Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/776

 756 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

ago several writers, almost simultaneously, attempted to refute the single-tax theory by means of statistics, professedly cover- ing the whole of Great Britain. In reply it was shown conclu- sively that these statistics included the entire taxation for Great Britain and Ireland, while they excluded, in every case, all the land values of the city of London, all railroad and other fran- chises, and, in some cases, all land values in Scotland and Ire- land.' When these values were included, it appeared that the ground rents of Great Britain and Ireland amounted to more than double the entire amount of taxation.

The opponents of the single tax have in recent years reversed their methods. They have abandoned all attempts to show that it would not work well in large cities and old com- munities ; and they concentrate their efforts upon arguing that it would be entirely impracticable in rural districts and very new communities. But, obviously, in a perfectly new community there is nothing except the value of land to tax. In such a community there are tents, but no houses ; there is very little furniture, few tools, no bonds, no banks, and no visible money. In short, there are no taxable improvements or personal prop- erty. But instantly upon the formation of any community, land values arise. Accordingly, the history of all new communities, from Ohio to Oklahoma, shows that taxation was at first levied upon the value of land alone ; that this source was amply suffi- cient to provide all needed revenue ; and that the growth of each community, under that form of taxation, was more rapid than it ever has been under any other.

A moment's reflection will show how absurd and impossible it would be to adopt, in any strictly new community, the forms of taxation which are so highly commended among us. Would any new settlers on an uninhabited island impose a tariff on imports ? Would they think of levying a tax upon money brought into the island ? Would they think of taxing the comforts, necessaries, or luxuries of life, either when coming in or after they had been brought in? In short, would they ever dream, during the first year, of imposing any tax upon personal property or upon build-

^ Natural Taxation, p. 1 37.