232 THE HIGH COST OF LIVING 



their places more attractive. Just as many cities 

 seek to encourage factories in their midst by exempt- 

 ing them from taxation, so the exemption of all 

 kinds of farm improvements will lead to better 

 farms. This is one way to improve the farm and 

 a very easy way. For it is automatic in its oper- 

 ation. 



It is rather remarkable that the countries that 

 have gone furthest in the untaxing of improve- 

 ments and the taxation of land values are agricul- 

 tural states. During the ten years just before the 

 war the provinces and cities of western Canada had 

 made many experiments along these lines. Such 

 cities as Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Prince 

 Rupert, in fact, almost all of the cities west of 

 Manitoba, have taken taxes off houses and improve- 

 ments while the country districts have levied taxes 

 on unimproved and wild land to end the specula- 

 tion which prevailed. Very remarkable changes 

 followed the shifting of taxes to the land. Land 

 became cheaper as speculation was discouraged. 

 Home-ownership increased. Men built homes. 

 The towns expanded over a wider area. Free from 

 the fear of taxes, men made improvements on their 

 property. 



Influenced partly by the experience of Canada 

 the Farmers' Non-Partisan League of North Dakota 

 inserted in its platform in 1916 a declaration for the 

 exemption of farm improvements from taxation. 



