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A MAGAZINE OF NEIGHBORLINESS
II
NUMBER
14
IANUARY 25, 1914
PRICE FIVE CENTS
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.c·< •
WHY I WORK FOR THE SINGLE TAX*
By BISHOP CHARLES
,, -- .
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Alf not sure that I or any other Single
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Taxer makes much distinction between
preaching Single Tax and preaching the
Gospel. Jacob Riis told me once of a
ral where the minister did not arrive,
while the mourners were waiting, one
them arose and said: "I will improve the
opportunity by
addressing yo u
on the Single
Tax." (Laughter.)
Now,
why
is
the
Single Tax such
an idee fi,xee
when once one
has "seen the
cat" ? I think
it is because it
is a great
moral enthusiasm ..
There are a
great
many
sides to the
Single Taxoral. I do not profirst two, because I
and I have an ignorers that is very creda parson. But a
retical!y, at least,d for that reason
e moral side of the
lUSe I believe that
right will be fiscally,
lls. and every other
1 bel!e,e it is the only
>ractlcable. I think God
lty to blunder along
economic justice
~.....,aan~ot
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clearing the decks, and
~e _po_
~ular misunder-
E.
WILLIAMS.
mists the sources of income, but "profits" is
really a complicated term, made up of wages,
interest on capital invested, and rent: and
so the Single Taxer says that profits consist
of wages (what you get for service rendered); interest (-what comes from the use
of capital) ; and rent (understanding by that
ground rent, or the money paid for the privilege of living on a certain site.) Single Taxers say that all or nearly all of this ground
rent should be paid to the government.
The Single Tax is the equal right of all
men to the use of the earth. That is not
the equal right of all men to the ownership
of the earth, or to the equal use of the earth.
Every man, if he is going to produce anything or serve or make a living, must in the
last analysis get access to nature's storehouse. The Single Taxer considers that there
are three geat axioms relating to this use by
man of nature:-What the individual produces belongs to the individual. What the
community produces belongs to the community. What nature or God gives belongs
by right to all nature's or God's children.
Taking this last statement first, I believe
that only the hand of labor can write a
valid original title of property. to any natural wealth. But that does not give the laborer a title to the natural r esources from
which he produced the wealth. Thus a man
may own the crops he raises, the building he
erects, but that does not give ·him a title to
the soil or the site. He did not create that;
no man created it; God gave it, and by rights
that belongs to all society. -Savages have
an instinctive feeling of this. When the
Maoris sold New Zealand to the English, a
Maori woman brought her baby, born after
tile purchase, for his s·h are. And she was
right. We have no right to barter away the
birthright of generations to come. The
babe in the slums of New York has just as
much right on this earth and where God ·has
'
yet how much air and sunshine is th~re in
the slums? Doubtless if air and sunshine
could be solidified and cornered by a trust
the people who asked for their share would
be called Socialists, Anarchists, Nihilists
and anything else that came handy-they
would be attacking the sacred rights of
property. (Laughter.) A man in Cleveland
has just won a suit against a bridge company for swinging the bridge through his
air.
But let us turn to the land.· In Pennsylvania is most of the coal of the United
States. Nobody has impressed his labor on
it yet. To whom does it belong? I say
it belongs to the people of the United
States. (Applause.) Mr. Baer says it belongs to him and a few other gentlemen "to
whom Almighty God in His wise providence
has committed the wealth of this country."
I never saw the deed of gift. Well, Mr.
Baer has the key to the coal-cellar, and we
can say, "Johnny, bring us u- some coal."
p
And we are willing to pay him a fair profit
for the work. But he and ·his frieends say,
"We have got the key to the coal-cellar in
our pocket. We will keep it there until you
pay us all we can get from you." Mr. Baer
is thus getting wages for service rendered,
but he is also extracting by the pressure of
monopoly a graft from us that is really
ground rent. At the time of the coal strike
the President of the United States had to go
down on his knees and beg Mr. Baer to sell
us coal. Monopoly of natural resources is
an unbreakable power so long as it is in
private hands. There is not a trust in this
country which could exist ten minutes if it
did not rest on a monopoly of natural resources.
There is no way to deal with this but to
claim natural resources as common property
by taking the ground rent for the government. Over in Pittsburgh are some abannnnPrl ~oft coal mines. and in the sink-holes
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moral enthusiasm.
There are a
great
man Y
sides to the
Single
Taxoral. I do not profirst two, because I
and I have an ignorers that is very creda parson. But a
reticallY, at least,nd for that reason
to the moral side of the
because I believe that
rally right will be fiscally,
UticallY, and every other
and I ·b elieve it is the only
practicable. I think God
humanity to blunder along
e way of economic justice
ousness.
•l>y clearing the decks, and
some popular misunderthe Single Tax. I once had
Cleveland preach in my
Inst "Anarchistic and Sofor the equal division of
ldn't possibly be a worse
Single Tax-every word is
le Tax combines the virnd Socialism, giving libfreedom in order. The
rtunate, for the single tax
r economic method for the
on of a great social philTaxer maintains that all maconsists of things produced
wants and needs, and that
two factors in the producof any kind-natural ree sort, and ·h uman ingenuity,
~- All that nature furnishes
"taxer comprehends under the
term "iand." This does not
• _ o one of us can do withN
.uppose preaching would be
most ethereal of occupations,
treacher has to have land to
on: and that is true of everv
.Profession. Profits, interest,
are considered by econo-
man u1 ua..1..u.1...... . • • ........... ... __ .
duces belongs to the individual. What the
community produces belongs to the community. What nature or God gives belongs
by right to all nature's or God's children.
Taking this last statement first, I believe .
that only the hand of labor can write a
valid original title of property to any natural wealth. But that does not give the laborer a title to the natural resources from
which he produced the wealth. Thus a man
may own the crops he raises, the building he
erects, - ut that does not give ·him a title to
b
the soil or the site. He did not create that;
no man created it ; God gave it, and by rights
that belongs to all society. -Savages have
an instinctive feeling of this. When the
Maoris sold New Zealand to the · English, a
Maori woman brought her baby, born after
tile purchase, for his share. And she was
right. We have no right to barter away the
birthright of generatio.n s to come. The
babe in the slums of New York has just as
much right on this earth and where God ·has
put him as the babe of the Astors; and yet
under our present system the babe in the
slums has to pay rent to the Astors for the
right to exist. We usually recognize a common right to the air and the sunshine, and
THE PRAYER
Father Almighty, we beseech Thee
to loosen the scales from our eyes
that we may see the wickedness of
· our inhumanity to each other. Thou
hast given the land filled with treasure for the blessing of all Thy children. We have so misused it that
millions suffer for lack, while thousands are choked by surplus. Thou
hast provided plentifully for all.
Help us to renounce the system by
which the strong and the favored get
something for nothing and the unfortunate and the lowly fail to receive
the full reward of their toil. Make us
to see, we pray, that the fault lies in
us every one, and that the responsibility for mending it is upon us every
one. Give us the grace to do it patiently and fairly; •but certainly.
Amen.
Baer has the key tO tn e l:Ud.l"l.,<:;uua, - - can say, "Johnny, bring us up some coal."
And we are willing to pay him a fair profit
for the work. But he and • is frieends saY,
h
"We have got the key to the coal-cellar in
our pocket. We will keep it there until you
pay us all we can get from you." Mr. Baer
is thus getting wages for service r·e ndered,
but he is also extracting by the pressure of
monopoly a graft from us that is really
ground rent. At the time of the coal strike
the President of the United States had to go
down on his knees and beg Mr. Baer to sell
us coal. Monopoly of natural resources is
an unbreakable power so long as it is in
. private hands. There is not a trust in this
country which could exist ten minutes if it
did not rest on a monopoly of natural resources.
There is no way to deal with this but to
claim natural resources as common property
by taking the ground rent for the government. Over in Pittsburgh are some abandoned soft coal mines, and in the sink-holes
there ice and snow collect, which the poor
miners used to use. Then the absentee
landlord heard of this and sent word that
they could not use the ice without paying
him for it! Under our present system of
giving over God's gifts into the hands Qf the
few by private mononoply, what can the
good Lord do with our problem of poverty?
He has stocked this land richly, and yet the
many starve - hile the few are glutted. Supw
pose the Lord said, "I will feed these chil- ·
dren of mine, by raining down food from
the skies"-why, that would only raise the
selling price and rental value of the lots
whereon the showers fell thickest. (Laughter.) The street car companies would even
claim what fell in the streets. And if the
good Lord grew too bountiful, so that the
market would be likely to be depressed, they
would keep up the price if they had to burn
the food in ·bonfires. They actually did that
in London, where shiploads of grain were
scuttled in the sight of the starving poor, to
keep up the price of wheat. God Almighty
can't solve our problem until we correct ·
·· · such a mistake as this.
There are certain values that are plainly
and evidently communal values-they are
made simply by the population as a population. They appear only in settled communi(Continued on ·Page 4.)
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FORD HALL FOLKS
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THE QUESTIONS
Q: If you believe that all natural re·
sources - elong to the people, how do you
b
determine the amount of taxes to estab·
lish?
A: Land values are more easily estim•
able than any others.
Q: If Pensylvania taxed the coal-com·
pany, as you suggest, wouldn't they just add
the tax to the price of coal?
A: If they were taxed full ground ren·
tals, they would have to throw open their
collieries to competition.
Q: Do you think a section of the com·
munity should suffer for the mistake of
the whole community centuries ago?
A: It is a simple question of whether,
if you have allowed an injustice to run a
thousand years, you must not let it run
another thousand years.
Q (Miss Polsky): At what price could·
the Public Garden be sold? (Laughter.)
A: That could be done only ·by the State.
Q: How would the Single Tax operate
against the extortion of professional men?
A: I said it would not cure everything;
but generally competition remedies extor•
tions of any kind.
Q: What about patent mon-0polies?
A: That is another thing entirely, and
I would make them inure to the inventor,
not the gobbler.
Q: Tell us about Pastoriza's work in
Texas.
A: I simply know that he was elected tax
commissioner, and gradually took the taxes
off improvements. I do not know if Pas•
toriza has the law back of him, ;JUt he has
the people.
Q: What would you do with a man
whose sole income is from stocks and
bonds?
A. Stock and bonds represent land
values.
Q (Mr. Sachmary). Do you believe your
cathedral should be taxed?
A:. No, my cathedral is an improvement.
I believe in taxing the land upon which it
is built.
Q: What progress has the Single Tax
made in Houston, Texas?
A: I am sorry I can't give the details.
I kno_w it is gradually coming in there, and
a lso
1n
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a machine by which a child could do the
work of 140 people? Won't he get his
money back that way?
.
A: I don't know anything about this in•
terview, but G-Od bless any man that invents
a machine that saves labor. In the end they
always do good.
Q (Miss Rogolsky): Under the Single
Tax, won't people put up higher buildings
with small rooms, and erect buildings instead of ·h aving gardens, to pay the rent?
A: Taxing land values always decreases
the price and rent of land.
Q: Aren't the farmers going to be
harmed by the ·Single Tax?
