THE FAKMEll AND THE .SJXtilJ'; TAX. 335 



question being perhaps the most valuable corner lot in Chicago, 

 an acre located there would exchange for two hundred tilly- 

 three thousand seventy -seven acres of Illinois farm land at 

 $32.87 per acre, that being the average estimated value of 

 farm lauds in Illinois. No property in Illinois is pretended to 

 be assessed at its true value, but assuming farm lands in that 

 state to be worth as estimated, and as seems reasonable to 

 believe, $32.87 per acre, they are assessed at 27.75 per cent of 

 their true value as against 5.72 per cent of its true value for 

 this piece of fancy city proi)erty. The re})ort in question 

 shows almost equal unfairness in all the Chicago assessments 

 as compared with country property. It may be claimed, and 

 it may be true, that Chicago property is more grossly under- 

 valued for assessment than that of any other city, but no one 

 familiar with the facts as they exist throughout the country 

 will doubt that city property generally is greatly undervalued 

 as compared with rural property, and the farmers thereby 

 burdened with a wholly undue share of the burden of support- 

 ing the government. Whatever, therefore, their conclusion 

 may be, they can approach the subject of the single tax on 

 ground rents, as a fiscal measure, without any prejudice 

 in favor of the abominably iniquitous system which now 

 oppresses them. 



In 1890 about one-fourth of the ad valorem taxes levied in 

 the United States were assessed upon personal property, and 

 three-fourths upon real estate. From what has been said it is 

 evident that the ratio of taxes paid by real estate is constantly 

 increasing. The single tax, considered as a fiscal measure, 

 and not as a question of social reform, involves abandoning 

 the attempt to collect taxes on personal property, placing ur)on 

 ground rents the entire burden now borne by real and i)ersonal 

 property, and adding thereto all the taxes now produced by 

 tariffs and other indirect taxation, poll taxes, and licenses. 

 I do not understand it to include the abolition of postage, and 

 other sums paid by individuals to the government for services 

 rendered. Excluding postage, seigniorage on silver, and some 

 other items, the total taxation, local, state (ad valorem), and. 

 national, in the United States, in 1890, was $852,459,405. The 



