146 AMERICAN FARMS. 



increased from $4,564,000,000 to $10,470,000,000, or an 

 increase of 130 per cent. ; while the increase in the 

 assessed value of personal property increased from 

 $2,015,000,000 to $2,870,000,000, or an increase of only 

 43 per cent. It must be borne in mind, in these com- 

 parisons, that personality in the aggregate, as it is valued 

 in exchange, is augmenting at much the faster rate. 



The situation appears serious for our farmers, when it 

 is realized that the classes which may be likely to favor 

 this system of taxation are a growing majority of the 

 voters of America. Mr. George intimates his satisfaction 

 on this score in his chapter on " The American Farmer," 

 in " Social Problems." It is now proposed to have the 

 adoption of this mode of taxation secured for all local 

 purposes where the farmers are in the minority — and so 

 hem the farmers in. Hence, it becomes incumbent on 

 farmers not only to give the question of taxation their 

 earnest attention, but their immediate attention also. 



While Mr. George admits that the adoption of his 

 scheme of taxation would destroy the selling value of the 

 farmers' land, he claims ' that it would increase the value 

 of his improvements, and thus make his labor so much 

 more remunerative, that he would be more than com- 

 pensated for the loss of his land. I think it would not 

 only take from him the selling value of his land, but in 

 many cases be the cause of the loss of the improvements 

 as well.* 



' " Social Problems," p. 304. 



* According to Mr. Edward Atkinson, the total amount of taxes 

 paid by the people of the United States aggregated $700,000,000 in 

 1880. It is safe to assume that under the single tax much more than 

 one half would have rested upon the land-holdings of the country 

 districts — say $400,000,000. At that time there were 4,008,907 

 farms. For these farms to have paid the $400,000,000, the average 



