1350 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 19, 1921 
Why guess about it — 
When you can know about it? 
Suppose a guide said— 
“This way there’s a safe and pleasant 
road to your destination, with no risks or 
troubles on the way,” and— 
“That way there’s a road that a good 
many have stalled on and turned back 
from, but you may get through.” 
Which would you take? 
Postum is a thoroughly agreeable and 
satisfying meal-time drink, and you’re 
sure that it’s perfectly safe for health. 
Coffee contains drug qualities which dis¬ 
turb and harm the health of many. 
Postum or coffee? Which road? 
Why guess when you can know? 
Postum comes in two forms: Instant Postum (in tins) 
made instantly in the cup by the addition of boiling water. 
Postum Cereal (in packages of larger bulk, for those who 
prefer to make the drink while the meal is being prepared) 
made by boiling for 20 minutes. Sold by all grocers. 
Postum for Health 
“There’s a Reason” 
SAVE PACKAGE COSTS 
FIRST CLASS SECOND-HAND 
Peach Carriers, Derry Crates, On¬ 
ion Crates, Baskets of all kinds, 
and other Fruit and Vegetable 
Packages, Egg Cases. All these 
containers are in as good as new condition and 
ready for instant use. 
LET US QUOTE YOU—THAT'S ALL 
THE EMPTY PACKAGE SUPPLY CO. 
Dept R, 301-303 Johnson Avenne, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
The Farmer 
His Own 
Builder 
BY 
H. ARMSTRONG ROBERTS 
A practical and handy 
book of all kinds of build¬ 
ing information from con¬ 
crete to carpentry. 
PRICE $1.50 
For sale by 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 Weit 30th Street, New York 
Fruit Book—FREE 
Our FREE N ursery Book describes standard 
varieties of Apples, 
Peaches, Plums and 
Cherries. Also 
Small Fruits and 
Ornamentals. 
We have an especially 
fine lot of one and 
two-year-old Apple 
Trees ready for early 
■ hipineut. Many ex¬ 
perienced fruit grow¬ 
ers are enthusiastic! 
over them. 
Write today for Nursery Book and Price List. 
J3asisri&s /3sco< 
Box 8 
Yalesville, Conn. 
Send for this free 
book. It describes 
the benefits of 
Agricultural Gyp¬ 
sum. Try some 
this fall on your 
alfalfa, clover and 
Other legumes 
Watch the result. 
Gypsum Industries Association 
Dept. 18 ,111 W. Washington Street 
Chicago, Illinois 
Tour local dealer handles Agricultural Gypsum 
HUBAM 
1 CLOVER 
The Wonderful New Annual Sweet Clover. The 
greatest forage plant offered to American 
farmers. Write for circulars enclosing 
$1.50 for a sample pound, or 25c for oz. 
The Best Investment You Ever Made 
VAUGHAN'S SEED STORE JtJf Ld“ d ?\» v‘.” 
Clrouihorru PLANTS f <u- fall setting. 75c per 100 post- 
diraWDerry paid. I>avid Kodway, Hurt ly, Delaware 
Place Your Order This Fall 
Although we have our usual fine assortment of high 
grade fruit trees to offer for Fall delivery, the demand 
is exceptionally strong and we recommend that our 
old and new customers place th'eir orders early this 
season. 
You will never regret planting Kelly trees. Our trees 
are all perfect specimens and our guarantee is your 
protection. We offer you a big money saving and 
reliable stock. 
Send for Fall, 1921 Price List 
KELLY BROS. NURSERIES, 1160 Main St., Dansville, N. Y. 
A Primer of Economics 
By John J. Dillon 
Part LI 
How could our system be changed so 
as to turn the economic rent of land over 
to the community? 
Our tax laws could be changed so as 
to exempt all personal property and all 
industry and all improvements of every 
kind on land from taxation, and require 
a part or all of the economic rent to oe 
turned into the public treasury by the 
owner of the land. 
What, use would the community make 
of (he rent money? 
The revenue would be used to pay the 
public expenses. If it furnished more 
than is needed, it could be used to in¬ 
crease public service. Cheaper and better 
postal service could be provided. More 
and better roads could he built and pub¬ 
lic improvements increased. According 
to estimates made by Prof. King, since 
1850, rent in the United States kept 
pretty close to all Government expenses 
down to 1910. With the exception of 
the year 1900, rent considerably ex¬ 
ceeded Government expenses. In normal 
times, therefore, the rent revenue would 
pay all expenses for which taxes are now 
paid. In case of emergencies temporary 
tax levies on other forms of property or 
income may be necessary to meet the ex¬ 
tra expense of government. 
What is the effect of taxation on per¬ 
sonal property and improvements? 
Taxation increases the cost of produc¬ 
tion of personal property and domestic 
improvements. This increases the cost to 
the consumer, who must pay the tax. It 
restricts consumption and discourages 
production. 
What is the effect of taxation on land, 
or of turning economic rent over to the 
Government to pay public expenses? 
A tax on land causes large and 1 specu¬ 
lative holders of land to sell it. This 
reduces tenancy. It increases the num¬ 
ber of small owners. It discourages 
speculation in land. It tends to increase 
agricultural production and to encourage 
the building of homes in cities. It tends 
to reduce the amount of idle land and 
vacant lots. It of course reduces the 
capitalized values in proportion to the 
amount of the tax. IP the full economic 
rent is absorbed by the community the 
capitalized value of land would be reduced 
to zero. If land brought no revenue to 
the owner it would have no capital value. 
