136 AMERICAN FARMS. 



force in America, is something far more to be feared 

 than any danger from landlordism. Under it are being 

 destroyed our " best crops of men " — our small land pro- 

 prietors, — a trouble that would not abate one iota under 

 the single-tax regime. 



Mr. George's remedy would relieve the " bonanza fac- 

 tories " of farm produce in the great West from taxes, 

 for he says : " To put taxation solely upon land values 

 would shift the weight of taxation from the sparsely set- 

 tled agricultural districts to those populous centres where 

 land has a real and a high value. As it would destroy 

 the speculative value of land, the result would be that 

 many farmers would have no taxes at all to pay ; for, no 

 matter what might be the value of his improvements, no 

 farmer would have more taxes to pay than could be col- 

 lected from unimproved land equal to his own in quality 

 and situation." 



On the other hand, the advocates of the single-tax 

 claim that one of their aims is to make the great unoccu- 

 pied lands in the hands of the capitalists cheap by taxing 

 them, in order that men of small means may obtain them. 

 I think the result would be more likely in the direc- 

 tion of making them bonanza agricultural estates, and 

 thus increase competition in agriculture. 



The single-tax theory abounds with contradictions, but 

 at best it has nothing to offer for the relief of the small 

 farmer. The great aim of the single-tax advocate is to 

 bring about a greater equality in the distribution of wealth 

 among men. It might have a levelling tendency in some 

 instances, but in others it would have just the opposite 

 effect. We will suppose the case of two farms of equal 

 size and natural value, and each paying the same heavy 

 tax : the owner of the one having capital to procure 



