Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/777

 THE SINGLE TAX : WHAT AND WHY 7S7

ings ? Would they not rather offer a bounty for the introduction of all these necessaries of life ?

It is, in fact, only after a country has become settled, and in some degree wealthy, that its people are seized with the mad- ness of keeping out wealth by taxes upon importations, or of driving out wealth by taxes upon money, tools, machinery, and useful productions in general. It is no wonder that men declare all taxes to be bad. All taxes which in any way tend to dimin- ish wealth, morality, and comfort are bad. As every tax, other than the single tax upon ground rent alone, produces precisely these evil results, every tax, except that upon the value of land alone, is irredeemably bad. And as there must be some taxation, and heavy taxation too, the single tax, which, to say the very least, does not produce any of these bad results, is necessary, just, and righteous.

Thomas G. Shearman.

New York.