A: The farmer now pays taxes on· all his
improvements. The burden will fall on the
big land values-all the farm . land in New
York State is not worth a third as much as
the land in New York City.
Q (Mr. Hogan): Will you tell us some
evil that has been remedied by taxation?
Would not the Single Tax lay a greater bur•
den on the small land owners and take it
from the rich capitalists?
A: Our present system of taxation has
not wiped out any evils, but the Single Tax
would. As for the large and small land
owners, each would pay in proportion to
his holdings.
Q: Does the Eastman Kodak Company de•
pend on a monopoly of land values?
A: No, but on a monopoly of patents,
which is also a special privilege.
- Q: What would be the best way to create a Single Tax law? How about teaching the children in the beginning?
A: Yes, you are right; everything begins
with the children.
Q: Under the present system, do you
vote, and if so what political party?
A: I try to vote the Democratic ticket
when I can find the Democratic party democratic. Just now it is. (Applause. )
Q: Suppose the smelting company in
Utah paid its full taxes, w-0uldn't it be able
to keep Bishop Spaulding off just as it does
now?
A: I think it would be impossible for it
to own its holdings if it paid full value.
The government would then be practically
the owner, and could dictate to t hP "",..,.,_
nanY.
Q (Mr. Fraser): I know a man
greatly improved his land by building a
house, but was taxed heavily for -it.
that a good illustration of the Single
A: No, it is a good illustration of
double and treble tax of today.
AN OUTSIDE VIEW OF OUR
TOWN MEETING.
T ti
'N
If any of the 125 "citizens" V(ho atten
the first town meeting of Ford Hall Folks
Kingsley Hall last night, failed to rise to
least one point of order or otherwise
tinguish himself in a parliamentary ma
during the evening, it certainly did not·
pear on the surface. For the official rec
showed that there were e:aough of the af,
said "1>0ints" to go around twice, and, m,
over, questions, motions, etc., were almost
numerous . .
All of which was intensely gratifying
those responsible for this latest addition,
the regular Ford Hall course, and George
Calero~ the " father of the
Hall m
ings," congratulated the newt nfranchi
" ?itizens" on the success of th- opening·
Fe'
SlOn.
.
Last night's session was taken up a
entirely with straightening out little
culties which naturally arose in the
of those new to this form of gover
Though the questioning and debating
times threatened to assume the propo
of a real " down-east" town meeting,
man William Horton Foster ably met e·
situation. There were some decidedlY
plexing complications, too, for which
chairman might be pardoned for scrat
his head, but when adjournment came e
body appeared to be satisfied.
What the meeting really did was this:
It chose committees to bring in not_
tions for permanent moderator, serge
arms and clerk. It resulted in the aP
ment of committees on rules and on bY··
It satisfied George Coleman and Mr. f,
that the people were really intereste4
such a movement for civic - etterment.
b
During the heat of battle, excitement..
not lacking. At one time Mr. Coleman
forgot himself and promptly subsided
he was ruled out of order. The Reft
Grover :Mills was the principal offendet
embarrassing the chair, and he had b!S
lowing throughout. H. S. Victorson
tested _against red tape, but an ~
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A: That is another thing entirely, and
I would make them inure to the inventor,
not the gobbler.
Q : Tell us about Pastoriza's work in
Texas.
.
A: I simply know that he was elected tax
commissioner, and gradually took the taxes
off improvements. I do not know if Pastoriza has the law back of him, ;JUt he has
the people.
Q: What would you do with a man
whose sole income is from stocks and
bonds?
A. Stock and bonds represent land
values.
Q (Mr. Sachmary). Do you believe your
cathedral should be taxed?
A: No, my cathedral is an improvement.
I ·b elieve in taxing the land upon which it
is built.
Q: What progress bas the Single Tax
made in Houston, Texas?
A: I am sorry I can't give the details.
I know it is gradually coming in there, and
also in Pueblo, Colorado and in California
and Washington from the Canadian Northwest.
Q: Is it possible to apply the Single Tax
to one municipality by itself?
A: ...,Yes, and it is coming in that way.
Q: ~ Do you believe in government ownershi ;Jf land? ·
A: . I tried to make that plain when I
spoke of -Spencer's "state landlordism."
Q (Mr. Victorson).; Would not the -Single Tax confuse instead of solving social
problems?
A: No, because land is a fixed quantity,
and a tax on that stays there, whereas other
commoditiE:s are unstable, and social values
do not attach to them.
Q: What do you think of Henry Ford's
profit-sharing scheme?
A: I know Mr. Ford very well personally, and I can say that there is no ulterior
moti,_ve in his mind. He feels that labor
should share in the profits, and that is as
far as he sees.
Q: Don't we need regulation of monetary
values as much as we do of land values?
A: Don't ask me any questions about
money; I don't know anything about it.
Q: What can you say about the fact that
Ford recently held a conference with Edison where both of them spoke of inventing
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owners, each would pay in proportion to
his holdings.
Q: Does the Eastman Kodak Company depend on a monopoly of land values?
A: No, but on a monopoly of patents,
which is also a special privilege.
Q: What would be the best way to create a Single Tax law? How about teaching the children in the beginning?
A: Yes, you are right; everything begins
with the children.
Q: Under the present system, do you
vote, and if so what political party?
A: I try to vote the Democratic ticket
when I can find the Democratic party democratic. Just now it is. (Applause.)
Q: Suppose the smelting company in
Utah paid its full taxes, wouldn't it be able
to keep Bishop Spaulding off just as it does
now?
A: I think it would be impossible for it
to own its holdings if it paid full value.
The government would then be practically
the owner, and could dictate to the company.
Q: Cannot private individuals by controlling industry make men slaves tc that
extent?
A: There will ·be lots of things to be
done after we get the Single Tax. But if
you take a way land monopoly you take
away the great lever.
Q: Does not Socialism solve the problem
of the Single Tax?
(Laughter and applause.)
A: Give me another evening to lecture
on that. I believe the Single Tax allows
more for the freedom and liberty of individual expression than -Socialism does.
Q: What has the -Single Tax to say with
regard to the - rivate ownership of capital?
p
A: I must answer again that if you - roke
b
up the private o- nership of natural rew
sources competition would soon br.:!ak up the
private ownership of the tools of industry.
Q (Mrs. Hoffmann): Do you believe the
Single Tax will destroy or change the competitive system?
A: I think it will .make for freedom of
competition, and I should like to see that.
Q (Mr. Cosgrove): On what basis is the
Single Tax going to classify ground values,
as in the case of the disused coal-shafts?
A: On the same principle as the coal
companies do today. Values always go up
and down.
·
-•=~~
assume the Prop~~of a real " down-east" town meeting, C
man William Horton Foster ably met er
situation. There were some decided!\· '
plexing complications, too, for Which
chairman might be pardoned for scratc
his head, but when adjournment came er
body appeared to be satisfied.
What the meeting really did was this:
It chose committees to bring in no
tions for permanent moderator, sergeant.
arms and clerk. It resulted in the apPo
ment of committees on rules and on by-JaIt satisfied George Coleman and Mr. Fo~
that the people were really interested•
such a movement for civic - etterment.
b
During the heat of battle, excitement
not lacking. At one time Mr. Coleman
forgot himself and promptly subsided w
he was ruled out of order. The Rev.
Grover Mills was the principal offender
embarrassing the chair, and he had his
lowing throughout. H. S. Victorson
tested against red tape, but an unn
champion of "red tape" caused Mr. Victo
to subside. James P. Roberts, urged
make a campaign speech when nominated f«i
moderator, asked the "voters" to defeat hi
and then presented the "town" with a gar,
These were minor incidents of the night
The meetings are being held jointly by frt]
Ford Hall Folks, the Boston School of
cial ·S cience and the City History Club.
Coleman spoke for Ford Hall, stating
the meetings meant to develop a new dem~:
racy. "The democracy of today, I mean, nit
the democracy of our forefathers," he addr:d.
Frederick J . Allen spoke for the City Hi!tory Club and helped Mr. Foster Ol!t durm;
the evening. Miss Louise Adams Grout a1>
peared for the School of Social Science ani
acted as temporary clerk.
Last night's meeting presages a very real-:
istic town "election" when voting is takeJ
up next Thursday night.-Herald.
cui
eau::ueu LU
We must not only conserve in every
way the health and vigor of labor, but
also provide that it may work out its
own happiness with wages that will
enable it to live so as to maintain its
self-respect and with sufficient leisure
to enjoy and profit by mental and
moral recreation.
WILLIAM C. REDFIELD.
-d·
bonestlY
:,t,v <'•-C
a.nss and bi~otrY ar~ no
~sses Quite of'
ns or Cl ~
· .
. h
ltbet o[ - igot is
b
the real b. ot·
1g
. eP
e
•
•
aued full
$
•
1ast sundaY n1~
didn't turn anY . one av.
ple are beginning to t:
1r _granted'?
•
•
.. o sundaY evenings f1
ces came in 1ong after
ed. .At 1ast, it -would
beginning to underst:
essarY to stand in the l
ild before the doors
on the night -when_
of exceptional populant,
d there are not more t.
nigbts during the seai
.
,.
•
*
• Cutterson and his chor
of the new hymn went v
•
the Ford Hall Town :M:
d by a preferential ba:
:ly new experience to n
and constituted in itself
n in civic life. There "
more present at the sec
the lively interest contin
~ Mr. W. H. Foster is
·:s 'Miriam Allen de Ford
d :Mr. Jacob London beco
With such very effic
seem as though the T
.rdly fail to make a sue,
.ere will be a constant tE
v.bo are more or less
entary practice to c
feature of the work to
ore vital matters. It w
:keeper spending too n
.er pots and pans and ke
anything in them.
•
*
*
we have demonstr
ople to make a sue
d of the Town MeE
ropose other enterp1
folks. At present, .
backward fast in
st issue, for exar
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FORD HALL FOLKS
3
/
Q (Mr. Fraser): I know a man
greatly improved his land by building a
house, but was taxed heavily for -it.
that a good illustration of the Single
.A: No, it is a good illustration ot
double and treble tax of today.
AN OUTSIDE VIEW OF OUR
TOWN MEETING.
-
If any of the 125 "citizens". who atte
the first town meeting of Ford Hall FoJb
Kingsley Hall last night, failed to rise to
least one point of order or otherwise
tinguish himself in a parliamentary
during the evening, it certainly did not
pear on the surface. For the official rec
showed that there were enough of the ·
said "points" to go around twice, and,
over, questions, motions, etc., were almost
numerous.
All of which was intensely gratifying
those responsible for this latest addition
the regular Ford Hall course, and George
Coleman, the "father of the Ford Hall Iii
ings," congratulated the newly enfran
"citizens" on the success of the opening
sion.
Last night's session was taken up
entirely with straightening out little
culties which naturally arose in the
of those new to this form 6f gover.
Though the questioning and debating,
times threatened to assume the propo
of a real "down-east" town meeting,
man William Horton Foster ably met
situation. There were some decidedly
plexing complications, too, for which
chairman might be pardoned for scrat,
1is head, but when adjournment came e
body appeared to be satisfied.
