into bold relief from a slightly differ
ent poin of view. After showing, that
all wealth comes from the land, some
what as S'am has done above, he fol
lows with this unanswerable conclu
sion: Therefore, If there be an inequit
able distribution of wealthif farmers,
miners and workers are poorly clad
and underfed, while some have more
than they could possibly produce in a
whole life-time if there be an inequit
able distribution of the products of la
bor, it must be because labor is not
free, or land is not free. Labor , is
free. 'Slavery has been abolisrovi. Men
have the legal right to work wnsn or
tor whom they will. But while labor
is free, land is not, and it is growing
less so every year. The higher its
price, the harder it is to obtain and
the fewer who can get it." The more
Mandless workers there are, the more
And the lower the wages the
the purchasing power and the
the market for farm and-for
to the land, no man
t than he couid pro-
land within his
be like that
To me It
farmer,
-earner
their
.to
misery and economic condition of the
world as natural. I could not account
for ft, and I thought that there could
not be any God or anything but mere
chance, for no loving God would have
aranged things here On earth in ouch
a way as to cause suffering and w:ant
in the very midst of plenty. Henry
George has shown to me a new light.
He has set forth in the clearest and
most comprehensive manner that God
or whatever you may call that Immeas
urable Something, has established wc&t
perfect laws for the conduct of ah hu
man affairs. I now see that adhtitnce
o these laws will effect a most equit
able and just distribution of wealth a
complete opportunity for the happi
ness of rvery living thing. I now see
that vhat I thought was mere chance,
or if (hif .was a God, then of his
lack of human interest in this world,
has been purely the result of man's
stupidity and indifference tc natural
law. 11 :s this truth that hi3 been
awakened in me by Henry Geoe, and
this ti.ith has aroused in nic a re
ligious Jaith that I thought had been
forever -usu.'u out of me."
Yes, man has defended his stupidity
on the ground that poverty and misery
were natural and necessary to pre
pare us "tor mansions In the skies."
Many a poor, unenlightened wretch
has reconciled himself to the thought
that earned here the things that would
conduce to his best happiness, he would
secure them there. And pricstciatt,
itself foregoing nothing to further its
earthly happiness, has encouraged this
monstrous idea in the minds of de
votees. But the truth is dawning
(slowly, but none the less sureiyj that
such is not true, and that it has been
told only to deceive.
The doctrine that "The poor ye have
always with you," construing that doc
trine. as a decree of the all-father, is
a blasphemous doctrine. It has ciriv-
peoif"as my friend, from the whole
consideration of religion in any phase.
It has aroused in them only a con
tempt for a god that would so decree.
And it ought to so arouse contempt.
No one can gain perpetual Dliss by
denying the full demands of his nor
mal nature here. Nature's compensa
tions are always complete. She metes
good for good and ill for ill at the
moment of their commission. She can
not be denied. The commission of
every act adds to or detracts from the
building of character, and character is
life. It Is character that makes per
petual life wholly desirable. There is
no postponement.- . -
In the last analysis the philosophy
of Henry George is simply a demand
that the folly of man be superceded by
the wisdom of God. That if man would
but remove his grip, fortified by stat
ute law, then natural law wouid freely
operate to bring peace and pisnty and
happiness into the world.
' L. J. QUINBY,
. Associate Editor. -
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Detroit News: Every one of these
taxes (on commodities and buildings)
the ostensible tax payer the" men on
the assessor's books shifts to other
shoulders. . The only tax he canj?ot
shift is the..jtax on land values.
Journal of the Knights of Labor:
The underlying principle of the sinele
lajaiUuttiU bftiun Kii.eq iially ,. to
an, ana mat me uesi way to secure
substantial justice Is to tax the occu
pant fcn amount equal to the yearly
value of the land is sound.
Vec
Sicts.
V
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St. Louis Chronicle: The products
of Individual industry should remain
at all times untaxed. Take the annual
value of land without regard for Im
provements, no matter what It amounts
to. The community could put this
fund to better uses than the individual
landlords.
New York World: One of the per
anent obstacles to the growth and
mrement of cities Is the man who
nd and holds it for a rise.
uillcy In taxation (should
against keeping lota vacant,
it diWH against Improve
The
dls-
on : Whenever there
y uncultivated land
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