Would the absorption of all economic 
rent by the community result in confisca¬ 
tion of present capital value in land? 
The absorption of all economic rent 
would destroy the capitalization value of 
land, but this admission must not he 
taken too seriously or exclusively. All 
taxation is confiscation of value in pro¬ 
portion to the amount of th« tax. 
Economic rent belongs of right to the 
community because the community cre¬ 
ated it. When it is absorbed by land¬ 
lords the capitalized value of the rent is 
destroyed to the community and added 
to the assets of the landlord, who did 
nothing to create it. The community is 
then compelled to levy a tax on both land 
and personal property and on enterprise 
to secure an equal amount of revenue to 
pay public expenses. Every time a farmer 
builds a barn or paints a house or plants 
an orchard his assessment is increased, 
his enterprise and thrift are penalized, 
and he pays an extra portion of taxes. 
Every dollar that he pays in tax destroys 
$20 of capital value in his improvements 
on a five per cent income basis. When 
the assessment on personal property and 
improvement practically equals the assess¬ 
ment on land alone the change would 
make no difference either in the amount 
of tax paid or in the capitalized value of 
the property as a whole. What would he 
destroyed in the land would be added to 
the value of personal property and im¬ 
provement by the total exemption of tax¬ 
ation on them, but on vacant land capi¬ 
talized value would be destroyed. 
How would taxation of land or ab¬ 
sorption of economic rent by the com¬ 
munity affect the farmer? 
As a whole, the taxation of land would 
relieve the farmer of much of his present 
burden of taxation. The national rent 
revenue, according to the estimates of 
Prof. King and others, would pay all 
local, State and Federal government ex¬ 
penses in normal times. This exempts 
all personal property, all income, all in¬ 
dustry and all farm improvements from 
tax. There would be no assessment on 
buildings, machinery, fences, wells or 
water supply, lighting systems, orchards, 
timber, drainage, irrigation or crops. 
Take these improvements away from the 
land, and what would you then pay for 
it annually as rent? Whatever you would 
pay would be the economic rent of the 
land. If no one would pay anything for 
the use of it, there would be nothing to 
pay as economic rent. Such farms would 
pay no taxes. Under the present system 
farms are assessed as a whole for both 
land and improvements. When the land 
is valued separately much of the insepa¬ 
rable improvements are included. If 
these were excluded the valuation of 
farm lands would be materially reduced. 
There are many farms in the eastern por¬ 
tion of the country that would not sell 
today for the cost of improvements on 
them. Some would not sell for the pres¬ 
ent labor cost of building the stone walls. 
If the owner of many of these farms 
came out at the end of the year with 
current interest rate on his capital in¬ 
vested and labor wages for himself to 
enable him to support himself and his 
family in a style consistent with the 
general standard of living in the neighbor¬ 
hood he would feel quite content, but in 
this case there would be no economic 
rent, because the land does not produce 
enough for this and create a surplus be¬ 
sides. 
It is city lots, water fronts, rights of 
way, water powers, coal and oil lands 
and mineral deposits that pay big income 
in economic rent. For example, if the 
population in a particular section of a 
large city increases rapidly, the increase 
of a particular property may be at the 
rate of $2,000, and when we capitalize 
this at five per cent the increased capital 
value of the property will be $40,000. 
The second year the economic rent is 
$4,000. and the capital value of the pro¬ 
perty is $80,000. In 20 years at this 
rate the profits from this economic rent 
amount to $1,140,000. The annual earn¬ 
ing and capitalized value of water fronts, 
rights of way, water power, coal and oil 
fields and mineral deposits accumulate 
under the necessities of the people with 
startling rapidity. A report of a sale of 
a Western ranch for $5,000,000 recently 
appeared in Chicago papers with the in¬ 
formation that the seller bought it eight 
years previous for $2,000,000. The in¬ 
terest charges and improvements amounted 
to $1,000,000, so that his increment of 
value was $2,000,000. The same paper 
quoted an owner who said he paid $37.50 
for an acre of land and in 20 years, due 
to increased population, he sold it for 
$7,000. The values in these natural re¬ 
sources are created by the community, 
and should go to the community to pay 
its public expenses. 
Such is the case of the land tax advo¬ 
cates. They have been stated as plainly 
and fully as space and present informa¬ 
tion permit. Some ardent advocates of 
land tax may discover principles and con¬ 
tentions that are omitted above. Others 
will dispute some of the propositions. 
Both sides should profit from full infor¬ 
mation and calm discussion of the subject 
on its merits. 
Mother’s Interest in Son’s Property 
Is there a law in New Jersey that al¬ 
low#? a mother to rent property belonging 
to son’s wife because she was left without 
means at the death of her husband ? 
Daughter-in-law does not like the coun¬ 
try. but would not sign a paper giving 
mother-in-law right to live in house for 
rest of her life. Son died without a will, 
and wife and son get everything. Mother- 
in-law lives with her married daughter. 
New Jersey. M - p - 
In the State of New Jersey married 
women retain and control their own 
property the same as if unmarried, except 
that the husband, if living, must join in 
the deed if they wish to convey or mort¬ 
gage the same. The property belongs to 
the widow and son; the mother of the de¬ 
ceased husband has no interest therein. 