What the meeting really did was this:
It chose committees to bring in no
:ions for permanent moderator, serge~
trms and clerk. It resulted in the· ap
nent of committees on rules and on by-J
t satisfied George Coleman and Mr. Fi
hat the people were really interest
uch a movement for civic ·betterment.
During the heat of battle, excitement
.ot lacking. At one time Mr. Coleman
Jrgot himself and promptly subsided
e was ruled out of order. The R
·rover Mills was the principal offendl
:nbarrassing the chair, and he had h!J
•wing throughout. H. S. Victorson
,sted against red tape, but an u
1ampion of "red tape" caused Mr. Viced
· subside. James P. Roberts, urg
ake a campaign speech when nominated
oderator, asked the "voters" to defeat
Id th~n._ nrPs:Pntorl ..... _ '"- ·-·· -- --=··
5 -
'
OTHER MEETINGS.
AS IT LOOKS TO ME
iy GEORGE W. COLEMAN, Director of the Ford Hall Meetings
T the Open Forum in Manchester,
N. H., last Sunday night, with
Miner
Chipman
speaking
on
-Efficiency," they had to turn the
away, although the theatre has a
aeating capacity than Ford Hall. We
be proud of such a thriving three
r old baby. Of all the forums which
been started under our guidance and
tSon this one in Manchester is more
like Ford Hall in all its ways, and
lfltewise now the largest success in
16ortest. time.
,.
,.
,.
Williams
last
Sunday
night
just like one of us. How many
CXJllld go right into a church gathering
Jlind and immediately ta'l;:e our place
ol them? It isn't every churchman
big enough and broad enough to
aad. work right along side of men
~ church who are earnest and
Not all of us outsiders are big
&ad. broad enough to welcome the
o( church people who, like us,
and honestly seeking the
J1S'Dess and bigotry are no reOf persons or classes. Quite often
'-ri. the epithet of •
bigot is him• ,rlWngiy the real bigot.
,.
•
*
1llled run last Sunday night,
· didn't turn any one away.
o
people are beginning to take
fen granted?
.
,.
hro · SUllday evenings fully
mcea came
in long after the
:ed. At last, it would apbecmning to understand
lllary to stand in the line
before the doors are
.•
the night when the
.flt UcepUonal popularity is
Uaere are not more than
Jd&hta during the season.
• •
~ and
-
his chorus;
~ De'K hymn went very
•
•
U.. Ford Hall Town :\Ieet--
►t
1,y a Pre!eren ti al ballot.
-
co!ltaining Miss Slattery's brilliant address,
was such a poor seller that our deficit ran
up to nearly six dollars. And the week • eb
fore it was over three dollars. What is the
-matter?
*
*
*
My heart goes out to those Jewish young
men in the West End who have never lost
an opportunity to show their kindness to
me. I am as fond of them · as of any
friends that I have.
*
*
*
The most interesting plank to me in
Mayor-elect Curley's political platform is
his proposition to hold monthly conferences
on city planning with representatives present from the clergy, press, labor, capital
and the City Council. Nothing could be
more far-reaching for good to the people
of Boston than this if it is intelligently
planned and vigorously executed. And Mr.
Curley has backed up this enterprising suggestion with the very generous statement
that he will himself provide the money for
this new deve:i.opment if it cannot be had
through the usual channels. I am sure that
every one of us at Ford Hall will rejoice
to see such a plan carried out and will support it in every way at our command. It
would put into action in a very conspicuous
way the very principle of mutual co-operation for which we stand, and the object
aimed at is one that commends itself to
every intelligent student of municipal
affairs.
*
*
*
A group of Tufts College students were
among our guests last Sunday night.
Of
course they thought Bishop Williams was
fine, but they thought our people were an
equally fine part of the equation. "I would
like to get into this activity of the larger
democracy," said one. "Everyone is so decidedly in earnest," said another. " Such a
cosmopolitan crowd," said a third. "You
feel the brotherhood in the air," was the
comment of a fourth, and so on. They. all
admired the way Mr. Coleman handled the
questions. There will be a Ford Hall in
the small out at Tufts College after this,
in reality, if not by formal announcement.
Wells Memorial Institute, 987 Washington
Street, Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 8 P. M., Efficiency and Its Effects on the Workingman,
by Miner Chipman.
School of Social Science, at Lorimer Hall,
Monday, January 26, at 7.30 P. M., The
Negro and the Labor Problem, by W. E.
Burghardt DuBois. 10c.
Sunday Commons, at Huntington Chambers Hall, Sunday, February 1, at 3.30 P. M.
Dr. Charles Fleischer, leader.
·
Public Library, Thursday, Jan. 29, at 8
P. M. Fertile Argentine and Its Vast Patagonian Pampas, by Charles Wellington,Furlong. Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3.30 P. M., Avignon
and Southern France, • Y Mabel Frances
b
Knight.
Lowell Institute, at Huntington Hall, Monday, Jan. 26, at 5 P. }f. America and France
in Contact in the Past, by Fernand Baldensperger. Monday, Jan. 26, and Thursday,
Jan. 29, at 8 P. M., The Man Behind the
Vote, by Graham Wallas. Tuesday, Jan. 27,
and Friday, Jan. 30, at 8 P. M., Sound Analysis, by Dayton C. Miller. ·Thursday, Jan. 29,
at 5 P. M., Mbhammedanism, by C. Snouck
Hurgronje.
MR. COOLIDGE VISITS US.
Mr. Louis A. Coolidge, treasurer of the
United Shoe Machinery Company, was · our
guest a Sunday or so ago.
Mr. Coolidge was very much impressed
with the absolute . democracy, the friendliness, .interest and attention of the audience.
The question period was most interesting
to him. The intelligence displayed by the
questioners, their seriousness, earnestness,
and courage were evident in each question
asked.
Mr. Coolidge was most enthusiastic over
the manner in which our chairman interpreted each question as it was asked. This
feature, to him, was the most forceful of the
question period. He says, "Mr. Coleman
derstood exactly what each questioner had
in mind; sometimes better than the questioner himself; and each was confident of a
sympathetic interpretation of the question
asked."
un-
Situation Wanted, by a first-class job
printer, familiar with make up and general composition on ads and mercantile
printing. A. J. W., 71 Chadwick street,
Roxbury, :.v!ass.
We Will Write 1t For Von
~
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'-J.Jl::;:
,to bring in nonii
oderator, sergeant
iulted in the app
0
rules and on by.Ja
pnan and Mr. Fo.s
p-eaUy interested
~vie - etterment.
b
ii.ttle, excitement
he Mr. Coleman c,
f11Ptly subsided 'It 1
pr~er: The Rev. Q,
prmc1pal offender la
I and he· had his !f4,
f. S. Victorson l>l\.
but an unnain!ll
aused Mr. Victol'8QI
Roberts, urged ta
i when nominated~
foters" to defeat hill,
~
•town" with a gare1,
!ents of the night
(g held jointly by !lit
~ston School of s.
y History Club. Mr,
id Hall, stating that
levelop a new dem~
~f today, I mean, nit
refathers," he added,
ke for the City His,
Fo~ter Ol!t durfnr
lse ~ t ams Grout ap.
~ So I Science and
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k:.
presages a very reaJ.
hen voting is taken
j-Herald.
iconserve · in every
rigor of labor, but
may work out its
wages that will
ls to maintain its
f sufficient leisure
l by mental and
I
t
fC. REDFIELD.
f
f
r
people a1c ~• TeX for granted?
1aat
• Sunday
• •
two
e,·enings fully
_.uences came in Jong after the
l!t,!'IU...:- c,pened.
At last, it would apate beginning to understand
JH!Oe!ISllI'Y to stand in the line
eo)d before the doors are
on the night 'when the
of exceptional popularity is
and there are not more than
such nights during the season.
•
,.
Gutterson and his chorus;
the new hymn went very
•·
.
f the Ford Hall Town Meetby a preferential ballot.
new experience to most
and constituted in itself an
n in civic life. There were
more present at the second
e lively interest continued
Mr. W. H. Foster is the
is Miriam Allen de Ford was
d Mr. Jacob London becomes
With such very efficient
d seem as though the Town
hardly fail to make a success
ere will be a constant tempo are more or less extary practice to overture of the work to tbe
e vital matters. It would
keeper spending too much
·r pots and pans and kettles
g anything in them.
•
•
•
as we have demonstrated
eople to make a success
and of the Town Meeting
propose other enterprises
e folks. At present, how·ng backward fast in the
last issue, for example,
e very
affairs.
J.J..LL, C. .L.1..1.:::, v .... u
*
*
*
A group of Tufts College students were
among our guests last Sunday night.
Of
course they thought Bishop Williams was
fine, but they thought our people were an
equally fine part of the equation. "I would
like to get into this activity of the larger
democracy," said one. "Everyone is so decidedly in earnest," said another. " Such a
cosmopolitan crowd," said a third. "You
feel the brotherhood in the air," was the
comment of a fourth, and so on. They. all
admired the way Mr. Coleman handled the
questions. There will be a Ford Hall in
the small out at Tufts College after this,
in reality, if not by formal announcement.
Mr. Coolidge was most enthusiastic over
the manner in which our chairman interpreted each question as it was asked. This
feature, to him, was the most forceful of the
question period. He says, " Mr. Coleman understood exactly what each questioner had
in mind; sometimes better than the questioner himself; and each was confident of a
sympathetic interpretation of the question
asked."
Situation Wanted, by a first-class job
printer, familiar with make up and general composition on ads and mercantile
printing. A. J. W., 71 Chadwick street,
Roxbury, Mass.
We Will Write It For You
Ford Hall Folks
Edited ·b y Thomas Dreier.
UBLISHED weekly by the Ford
Hall Associates, whose work
is to create, assemble, and
distribute ideas that will help
men and institutions grow more
helpful in serving society, and which
will promote "peace on earth, good
will toward men." It is the official
publication of the Ford Hall Meetings, which are held, under the direction of George W. Coleman, every
Sunday evening during the months of
October to May, in Ford Hall, Ashburton Place, Boston, Massachusetts.
All bUE'iness communications should
be sent to Miss Mary C. Crawford,
Treasurer Ford Building, Boston,
and all comm uni ~ations intended for
the editor to The Thomas Dreier Service, University Press, Cambridge,
Mass. Subscription Price: $1.50 for
26 numbers.
·
P
.
(·
Come to the Scribe, if you would have your
letters of social acknowledgement, condolence,
congratulation, love-letters, business pullers,
messages to shut-in friends, composed and written for you, as in the ancient time. If, by reas on of defective a dvantages or other causes. selfexpression in clear English is difficult, come to
us for friendly. expert help. Rates moderate.
All matters ronfidential. Office of the Scribe, 603
Boylston street, Room 46.
Hours-Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays, 10 A . M. to 3 P. !IL
THE MASSACHUSETTS SINGLE TAX LEAGUE
wants to get in touch with YOU.
Send your name and address to the Secretary.
F.C.COODALE
53 State Street
Boston, Mass.
ADVERTISING
A space of this size-one inch high and
two and one:half inches wide--ean be had
for advertising purposes for one dollar per
issue. For information regarding advertising apply to Jacob London, Room 707, Ford
Building, Boston, Mass.
