courage speculation. In land by tax
ing to the limit the hardworking men
who produce the wealth.
This process limits the production
of wealth. It decreases wages. It de
creases the returntcrcapitaL It makes
poverty perpetual amid abound
ing wealth. It makes business de
pressions, bankrupt merchants and
manufacturers and broken banks.
It makes business and wealth pro
duction a war for opportunity. It
builds prisons and poorhouses and
produces hatred and crime among
men where there should be nothing
but good feeling and love.
But the landowners who build flats
are not alone to blame. The great
majority of them are the victims of a
vicious system of landowning and
taxation that fines a man for im
proving his land and pats him on the
back if he holds it out of use and un
improved. Landowners who improve
have less chances to dodge their
taxes than those whose wealth is con
cealed in the form of money, bonds,
stock, notes and mortgages and other
forms of securities. But there is no
question but that the law gives the
house owner a great advantage over
the tenant And there is no ques
tion but that the people of the repub
lic are rapidly becoming a nation of
many tenants and few landlords.
But the remedy lies not in despis
ing those who take advantage of the
laws as they exist We should not
hate anybody or despise any one".
If sentiment is to cut any figure in
the problem it should be pity that the
people whq have the power to change
and abolish laws and to thus make
better conditions are so ignorant and
conservative that they will not avail
themselves of the opportunity to get
knowledge so they can use their
power.
The remedy is simple. Make all
the people landowners and all the
people tenants. Make the holding of
land depend upon its being put to its
best use. This can be done by abol
ishing all taxes upon everything pro-1
duced by human labor and collecting
all public revenues from the value of
the bare land irrespective of im
provements. George V. Wells.
A SIMPLE TRUTH. The last
paragraph of A. E. Massey's reply to
Mr. C. P. Hunt, which appeared in
your issue of the 9th, contains a
simple truth.
A landlord loans land and collects
"interest" which he calls "rent"
The capitalist loans the tools of
production and distribution and col
lects "interest" which he calls
"profit."
The banker loans the people their
own collective wealth and collects
"tribute" which he calls "interest"
Rent interest and profit the trinity
of exploitation. Will some single "tax
er explain when exploitation "is not"
exploitation?
Christ said : "Either make the tree
good, and his fruit good; or else
make the tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt; for the tree is known by his
fruit" The single tax at bst is but
a reform. And Christ, replying to
the reformer of his day, said: "Low
I know thy works, thou art neither
hot nor cold and he spewed him out
of his mouth." J. M. W.
THE HIGHEST EXPLOSIVE.
The most deadly explosive the United
States has sold the allies in the pres
ent war is Tipperary, an American
invention. Scotchman, Welshman
and Englishman said: "Come on
Irishman and help." But Pat said
no, he wanted to see Englishman
licked. But after he sang Tipperary
he decided he was like the woman
who was urged to get a divorce. She
decided she would rather stay and
live with the devil sh"e did know than
to divorcattfp and live with the devil
she did nrknow. Allen Steven,
2538 N. California Av.
o o
The turning point is reached with
lots of guys when a pretty dame
passes.
s 1