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VOL. IV. NO. 5. % BRASKraY , . . , NEBRASKA " . , AUGUST 8,1901. SINGLE COPIES , 5 CENTS.
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PUBLISHED WEEKLY.
OFFICES : OVERLAND THEATRE BLOCK.
J. STERLING MORTON , EDITOR.
A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE DISCUSSION
Or POLITICAL , ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL
QUESTIONS.
CIRCULATION THIS WEEK , 13,500 COPIES.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.
One dollar and a half per year in advance ,
postpaid to any part of the United States or
Canada. Remittances made payable to The
Morton Printing Company.
Address , THE CONSERVATIVE , Nebraska
City , Nebraska.
Advertising rates made known upon appli
cation.
Entered at the postofflce at Nebraska City ,
Neb. , as Second Class matter , July 29 , 1898.
THE SINGLE TAX : IS IT PRACTI
CABLE ?
THE CONSERVATIVE :
I have read with interest the articles
which from time to time have appeared
in your journal on the sub
ject of the single tax. I hpd the
pleasure of an acquaintance with Henry
George , and have read his books , and
most of his other papers , but while I ad
mired his sincerity and philanthropy ,
his vigorous composition and clear con
ception of economic tendencies , for
reasons which will appear * hereafter , I
was not satisfied that the remedy pro
posed by him would be an efficient cure
for the evils of which he complained as
resulting from those tendencies.
The theory of the single tax , as stated
by Mr. George , is based upon thefollow- ,
iug historical and economic facts. In
the beginning of the human race , land
as distinct from the improvements
placed thereon , had no value. With the
growth of population and development
of society it acquired a certain value de
rived from its location and character as
related to the wants of the different
members of a community ; and the pos
session therefore of any part thereof by
an individual , had some of the elements
of monopoly. As society increased and
wants multiplied , this monopoly value
also constantly increased ; and has been
steadily increasing from an early period
of human existence. This increase in
value through growth in population is
called the increased increment. The
value of the land , separate from its im
provements , Mr. George called the land
value. In other words , it is the com
mercial value of the land , which , he
" . a Jf *
claims , 1iftsbeen entirely created by so
ciety , and which , in.the ultimate analy
sis of right , shotQd/properly belong to
society.
Again , under an economic law , first
clearly stated by Richards early in the
last century , contrary to the usual rule ,
the burden of taxation falls ultimately
not upon the tenant but upon the land
lords. The reason given , is as follows :
The mass of laboring men are com
pelled to work for a mere subsistence.
The landlord charges as rent the full
product of the-land above this , sub
sistence. If therefore the tax is added
to the rent , where the land is not all oc
cupied , the tenant seeks another locality ;
if all the land is occupied , the increased
rent so encroaches upon subsistence that
the tenant cannot pay it. This explains
the tendency of population to spread
from 'the most favorable locations. As
the value of the land increases in such
locations , population spreads to other
places where the conditions are more
favorable. The same principle prevails
when the proprietor occupies the land.
The land value is the rental value. If
a tax is levied upon the land , the portion
tion of the product necessary to sub
sistence is not changed , and the tax
therefore comes out of what would
otherwise be the rent.
While the tax upon land ultimately
is borne by the landlord , or where there
is no tenant , by the owner , a tax upon
personal property , the chief factor of
which is labor , falls finally upon the
consumer , which means upon the labor
ing classes , who constitute the mass of
population. Ifthereforea personal prop
erty should be relieved from taxation ,
and a single tax sufficiently high to ex
tinguish the commercial value of land
separate from its improvements , should
be leviedseveral consequences would re
sult. First , labor would be relieved
from taxation and receive a larger pro
portion of the common product of labor
and capital. Second , indirectly , the
actual property in land , would revert to
society , and become the common herit
age of the human race , for whom it was
originally intended , and from which ul
timately , its subsistence must be de
rived.
Omitting consideration of the purely
hypothetic conclusionsthat a single tax
upon land would support the govern
ment , or that it would furnish more
than a support therefor , or if there was
a balance after supporting it , what
application should be made thereof ? I
come directly to the question. Is the
proposed remedy practicable ?
1. After some practical experience in
connection with the subject , I know but
one method of collecting taxes upon
laud. The assessors or other proper of
ficers of the community or county , visit
and fix the commercial value of every
piece of land within their jurisdiction.
The financial officers of the community
or county , having made an estimate of
the expenses of the government to which
they are applicable , then settle the ratio
of taxation to valuation. If this ratio
is fixed so high as to wipe out the land
value , or in other words , its commercial
value , what basis have we for any future
valuation ? With the commercial value ,
has departed the basis for future taxa
tion , and we are left subject to the
arbitrary impositions of the assessors.
The capacity and intelligence of these
officers are certainly not superior to
those of their fellow citizens , and as all
government depends upon power to con
trol the property of its subjects through
taxation , the complicated interests ,
rights and liberties of society would be
turned over to the arbitrary disposition
of ignorance and incapacity , and too
often , of dishonesty. This would be
socialism in its most vicious and despotic
form.
2. Present social conditions have been
the result of an evolution which has
been going on since the beginning of the
human race ; and the right of property
in land has been recognize in all civi
lized society for many hundreds of
years. Custom and habit are difficult
obstacles to overcome. In this country
probably a majority in value of the set
tled lands has changed hands by pur
chase during every generation and at least
nine-tenths of them have changed dur
ing a century. To the purchaser they
have represented and do represent , not
unearned increment , but the actual
earnings of labor. The social reformer ,
in the midst of his exalted purposes ,
may not be expected to consider the
moral consequences of his measures ,
but we may rest assured that all owners
of land would violently oppose such
wholesale confiscation , and that they
would have sufficient support from the
lovers of good order and good morals to
constitute with them a majority.
While the single tax as a remedy , is
thus , self-destructive , it does not follow
that the economic tendencies pointed
out by Mr. George are false. A disease
is one thing , the remedy for it is another.