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FORD HALL FOLKS
4
THE STORY OF JOSEPH BERAK.
WHY I W O RK FOR TH E SINGLE TAX.*
By Ma r y C. Cr a wfor d.
(Continued from Page 1.)
The astounding thing about the young
Jew as I see him is the way he fixes his
mind upon the thing ·he desires to do or
be, and then, through every obstacle, pushes
ahead and attains his goal. Take Joseph
Berak. As a •
boy he never lacked for anything because .his father was a prosperous
clothing manufacturer in New York, with a
well-equipped shop of his own, the profits of
which gave every promise of enabling little
Joseph to stay on at school and college as
long as he desired, and mayhap sustain the
tradition of his mother's family by becoming a rabbi. Then, by one of those quick
turns of fortune very common in the clothing trade (read " Comrate Yetta," · if you
would understand that in the case of the
"bosses" as well as the workers this business is full of hazards) , Berak senior lost
everything, and the little Joseph was confronted at thirteen with the necessity of
going out into the world to help support
the famil y.
At school he had always led ·his class, and
the teacher, full of sorrow that he could
not go on, helped him to get a place at $4.50
a week with Saks & Co., who were relatives
of hers. Here, however, the chances of advancement seemed too slight to satisfy the
already ambitious Joseph, and he transferred himself, at 15, to Wanamaker's,
where, being a large lad for his age, he was
put in the packing and· shipping department.
There, during one Christmas season, he
worked a number of days, from eight in the
morning until two of the following morning
packing gifts which were to bring to some
people a "very merry Christmas." This experience fitted .him to be quite responsive
when he heard his first Socialist speaker.
Algernon Lee, and it was then that he set
his eager mind to the absorption of Socialist literature.
Periods of service at several of the Boston
department stores followed, but during the
panic of 1907 ·e ven the young, sturdy and
quick-witted Berak could find no work to .do.
This was his opportunity to fit himself to be
a traveling salesman. He thereupon learned
all that there was to know about men's
shirts, got a chance to show that he could
sell them in large quantities-and found
himself at eighteen traveling from Boston
to Chicago, and making a very good income.
~-- ---· ' .
ties.
Theatres, churches, parks, stores,
street railway lines, are the things that make
the city more attractive than the country.
These social advantages register themselves
invariably and with mathematical exactness
in land values-in the selling price or rental
value of land. The pioneer can have land
for squatting upon it, but when others come
the land around them begins to acquire
value. No matter what you do to make
your city a better place to live in, you raise
land values and ground rentals. Every baby
born in New York City adds $85 to the rent
values of the city. It seems as if when new
people and institutions come into being
Providence had created a fund to support
them, but almost all this fu.n d goes instead
to the idle and parasitic landlord. A man
gets a barren strip of land on Manhattan
Island, does nothing but hold it, and meanwhile his income rises by everything other
people do to increase and improve the city.
·we call these men tax-payers-they are tax
collectors, and they get a big bonus besides
for letting people live on their land.
A man has a right to himself and to what
he can do with his God-given powers. The
private ownership of the earth denies that
right, because it removes the natural resources to which alone a man can apply his
powers and abilities. Suppose a number of
Robinson Crusoes to be wrecked on t he desert island with a number of Man Fridavs.
They divide their labors into superintendeiice
and manual work, and so long ;is the land is
held in common all goes well, for in case
of either a strike or a lock-out the .other
parties could manage to live. But then come
some Spanish grandees with a paper giving
them a title to the land. They establish
themselves in idleness, and make the
Crusoes and the Fridays alike slave for
them, taking the whole of production except
just enough to keep production going. And
if there is any complaint they say, " If you
don't like my terms. get off m y land"-which
is all the land there is. That is modern society. In California, in the days following
'49, wages were high·, interest was high, and
rent was low, for every man could stake off
a claim and mine w.here he wished. Today
where all the land is monopolized wages are
at a . starvation level, interest is low, and
rents soa r . And Whf>TIPVPl" tho h,,+e ~· •h - - -
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itY ~; ~",
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1893
·a.nd '.~
were .·
therr
up r .
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ness :unbt
:able ,.
yom .:;',
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rem, .. '.'
-and. -~distl ';,
mee.'~
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ism" proposed ·b y Herbert Spencer !JI
interval, by which the state holds
to the land and acts as landlord•
so cumbersome it would break dowi
its own weight. Or it can be done :
system of remitting all taxes excepf6!
land values, as proposed .by Henry t'
At present our tax system produces
and perjury as its chief fruits. Let
ish all other ta..xes, and have only a
rents. Suppose a rich famil y divides
rious industries among its mem runs them individually, but pays the
rent into the family treasury. That
way the Single Tax would work. Tht
is God's estate, and it ought to be,111
vided estate among the children of
each man do what work suits him,
him pay into the common tre
ground rents.
This will enormously increase
for taxing industry, like taxing ,
discourages it and causes it to tenil
appear. Today the man who holds-ldi
ldle we reward with low taxes; the,ma;
uses and improves his land is ·'"I
The Single Tax will change all tru.s;
ing both lands alike. It says to om
" Get busy or lose your land ;" to the
"We will not punish you for being;a
member of society." Then, too, it;'wll
up many new opportunities to idlei
tries, thus raising wages to a higJi!
labor laws and unions never can;.:
the philosop·hy of the Single Tax
a panacea, but the great sub-fO\lll'
economic justice, whereby alone tli
God can stand sure and safe.
,.
1
Jan. 18-Bishop Charles Willia!llS
. igan, "Why I Work for the Single
Jan. 25-Dr. Albion WoodburY
Chicago University, "The Str
Weakness of Socialism."
Feb. 1-Alexander Irvine
Feb. 8- Prof. Edward A. Ste
Inter-National Mind and the In
Heart."
Feb. 15-Symposium, "BrP ·
Dr. De Will G. Wilson. "T
Venereal Disease" · Dr.
.,gh
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ia ws and unions n ever can
the philosophy of the Si~gle Tax.·
a panacea, but the great sub-found1t '- 1
economic justice, whereby alone the~
God can stand sure and safe.
,a.uu1
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Giuseppe and Laughter Wi
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powers and abilities. Suppose a number of
Robinson Crusoes to be wrecked on the desert island with a number of Man Fridays.
They divide their labors into superintendence
and manual work, and so long _as the land is
held in common all goes well, for in case
of either a strike or a lock-out the -other
Friends Who Are Co
parties could manage to live. But then come
some Spanish grandees with a paper giving
them a title to the land. They establish
Jan. 18-Bishop Charles Williams of
themselves in idleness, and make the
Crusoes and the Fridays alike -slave for igan, "Why I Work for the Single Tai:
them, taking the whole of production except
Jan. 25-Dr. Albion Woodbury s
just enough to keep production going. And Chicago University, "The Stren~
if there is any complaint they say, "If you W~ kness of Socialism."
don't like my terms, get off my land"-which
Feb. 1-Alexander Irvine of New Yoit1
is all the land there is. That is modern soFeb. 8-Prof. Edward A. Steiner
ciety. In California, in the days following
'49, wages were high·, interest was high, and Inter-National Mind and the Inte;:
rent was low, for every man could stake off Heart."
Feb. 15-Symposium, "BTP - ...
a claim and mine where he wished. Today
Dr. De Will G. Wilson. "T
where all the land is monopolized wages are
at a starvation level, interest is low, and Venereal Disease" · Dr. '; -,gh
rents soar. And whenever the bets of these Problems of Sea ~ducation"; Ri
landholders on the future rise of rent get Cummings, "The Responsi-bil:.ty
so heavy that the machinery of produ ction hood."
breaks down, we have a panic, whicii' we
Feb. 22-Charles :.3randon _ Booth,
blame on the Democratic administration. Case for the Prisoner."
Land monopoly even restricts mental liberty.
March 1-Leslie Willis Sprague o!
Bishop Spaulding wanted to start a sort of cago ..
social centre for the workmen in a town in
March S-Sy·, nposium, on "Journalla ---.,~..:;.;
Utah which was owned by the Colorado A. J. Philpott of the Boston Globe and o
Smelting Co. Then he made an address on to be announced.
.Socialism in which he attacked the ColMarch · 5-Rev. Harry Ward, "The
1
orado Smelting Co. The result was that he
was unable to buy or rent land for his parish lenge of Socialism to Christianity."
March 22-Rev. Frank 0. Hall
house unless he promised to let the company
regulate the preaching given in it. He York, "The Moral Law." ·
March 29-John Cowper Powys
could not have sleeping rooms for the men
or a billiard room, because the company held land, "The Economic Aspects of
the monopoly of these things for their Suffrage."
April 5-Mary Church Terrell,
friends. When you own the land you own
the man : the ownership of the land makes Sam and the Sons of Ham."
April 12-Dr. Thomas C. Hall of "
slaves of all men but the owners.
Our present system makes every one of · York.
April 19-Prof. Walter
these three axioms impossible of application.
Somehow or other we must make land common property. This can be done by holding
all land in common, as the Indians do, which
is impossible in an advanced civilization; by
Social Tales for Children, Young and Old
equal ·:division of the land (and if you do that
By HENRY T . SCHNITTK.IND
I wil,l ·have my ten acres on Wall Street, and
The only juvenile book in English dealing with ·
you _
•{:an .have yours in ·Labrador: which
the great soclal awakenin~.
shows ,.,the absurdity of trying such a
scheme)"; · by a method of "state landlord- Price, 25c
Address, 9 Allen S
:6 ,
where, being a large lad for his age, he was
put in the packing and shipping department.
There, during one Christmas season, he
worked a number of days, from eight in the
morning until two of the following morning
packing gifts which were to bring to some
people a "very merry Christmas." This experience fitted him to be quite responsive
when he heard his first Socialist speaker.
Algernon Lee, and it was then that he set
his eager mind to the absorption of Socialist literature.
Periods of service at several of the Boston
department stores followed, but during the
panic of 1907 even the young, sturdy and
quick-witted Berak could find no work to do.
This was his opportunity to fit himself to be
a traveling salesman. He thereupon learned
all that there was to know about men's
shirts, got a chance to show that he could
sell them in large quantities-and found
himself at eighteen traveling from Boston
to Chicago, and making a very good income.
For some time he stuck to this because the
long, journeys and the lonely evenings in
strange towns gave him the leisure he
wanted for the study of Socialism. But presently he decided that there is something
disintegrating mentally, as well as morally
and physically, about life "on the road,"
and settled down in Boston with his sister.
Berak started to sell Life Insurance by day
and to study at the Y. lVL C. A. in the evenings. Socialism he had by this time made
a part of himself, and he had for some time
been a party member. He now wanted to
become a lawyer, "because," he says, "I saw
that when Socialism gets strong, men who
know the law will be especially needed."
Ford Hall first came to Berak's attention
on the night, some three years ago, when
John Spargo was speaking here on Karl
Marx.
Our eager young Socialist has
scarcely missed a meeting since. He always takes notes at the lectures and studies
afterwards the contents of his note-book.
