NATURAL TAXATION OF TIMBERED MINING LAND 411 



not only prevent unnecessary deforesta- 

 tion and the hogoring- of ore bodies ; but 

 through their hindrance to land specu- 

 lation would tend to raise competitive 

 wages and to give the small operator a 

 more equal chance with the trust. As 

 shown in my article in the Chicago Pub- 

 lic for April 24, 1908, the general effect 

 of the natural tax would be to increase 

 the incomes of the poor from the present 

 privileges of the rich ; while leaving the 

 middle class unaft'ected in their incomes 

 from privilege, but benefited in their 

 earnings as salaried workers. These ef- 

 fects would be soon produced by the 



outlined reforms in the lumber and min- 

 ing industries. 



In the United States, we have the 

 curious spectacle of the most scientific 

 people in wealth production, lagging 

 far behind much younger nations in 

 applying science to wealth distribution. 

 This is due not only to the entrench- 

 ment of vested wrong behind compli- 

 cated legal barriers, but also to the 

 hetereogenity of the population and to 

 the fact that its dominant native element 

 is still too blinded by the extreme in- 

 dividualism of a recent pioneer life to 

 be fully alive to communal interests and 

 rights. 



Shore Line of Moss Lake 