The value of Ford Hall to him lies, he says,
in the fact that it shows :him where the
other fellow stands. That · so many excellent fellows stand in such ..ewidely separated
spots has undou·b tedly had •a very broadening and hence highly valued i-nfiuence upon
Berak. For to be as thoroughly' ·educated as
;possible is still his shi_
ning ,goal,,__ -~
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(X)
A MAGAZINE OF NEIGHBORLINESS
II
NUMBER
14
IANUARY 25, 1914
PRICE FIVE CENTS
~\
.c·< •
WHY I WORK FOR THE SINGLE TAX*
By BISHOP CHARLES
,, -- .
,,
Alf not sure that I or any other Single
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Taxer makes much distinction between
preaching Single Tax and preaching the
Gospel. Jacob Riis told me once of a
ral where the minister did not arrive,
while the mourners were waiting, one
them arose and said: "I will improve the
opportunity by
addressing yo u
on the Single
Tax." (Laughter.)
Now,
why
is
the
Single Tax such
an idee fi,xee
when once one
has "seen the
cat" ? I think
it is because it
is a great
moral enthusiasm ..
There are a
great
many
sides to the
Single Taxoral. I do not profirst two, because I
and I have an ignorers that is very creda parson. But a
retical!y, at least,d for that reason
e moral side of the
lUSe I believe that
right will be fiscally,
lls. and every other
1 bel!e,e it is the only
>ractlcable. I think God
lty to blunder along
economic justice
~.....,aan~ot
-,
=
clearing the decks, and
~e _po_
~ular misunder-
E.
WILLIAMS.
mists the sources of income, but "profits" is
really a complicated term, made up of wages,
interest on capital invested, and rent: and
so the Single Taxer says that profits consist
of wages (what you get for service rendered); interest (-what comes from the use
of capital) ; and rent (understanding by that
ground rent, or the money paid for the privilege of living on a certain site.) Single Taxers say that all or nearly all of this ground
rent should be paid to the government.
The Single Tax is the equal right of all
men to the use of the earth. That is not
the equal right of all men to the ownership
of the earth, or to the equal use of the earth.
Every man, if he is going to produce anything or serve or make a living, must in the
last analysis get access to nature's storehouse. The Single Taxer considers that there
are three geat axioms relating to this use by
man of nature:-What the individual produces belongs to the individual. What the
community produces belongs to the community. What nature or God gives belongs
by right to all nature's or God's children.
Taking this last statement first, I believe
that only the hand of labor can write a
valid original title of property. to any natural wealth. But that does not give the laborer a title to the natural r esources from
which he produced the wealth. Thus a man
may own the crops he raises, the building he
erects, but that does not give ·him a title to
the soil or the site. He did not create that;
no man created it; God gave it, and by rights
that belongs to all society. -Savages have
an instinctive feeling of this. When the
Maoris sold New Zealand to the English, a
Maori woman brought her baby, born after
tile purchase, for his s·h are. And she was
right. We have no right to barter away the
birthright of generations to come. The
babe in the slums of New York has just as
much right on this earth and where God ·has
'
yet how much air and sunshine is th~re in
the slums? Doubtless if air and sunshine
could be solidified and cornered by a trust
the people who asked for their share would
be called Socialists, Anarchists, Nihilists
and anything else that came handy-they
would be attacking the sacred rights of
property. (Laughter.) A man in Cleveland
has just won a suit against a bridge company for swinging the bridge through his
air.
But let us turn to the land.· In Pennsylvania is most of the coal of the United
States. Nobody has impressed his labor on
it yet. To whom does it belong? I say
it belongs to the people of the United
States. (Applause.) Mr. Baer says it belongs to him and a few other gentlemen "to
whom Almighty God in His wise providence
has committed the wealth of this country."
I never saw the deed of gift. Well, Mr.
Baer has the key to the coal-cellar, and we
can say, "Johnny, bring us u- some coal."
p
And we are willing to pay him a fair profit
for the work. But he and ·his frieends say,
"We have got the key to the coal-cellar in
our pocket. We will keep it there until you
pay us all we can get from you." Mr. Baer
is thus getting wages for service rendered,
but he is also extracting by the pressure of
monopoly a graft from us that is really
ground rent. At the time of the coal strike
the President of the United States had to go
down on his knees and beg Mr. Baer to sell
us coal. Monopoly of natural resources is
an unbreakable power so long as it is in
private hands. There is not a trust in this
country which could exist ten minutes if it
did not rest on a monopoly of natural resources.
There is no way to deal with this but to
claim natural resources as common property
by taking the ground rent for the government. Over in Pittsburgh are some abannnnPrl ~oft coal mines. and in the sink-holes
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moral enthusiasm.
There are a
great
man Y
sides to the
Single
Taxoral. I do not profirst two, because I
and I have an ignorers that is very creda parson. But a
reticallY, at least,nd for that reason
to the moral side of the
because I believe that
rally right will be fiscally,
UticallY, and every other
and I ·b elieve it is the only
practicable. I think God
humanity to blunder along
e way of economic justice
ousness.
•l>y clearing the decks, and
some popular misunderthe Single Tax. I once had
Cleveland preach in my
Inst "Anarchistic and Sofor the equal division of
ldn't possibly be a worse
Single Tax-every word is
le Tax combines the virnd Socialism, giving libfreedom in order. The
rtunate, for the single tax
r economic method for the
on of a great social philTaxer maintains that all maconsists of things produced
wants and needs, and that
two factors in the producof any kind-natural ree sort, and ·h uman ingenuity,
~- All that nature furnishes
"taxer comprehends under the
term "iand." This does not
• _ o one of us can do withN
.uppose preaching would be
most ethereal of occupations,
treacher has to have land to
on: and that is true of everv
.Profession. Profits, interest,
are considered by econo-
man u1 ua..1..u.1...... . • • ........... ... __ .
duces belongs to the individual. What the
community produces belongs to the community. What nature or God gives belongs
by right to all nature's or God's children.
Taking this last statement first, I believe .
that only the hand of labor can write a
valid original title of property to any natural wealth. But that does not give the laborer a title to the natural resources from
which he produced the wealth. Thus a man
may own the crops he raises, the building he
erects, - ut that does not give ·him a title to
b
the soil or the site. He did not create that;
no man created it ; God gave it, and by rights
that belongs to all society. -Savages have
an instinctive feeling of this. When the
Maoris sold New Zealand to the · English, a
Maori woman brought her baby, born after
tile purchase, for his share. And she was
right. We have no right to barter away the
birthright of generatio.n s to come. The
babe in the slums of New York has just as
much right on this earth and where God ·has
put him as the babe of the Astors; and yet
under our present system the babe in the
slums has to pay rent to the Astors for the
right to exist. We usually recognize a common right to the air and the sunshine, and
THE PRAYER
Father Almighty, we beseech Thee
to loosen the scales from our eyes
that we may see the wickedness of
· our inhumanity to each other. Thou
hast given the land filled with treasure for the blessing of all Thy children. We have so misused it that
millions suffer for lack, while thousands are choked by surplus. Thou
hast provided plentifully for all.
Help us to renounce the system by
which the strong and the favored get
something for nothing and the unfortunate and the lowly fail to receive
the full reward of their toil. Make us
to see, we pray, that the fault lies in
us every one, and that the responsibility for mending it is upon us every
one. Give us the grace to do it patiently and fairly; •but certainly.
Amen.
Baer has the key tO tn e l:Ud.l"l.,<:;uua, - - can say, "Johnny, bring us up some coal."
And we are willing to pay him a fair profit
for the work. But he and • is frieends saY,
h
"We have got the key to the coal-cellar in
our pocket. We will keep it there until you
pay us all we can get from you." Mr. Baer
is thus getting wages for service r·e ndered,
but he is also extracting by the pressure of
monopoly a graft from us that is really
ground rent. At the time of the coal strike
the President of the United States had to go
down on his knees and beg Mr. Baer to sell
us coal. Monopoly of natural resources is
an unbreakable power so long as it is in
. private hands. There is not a trust in this
country which could exist ten minutes if it
did not rest on a monopoly of natural resources.
There is no way to deal with this but to
claim natural resources as common property
by taking the ground rent for the government. Over in Pittsburgh are some abandoned soft coal mines, and in the sink-holes
there ice and snow collect, which the poor
miners used to use. Then the absentee
landlord heard of this and sent word that
they could not use the ice without paying
him for it! Under our present system of
giving over God's gifts into the hands Qf the
few by private mononoply, what can the
good Lord do with our problem of poverty?
He has stocked this land richly, and yet the
many starve - hile the few are glutted. Supw
pose the Lord said, "I will feed these chil- ·
dren of mine, by raining down food from
the skies"-why, that would only raise the
selling price and rental value of the lots
whereon the showers fell thickest. (Laughter.) The street car companies would even
claim what fell in the streets. And if the
good Lord grew too bountiful, so that the
market would be likely to be depressed, they
would keep up the price if they had to burn
the food in ·bonfires. They actually did that
in London, where shiploads of grain were
scuttled in the sight of the starving poor, to
keep up the price of wheat. God Almighty
can't solve our problem until we correct ·
·· · such a mistake as this.
There are certain values that are plainly
and evidently communal values-they are
made simply by the population as a population. They appear only in settled communi(Continued on ·Page 4.)
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FORD HALL FOLKS
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THE QUESTIONS
Q: If you believe that all natural re·
sources - elong to the people, how do you
b
determine the amount of taxes to estab·
lish?
A: Land values are more easily estim•
able than any others.
Q: If Pensylvania taxed the coal-com·
pany, as you suggest, wouldn't they just add
the tax to the price of coal?
A: If they were taxed full ground ren·
tals, they would have to throw open their
collieries to competition.
Q: Do you think a section of the com·
munity should suffer for the mistake of
the whole community centuries ago?
A: It is a simple question of whether,
if you have allowed an injustice to run a
thousand years, you must not let it run
another thousand years.
Q (Miss Polsky): At what price could·
the Public Garden be sold? (Laughter.)
A: That could be done only ·by the State.
Q: How would the Single Tax operate
against the extortion of professional men?
A: I said it would not cure everything;
but generally competition remedies extor•
tions of any kind.
Q: What about patent mon-0polies?
A: That is another thing entirely, and
I would make them inure to the inventor,
not the gobbler.
Q: Tell us about Pastoriza's work in
Texas.
A: I simply know that he was elected tax
commissioner, and gradually took the taxes
off improvements. I do not know if Pas•
toriza has the law back of him, ;JUt he has
the people.
Q: What would you do with a man
whose sole income is from stocks and
bonds?
A. Stock and bonds represent land
values.
Q (Mr. Sachmary). Do you believe your
cathedral should be taxed?
A:. No, my cathedral is an improvement.
I believe in taxing the land upon which it
is built.
Q: What progress has the Single Tax
made in Houston, Texas?
A: I am sorry I can't give the details.
I kno_w it is gradually coming in there, and
a lso
1n
"Pno h l,....
r, _ ,
a machine by which a child could do the
work of 140 people? Won't he get his
money back that way?
.
A: I don't know anything about this in•
terview, but G-Od bless any man that invents
a machine that saves labor. In the end they
always do good.
Q (Miss Rogolsky): Under the Single
Tax, won't people put up higher buildings
with small rooms, and erect buildings instead of ·h aving gardens, to pay the rent?
A: Taxing land values always decreases
the price and rent of land.
Q: Aren't the farmers going to be
harmed by the ·Single Tax?
A: The farmer now pays taxes on· all his
improvements. The burden will fall on the
big land values-all the farm . land in New
York State is not worth a third as much as
the land in New York City.
Q (Mr. Hogan): Will you tell us some
evil that has been remedied by taxation?
Would not the Single Tax lay a greater bur•
den on the small land owners and take it
from the rich capitalists?
A: Our present system of taxation has
not wiped out any evils, but the Single Tax
would. As for the large and small land
owners, each would pay in proportion to
his holdings.
Q: Does the Eastman Kodak Company de•
pend on a monopoly of land values?
A: No, but on a monopoly of patents,
which is also a special privilege.
- Q: What would be the best way to create a Single Tax law? How about teaching the children in the beginning?
A: Yes, you are right; everything begins
with the children.
Q: Under the present system, do you
vote, and if so what political party?
A: I try to vote the Democratic ticket
when I can find the Democratic party democratic. Just now it is. (Applause. )
Q: Suppose the smelting company in
Utah paid its full taxes, w-0uldn't it be able
to keep Bishop Spaulding off just as it does
now?
A: I think it would be impossible for it
to own its holdings if it paid full value.
The government would then be practically
the owner, and could dictate to t hP "",..,.,_
nanY.
Q (Mr. Fraser): I know a man
greatly improved his land by building a
house, but was taxed heavily for -it.
that a good illustration of the Single
A: No, it is a good illustration of
double and treble tax of today.
AN OUTSIDE VIEW OF OUR
TOWN MEETING.
T ti
'N
If any of the 125 "citizens" V(ho atten
the first town meeting of Ford Hall Folks
Kingsley Hall last night, failed to rise to
least one point of order or otherwise
tinguish himself in a parliamentary ma
during the evening, it certainly did not·
pear on the surface. For the official rec
showed that there were e:aough of the af,
said "1>0ints" to go around twice, and, m,
over, questions, motions, etc., were almost
numerous . .
All of which was intensely gratifying
those responsible for this latest addition,
the regular Ford Hall course, and George
Calero~ the " father of the
Hall m
ings," congratulated the newt nfranchi
" ?itizens" on the success of th- opening·
Fe'
SlOn.
.
Last night's session was taken up a
entirely with straightening out little
culties which naturally arose in the
of those new to this form of gover
Though the questioning and debating
times threatened to assume the propo
of a real " down-east" town meeting,
man William Horton Foster ably met e·
situation. There were some decidedlY
plexing complications, too, for which
chairman might be pardoned for scrat
his head, but when adjournment came e
body appeared to be satisfied.
What the meeting really did was this:
It chose committees to bring in not_
tions for permanent moderator, serge
arms and clerk. It resulted in the aP
ment of committees on rules and on bY··
It satisfied George Coleman and Mr. f,
that the people were really intereste4
such a movement for civic - etterment.
b
During the heat of battle, excitement..
not lacking. At one time Mr. Coleman
forgot himself and promptly subsided
he was ruled out of order. The Reft
Grover :Mills was the principal offendet
embarrassing the chair, and he had b!S
lowing throughout. H. S. Victorson
tested _against red tape, but an ~
tl
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A: That is another thing entirely, and
I would make them inure to the inventor,
not the gobbler.
Q : Tell us about Pastoriza's work in
Texas.
.
A: I simply know that he was elected tax
commissioner, and gradually took the taxes
off improvements. I do not know if Pastoriza has the law back of him, ;JUt he has
the people.
Q: What would you do with a man
whose sole income is from stocks and
bonds?
A. Stock and bonds represent land
values.
Q (Mr. Sachmary). Do you believe your
cathedral should be taxed?
A: No, my cathedral is an improvement.
I ·b elieve in taxing the land upon which it
is built.
Q: What progress bas the Single Tax
made in Houston, Texas?
A: I am sorry I can't give the details.
I know it is gradually coming in there, and
also in Pueblo, Colorado and in California
and Washington from the Canadian Northwest.
Q: Is it possible to apply the Single Tax
to one municipality by itself?
A: ...,Yes, and it is coming in that way.
Q: ~ Do you believe in government ownershi ;Jf land? ·
A: . I tried to make that plain when I
spoke of -Spencer's "state landlordism."
Q (Mr. Victorson).; Would not the -Single Tax confuse instead of solving social
problems?
A: No, because land is a fixed quantity,
and a tax on that stays there, whereas other
commoditiE:s are unstable, and social values
do not attach to them.
Q: What do you think of Henry Ford's
profit-sharing scheme?
A: I know Mr. Ford very well personally, and I can say that there is no ulterior
moti,_ve in his mind. He feels that labor
should share in the profits, and that is as
far as he sees.
Q: Don't we need regulation of monetary
values as much as we do of land values?
A: Don't ask me any questions about
money; I don't know anything about it.
Q: What can you say about the fact that
Ford recently held a conference with Edison where both of them spoke of inventing
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owners, each would pay in proportion to
his holdings.
Q: Does the Eastman Kodak Company depend on a monopoly of land values?
A: No, but on a monopoly of patents,
which is also a special privilege.
Q: What would be the best way to create a Single Tax law? How about teaching the children in the beginning?
A: Yes, you are right; everything begins
with the children.
Q: Under the present system, do you
vote, and if so what political party?
A: I try to vote the Democratic ticket
when I can find the Democratic party democratic. Just now it is. (Applause.)
Q: Suppose the smelting company in
Utah paid its full taxes, wouldn't it be able
to keep Bishop Spaulding off just as it does
now?
A: I think it would be impossible for it
to own its holdings if it paid full value.
The government would then be practically
the owner, and could dictate to the company.
Q: Cannot private individuals by controlling industry make men slaves tc that
extent?
A: There will ·be lots of things to be
done after we get the Single Tax. But if
you take a way land monopoly you take
away the great lever.
Q: Does not Socialism solve the problem
of the Single Tax?
(Laughter and applause.)
A: Give me another evening to lecture
on that. I believe the Single Tax allows
more for the freedom and liberty of individual expression than -Socialism does.
Q: What has the -Single Tax to say with
regard to the - rivate ownership of capital?
p
A: I must answer again that if you - roke
b
up the private o- nership of natural rew
sources competition would soon br.:!ak up the
private ownership of the tools of industry.
Q (Mrs. Hoffmann): Do you believe the
Single Tax will destroy or change the competitive system?
A: I think it will .make for freedom of
competition, and I should like to see that.
Q (Mr. Cosgrove): On what basis is the
Single Tax going to classify ground values,
as in the case of the disused coal-shafts?
A: On the same principle as the coal
companies do today. Values always go up
and down.
·
-•=~~
assume the Prop~~of a real " down-east" town meeting, C
man William Horton Foster ably met er
situation. There were some decided!\· '
plexing complications, too, for Which
chairman might be pardoned for scratc
his head, but when adjournment came er
body appeared to be satisfied.
What the meeting really did was this:
It chose committees to bring in no
tions for permanent moderator, sergeant.
arms and clerk. It resulted in the apPo
ment of committees on rules and on by-JaIt satisfied George Coleman and Mr. Fo~
that the people were really interested•
such a movement for civic - etterment.
b
During the heat of battle, excitement
not lacking. At one time Mr. Coleman
forgot himself and promptly subsided w
he was ruled out of order. The Rev.
Grover Mills was the principal offender
embarrassing the chair, and he had his
lowing throughout. H. S. Victorson
tested against red tape, but an unn
champion of "red tape" caused Mr. Victo
to subside. James P. Roberts, urged
make a campaign speech when nominated f«i
moderator, asked the "voters" to defeat hi
and then presented the "town" with a gar,
These were minor incidents of the night
The meetings are being held jointly by frt]
Ford Hall Folks, the Boston School of
cial ·S cience and the City History Club.
Coleman spoke for Ford Hall, stating
the meetings meant to develop a new dem~:
racy. "The democracy of today, I mean, nit
the democracy of our forefathers," he addr:d.
Frederick J . Allen spoke for the City Hi!tory Club and helped Mr. Foster Ol!t durm;
the evening. Miss Louise Adams Grout a1>
peared for the School of Social Science ani
acted as temporary clerk.
Last night's meeting presages a very real-:
istic town "election" when voting is takeJ
up next Thursday night.-Herald.
cui
eau::ueu LU
We must not only conserve in every
way the health and vigor of labor, but
also provide that it may work out its
own happiness with wages that will
enable it to live so as to maintain its
self-respect and with sufficient leisure
to enjoy and profit by mental and
moral recreation.
WILLIAM C. REDFIELD.
-d·
bonestlY
:,t,v <'•-C
a.nss and bi~otrY ar~ no
~sses Quite of'
ns or Cl ~
· .
. h
ltbet o[ - igot is
b
the real b. ot·
1g
. eP
e
•
•
aued full
$
•
1ast sundaY n1~
didn't turn anY . one av.
ple are beginning to t:
1r _granted'?
•
•
.. o sundaY evenings f1
ces came in 1ong after
ed. .At 1ast, it -would
beginning to underst:
essarY to stand in the l
ild before the doors
on the night -when_
of exceptional populant,
d there are not more t.
nigbts during the seai
.
,.
•
*
• Cutterson and his chor
of the new hymn went v
•
the Ford Hall Town :M:
d by a preferential ba:
:ly new experience to n
and constituted in itself
n in civic life. There "
more present at the sec
the lively interest contin
~ Mr. W. H. Foster is
·:s 'Miriam Allen de Ford
d :Mr. Jacob London beco
With such very effic
seem as though the T
.rdly fail to make a sue,
.ere will be a constant tE
v.bo are more or less
entary practice to c
feature of the work to
ore vital matters. It w
:keeper spending too n
.er pots and pans and ke
anything in them.
•
*
*
we have demonstr
ople to make a sue
d of the Town MeE
ropose other enterp1
folks. At present, .
backward fast in
st issue, for exar
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FORD HALL FOLKS
3
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Q (Mr. Fraser): I know a man
greatly improved his land by building a
house, but was taxed heavily for -it.
that a good illustration of the Single
.A: No, it is a good illustration ot
double and treble tax of today.
AN OUTSIDE VIEW OF OUR
TOWN MEETING.
-
If any of the 125 "citizens". who atte
the first town meeting of Ford Hall FoJb
Kingsley Hall last night, failed to rise to
least one point of order or otherwise
tinguish himself in a parliamentary
during the evening, it certainly did not
pear on the surface. For the official rec
showed that there were enough of the ·
said "points" to go around twice, and,
over, questions, motions, etc., were almost
numerous.
All of which was intensely gratifying
those responsible for this latest addition
the regular Ford Hall course, and George
Coleman, the "father of the Ford Hall Iii
ings," congratulated the newly enfran
"citizens" on the success of the opening
sion.
Last night's session was taken up
entirely with straightening out little
culties which naturally arose in the
of those new to this form 6f gover.
Though the questioning and debating,
times threatened to assume the propo
of a real "down-east" town meeting,
man William Horton Foster ably met
situation. There were some decidedly
plexing complications, too, for which
chairman might be pardoned for scrat,
1is head, but when adjournment came e
body appeared to be satisfied.
What the meeting really did was this:
It chose committees to bring in no
:ions for permanent moderator, serge~
trms and clerk. It resulted in the· ap
nent of committees on rules and on by-J
t satisfied George Coleman and Mr. Fi
hat the people were really interest
uch a movement for civic ·betterment.
During the heat of battle, excitement
.ot lacking. At one time Mr. Coleman
Jrgot himself and promptly subsided
e was ruled out of order. The R
·rover Mills was the principal offendl
:nbarrassing the chair, and he had h!J
•wing throughout. H. S. Victorson
,sted against red tape, but an u
1ampion of "red tape" caused Mr. Viced
· subside. James P. Roberts, urg
ake a campaign speech when nominated
oderator, asked the "voters" to defeat
Id th~n._ nrPs:Pntorl ..... _ '"- ·-·· -- --=··
5 -
'
OTHER MEETINGS.
AS IT LOOKS TO ME
iy GEORGE W. COLEMAN, Director of the Ford Hall Meetings
T the Open Forum in Manchester,
N. H., last Sunday night, with
Miner
Chipman
speaking
on
-Efficiency," they had to turn the
away, although the theatre has a
aeating capacity than Ford Hall. We
be proud of such a thriving three
r old baby. Of all the forums which
been started under our guidance and
tSon this one in Manchester is more
like Ford Hall in all its ways, and
lfltewise now the largest success in
16ortest. time.
,.
,.
,.
Williams
last
Sunday
night
just like one of us. How many
CXJllld go right into a church gathering
Jlind and immediately ta'l;:e our place
ol them? It isn't every churchman
big enough and broad enough to
aad. work right along side of men
~ church who are earnest and
Not all of us outsiders are big
&ad. broad enough to welcome the
o( church people who, like us,
and honestly seeking the
J1S'Dess and bigotry are no reOf persons or classes. Quite often
'-ri. the epithet of •
bigot is him• ,rlWngiy the real bigot.
,.
•
*
1llled run last Sunday night,
· didn't turn any one away.
o
people are beginning to take
fen granted?
.
,.
hro · SUllday evenings fully
mcea came
in long after the
:ed. At last, it would apbecmning to understand
lllary to stand in the line
before the doors are
.•
the night when the
.flt UcepUonal popularity is
Uaere are not more than
Jd&hta during the season.
• •
~ and
-
his chorus;
~ De'K hymn went very
•
•
U.. Ford Hall Town :\Ieet--
►t
1,y a Pre!eren ti al ballot.
-
co!ltaining Miss Slattery's brilliant address,
was such a poor seller that our deficit ran
up to nearly six dollars. And the week • eb
fore it was over three dollars. What is the
-matter?
*
*
*
My heart goes out to those Jewish young
men in the West End who have never lost
an opportunity to show their kindness to
me. I am as fond of them · as of any
friends that I have.
*
*
*
The most interesting plank to me in
Mayor-elect Curley's political platform is
his proposition to hold monthly conferences
on city planning with representatives present from the clergy, press, labor, capital
and the City Council. Nothing could be
more far-reaching for good to the people
of Boston than this if it is intelligently
planned and vigorously executed. And Mr.
Curley has backed up this enterprising suggestion with the very generous statement
that he will himself provide the money for
this new deve:i.opment if it cannot be had
through the usual channels. I am sure that
every one of us at Ford Hall will rejoice
to see such a plan carried out and will support it in every way at our command. It
would put into action in a very conspicuous
way the very principle of mutual co-operation for which we stand, and the object
aimed at is one that commends itself to
every intelligent student of municipal
affairs.
*
*
*
A group of Tufts College students were
among our guests last Sunday night.
Of
course they thought Bishop Williams was
fine, but they thought our people were an
equally fine part of the equation. "I would
like to get into this activity of the larger
democracy," said one. "Everyone is so decidedly in earnest," said another. " Such a
cosmopolitan crowd," said a third. "You
feel the brotherhood in the air," was the
comment of a fourth, and so on. They. all
admired the way Mr. Coleman handled the
questions. There will be a Ford Hall in
the small out at Tufts College after this,
in reality, if not by formal announcement.
Wells Memorial Institute, 987 Washington
Street, Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 8 P. M., Efficiency and Its Effects on the Workingman,
by Miner Chipman.
School of Social Science, at Lorimer Hall,
Monday, January 26, at 7.30 P. M., The
Negro and the Labor Problem, by W. E.
Burghardt DuBois. 10c.
Sunday Commons, at Huntington Chambers Hall, Sunday, February 1, at 3.30 P. M.
Dr. Charles Fleischer, leader.
·
Public Library, Thursday, Jan. 29, at 8
P. M. Fertile Argentine and Its Vast Patagonian Pampas, by Charles Wellington,Furlong. Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3.30 P. M., Avignon
and Southern France, • Y Mabel Frances
b
Knight.
Lowell Institute, at Huntington Hall, Monday, Jan. 26, at 5 P. }f. America and France
in Contact in the Past, by Fernand Baldensperger. Monday, Jan. 26, and Thursday,
Jan. 29, at 8 P. M., The Man Behind the
Vote, by Graham Wallas. Tuesday, Jan. 27,
and Friday, Jan. 30, at 8 P. M., Sound Analysis, by Dayton C. Miller. ·Thursday, Jan. 29,
at 5 P. M., Mbhammedanism, by C. Snouck
Hurgronje.
MR. COOLIDGE VISITS US.
Mr. Louis A. Coolidge, treasurer of the
United Shoe Machinery Company, was · our
guest a Sunday or so ago.
Mr. Coolidge was very much impressed
with the absolute . democracy, the friendliness, .interest and attention of the audience.
The question period was most interesting
to him. The intelligence displayed by the
questioners, their seriousness, earnestness,
and courage were evident in each question
asked.
Mr. Coolidge was most enthusiastic over
the manner in which our chairman interpreted each question as it was asked. This
feature, to him, was the most forceful of the
question period. He says, "Mr. Coleman
derstood exactly what each questioner had
in mind; sometimes better than the questioner himself; and each was confident of a
sympathetic interpretation of the question
asked."
un-
Situation Wanted, by a first-class job
printer, familiar with make up and general composition on ads and mercantile
printing. A. J. W., 71 Chadwick street,
Roxbury, :.v!ass.
We Will Write 1t For Von
~
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'-J.Jl::;:
,to bring in nonii
oderator, sergeant
iulted in the app
0
rules and on by.Ja
pnan and Mr. Fo.s
p-eaUy interested
~vie - etterment.
b
ii.ttle, excitement
he Mr. Coleman c,
f11Ptly subsided 'It 1
pr~er: The Rev. Q,
prmc1pal offender la
I and he· had his !f4,
f. S. Victorson l>l\.
but an unnain!ll
aused Mr. Victol'8QI
Roberts, urged ta
i when nominated~
foters" to defeat hill,
~
•town" with a gare1,
!ents of the night
(g held jointly by !lit
~ston School of s.
y History Club. Mr,
id Hall, stating that
levelop a new dem~
~f today, I mean, nit
refathers," he added,
ke for the City His,
Fo~ter Ol!t durfnr
lse ~ t ams Grout ap.
~ So I Science and
,
r
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k:.
presages a very reaJ.
hen voting is taken
j-Herald.
iconserve · in every
rigor of labor, but
may work out its
wages that will
ls to maintain its
f sufficient leisure
l by mental and
I
t
fC. REDFIELD.
f
f
r
people a1c ~• TeX for granted?
1aat
• Sunday
• •
two
e,·enings fully
_.uences came in Jong after the
l!t,!'IU...:- c,pened.
At last, it would apate beginning to understand
JH!Oe!ISllI'Y to stand in the line
eo)d before the doors are
on the night 'when the
of exceptional popularity is
and there are not more than
such nights during the season.
•
,.
Gutterson and his chorus;
the new hymn went very
•·
.
f the Ford Hall Town Meetby a preferential ballot.
new experience to most
and constituted in itself an
n in civic life. There were
more present at the second
e lively interest continued
Mr. W. H. Foster is the
is Miriam Allen de Ford was
d Mr. Jacob London becomes
With such very efficient
d seem as though the Town
hardly fail to make a success
ere will be a constant tempo are more or less extary practice to overture of the work to tbe
e vital matters. It would
keeper spending too much
·r pots and pans and kettles
g anything in them.
•
•
•
as we have demonstrated
eople to make a success
and of the Town Meeting
propose other enterprises
e folks. At present, how·ng backward fast in the
last issue, for example,
e very
affairs.
J.J..LL, C. .L.1..1.:::, v .... u
*
*
*
A group of Tufts College students were
among our guests last Sunday night.
Of
course they thought Bishop Williams was
fine, but they thought our people were an
equally fine part of the equation. "I would
like to get into this activity of the larger
democracy," said one. "Everyone is so decidedly in earnest," said another. " Such a
cosmopolitan crowd," said a third. "You
feel the brotherhood in the air," was the
comment of a fourth, and so on. They. all
admired the way Mr. Coleman handled the
questions. There will be a Ford Hall in
the small out at Tufts College after this,
in reality, if not by formal announcement.
Mr. Coolidge was most enthusiastic over
the manner in which our chairman interpreted each question as it was asked. This
feature, to him, was the most forceful of the
question period. He says, " Mr. Coleman understood exactly what each questioner had
in mind; sometimes better than the questioner himself; and each was confident of a
sympathetic interpretation of the question
asked."
Situation Wanted, by a first-class job
printer, familiar with make up and general composition on ads and mercantile
printing. A. J. W., 71 Chadwick street,
Roxbury, Mass.
We Will Write It For You
Ford Hall Folks
Edited ·b y Thomas Dreier.
UBLISHED weekly by the Ford
Hall Associates, whose work
is to create, assemble, and
distribute ideas that will help
men and institutions grow more
helpful in serving society, and which
will promote "peace on earth, good
will toward men." It is the official
publication of the Ford Hall Meetings, which are held, under the direction of George W. Coleman, every
Sunday evening during the months of
October to May, in Ford Hall, Ashburton Place, Boston, Massachusetts.
All bUE'iness communications should
be sent to Miss Mary C. Crawford,
Treasurer Ford Building, Boston,
and all comm uni ~ations intended for
the editor to The Thomas Dreier Service, University Press, Cambridge,
Mass. Subscription Price: $1.50 for
26 numbers.
·
P
.
(·
Come to the Scribe, if you would have your
letters of social acknowledgement, condolence,
congratulation, love-letters, business pullers,
messages to shut-in friends, composed and written for you, as in the ancient time. If, by reas on of defective a dvantages or other causes. selfexpression in clear English is difficult, come to
us for friendly. expert help. Rates moderate.
All matters ronfidential. Office of the Scribe, 603
Boylston street, Room 46.
Hours-Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays, 10 A . M. to 3 P. !IL
THE MASSACHUSETTS SINGLE TAX LEAGUE
wants to get in touch with YOU.
Send your name and address to the Secretary.
F.C.COODALE
53 State Street
Boston, Mass.
ADVERTISING
A space of this size-one inch high and
two and one:half inches wide--ean be had
for advertising purposes for one dollar per
issue. For information regarding advertising apply to Jacob London, Room 707, Ford
Building, Boston, Mass.
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FORD HALL FOLKS
4
THE STORY OF JOSEPH BERAK.
WHY I W O RK FOR TH E SINGLE TAX.*
By Ma r y C. Cr a wfor d.
(Continued from Page 1.)
The astounding thing about the young
Jew as I see him is the way he fixes his
mind upon the thing ·he desires to do or
be, and then, through every obstacle, pushes
ahead and attains his goal. Take Joseph
Berak. As a •
boy he never lacked for anything because .his father was a prosperous
clothing manufacturer in New York, with a
well-equipped shop of his own, the profits of
which gave every promise of enabling little
Joseph to stay on at school and college as
long as he desired, and mayhap sustain the
tradition of his mother's family by becoming a rabbi. Then, by one of those quick
turns of fortune very common in the clothing trade (read " Comrate Yetta," · if you
would understand that in the case of the
"bosses" as well as the workers this business is full of hazards) , Berak senior lost
everything, and the little Joseph was confronted at thirteen with the necessity of
going out into the world to help support
the famil y.
At school he had always led ·his class, and
the teacher, full of sorrow that he could
not go on, helped him to get a place at $4.50
a week with Saks & Co., who were relatives
of hers. Here, however, the chances of advancement seemed too slight to satisfy the
already ambitious Joseph, and he transferred himself, at 15, to Wanamaker's,
where, being a large lad for his age, he was
put in the packing and· shipping department.
There, during one Christmas season, he
worked a number of days, from eight in the
morning until two of the following morning
packing gifts which were to bring to some
people a "very merry Christmas." This experience fitted .him to be quite responsive
when he heard his first Socialist speaker.
Algernon Lee, and it was then that he set
his eager mind to the absorption of Socialist literature.
Periods of service at several of the Boston
department stores followed, but during the
panic of 1907 ·e ven the young, sturdy and
quick-witted Berak could find no work to .do.
This was his opportunity to fit himself to be
a traveling salesman. He thereupon learned
all that there was to know about men's
shirts, got a chance to show that he could
sell them in large quantities-and found
himself at eighteen traveling from Boston
to Chicago, and making a very good income.
~-- ---· ' .
ties.
Theatres, churches, parks, stores,
street railway lines, are the things that make
the city more attractive than the country.
These social advantages register themselves
invariably and with mathematical exactness
in land values-in the selling price or rental
value of land. The pioneer can have land
for squatting upon it, but when others come
the land around them begins to acquire
value. No matter what you do to make
your city a better place to live in, you raise
land values and ground rentals. Every baby
born in New York City adds $85 to the rent
values of the city. It seems as if when new
people and institutions come into being
Providence had created a fund to support
them, but almost all this fu.n d goes instead
to the idle and parasitic landlord. A man
gets a barren strip of land on Manhattan
Island, does nothing but hold it, and meanwhile his income rises by everything other
people do to increase and improve the city.
·we call these men tax-payers-they are tax
collectors, and they get a big bonus besides
for letting people live on their land.
A man has a right to himself and to what
he can do with his God-given powers. The
private ownership of the earth denies that
right, because it removes the natural resources to which alone a man can apply his
powers and abilities. Suppose a number of
Robinson Crusoes to be wrecked on t he desert island with a number of Man Fridavs.
They divide their labors into superintendeiice
and manual work, and so long ;is the land is
held in common all goes well, for in case
of either a strike or a lock-out the .other
parties could manage to live. But then come
some Spanish grandees with a paper giving
them a title to the land. They establish
themselves in idleness, and make the
Crusoes and the Fridays alike slave for
them, taking the whole of production except
just enough to keep production going. And
if there is any complaint they say, " If you
don't like my terms. get off m y land"-which
is all the land there is. That is modern society. In California, in the days following
'49, wages were high·, interest was high, and
rent was low, for every man could stake off
a claim and mine w.here he wished. Today
where all the land is monopolized wages are
at a . starvation level, interest is low, and
rents soa r . And Whf>TIPVPl" tho h,,+e ~· •h - - -
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ism" proposed ·b y Herbert Spencer !JI
interval, by which the state holds
to the land and acts as landlord•
so cumbersome it would break dowi
its own weight. Or it can be done :
system of remitting all taxes excepf6!
land values, as proposed .by Henry t'
At present our tax system produces
and perjury as its chief fruits. Let
ish all other ta..xes, and have only a
rents. Suppose a rich famil y divides
rious industries among its mem runs them individually, but pays the
rent into the family treasury. That
way the Single Tax would work. Tht
is God's estate, and it ought to be,111
vided estate among the children of
each man do what work suits him,
him pay into the common tre
ground rents.
This will enormously increase
for taxing industry, like taxing ,
discourages it and causes it to tenil
appear. Today the man who holds-ldi
ldle we reward with low taxes; the,ma;
uses and improves his land is ·'"I
The Single Tax will change all tru.s;
ing both lands alike. It says to om
" Get busy or lose your land ;" to the
"We will not punish you for being;a
member of society." Then, too, it;'wll
up many new opportunities to idlei
tries, thus raising wages to a higJi!
labor laws and unions never can;.:
the philosop·hy of the Single Tax
a panacea, but the great sub-fO\lll'
economic justice, whereby alone tli
God can stand sure and safe.
,.
1
Jan. 18-Bishop Charles Willia!llS
. igan, "Why I Work for the Single
Jan. 25-Dr. Albion WoodburY
Chicago University, "The Str
Weakness of Socialism."
Feb. 1-Alexander Irvine
Feb. 8- Prof. Edward A. Ste
Inter-National Mind and the In
Heart."
Feb. 15-Symposium, "BrP ·
Dr. De Will G. Wilson. "T
Venereal Disease" · Dr.
.,gh
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ia ws and unions n ever can
the philosophy of the Si~gle Tax.·
a panacea, but the great sub-found1t '- 1
economic justice, whereby alone the~
God can stand sure and safe.
,a.uu1
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Giuseppe and Laughter Wi
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powers and abilities. Suppose a number of
Robinson Crusoes to be wrecked on the desert island with a number of Man Fridays.
They divide their labors into superintendence
and manual work, and so long _as the land is
held in common all goes well, for in case
of either a strike or a lock-out the -other
Friends Who Are Co
parties could manage to live. But then come
some Spanish grandees with a paper giving
them a title to the land. They establish
Jan. 18-Bishop Charles Williams of
themselves in idleness, and make the
Crusoes and the Fridays alike -slave for igan, "Why I Work for the Single Tai:
them, taking the whole of production except
Jan. 25-Dr. Albion Woodbury s
just enough to keep production going. And Chicago University, "The Stren~
if there is any complaint they say, "If you W~ kness of Socialism."
don't like my terms, get off my land"-which
Feb. 1-Alexander Irvine of New Yoit1
is all the land there is. That is modern soFeb. 8-Prof. Edward A. Steiner
ciety. In California, in the days following
'49, wages were high·, interest was high, and Inter-National Mind and the Inte;:
rent was low, for every man could stake off Heart."
Feb. 15-Symposium, "BTP - ...
a claim and mine where he wished. Today
Dr. De Will G. Wilson. "T
where all the land is monopolized wages are
at a starvation level, interest is low, and Venereal Disease" · Dr. '; -,gh
rents soar. And whenever the bets of these Problems of Sea ~ducation"; Ri
landholders on the future rise of rent get Cummings, "The Responsi-bil:.ty
so heavy that the machinery of produ ction hood."
breaks down, we have a panic, whicii' we
Feb. 22-Charles :.3randon _ Booth,
blame on the Democratic administration. Case for the Prisoner."
Land monopoly even restricts mental liberty.
March 1-Leslie Willis Sprague o!
Bishop Spaulding wanted to start a sort of cago ..
social centre for the workmen in a town in
March S-Sy·, nposium, on "Journalla ---.,~..:;.;
Utah which was owned by the Colorado A. J. Philpott of the Boston Globe and o
Smelting Co. Then he made an address on to be announced.
.Socialism in which he attacked the ColMarch · 5-Rev. Harry Ward, "The
1
orado Smelting Co. The result was that he
was unable to buy or rent land for his parish lenge of Socialism to Christianity."
March 22-Rev. Frank 0. Hall
house unless he promised to let the company
regulate the preaching given in it. He York, "The Moral Law." ·
March 29-John Cowper Powys
could not have sleeping rooms for the men
or a billiard room, because the company held land, "The Economic Aspects of
the monopoly of these things for their Suffrage."
April 5-Mary Church Terrell,
friends. When you own the land you own
the man : the ownership of the land makes Sam and the Sons of Ham."
April 12-Dr. Thomas C. Hall of "
slaves of all men but the owners.
Our present system makes every one of · York.
April 19-Prof. Walter
these three axioms impossible of application.
Somehow or other we must make land common property. This can be done by holding
all land in common, as the Indians do, which
is impossible in an advanced civilization; by
Social Tales for Children, Young and Old
equal ·:division of the land (and if you do that
By HENRY T . SCHNITTK.IND
I wil,l ·have my ten acres on Wall Street, and
The only juvenile book in English dealing with ·
you _
•{:an .have yours in ·Labrador: which
the great soclal awakenin~.
shows ,.,the absurdity of trying such a
scheme)"; · by a method of "state landlord- Price, 25c
Address, 9 Allen S
:6 ,
where, being a large lad for his age, he was
put in the packing and shipping department.
There, during one Christmas season, he
worked a number of days, from eight in the
morning until two of the following morning
packing gifts which were to bring to some
people a "very merry Christmas." This experience fitted him to be quite responsive
when he heard his first Socialist speaker.
Algernon Lee, and it was then that he set
his eager mind to the absorption of Socialist literature.
Periods of service at several of the Boston
department stores followed, but during the
panic of 1907 even the young, sturdy and
quick-witted Berak could find no work to do.
This was his opportunity to fit himself to be
a traveling salesman. He thereupon learned
all that there was to know about men's
shirts, got a chance to show that he could
sell them in large quantities-and found
himself at eighteen traveling from Boston
to Chicago, and making a very good income.
For some time he stuck to this because the
long, journeys and the lonely evenings in
strange towns gave him the leisure he
wanted for the study of Socialism. But presently he decided that there is something
disintegrating mentally, as well as morally
and physically, about life "on the road,"
and settled down in Boston with his sister.
Berak started to sell Life Insurance by day
and to study at the Y. lVL C. A. in the evenings. Socialism he had by this time made
a part of himself, and he had for some time
been a party member. He now wanted to
become a lawyer, "because," he says, "I saw
that when Socialism gets strong, men who
know the law will be especially needed."
Ford Hall first came to Berak's attention
on the night, some three years ago, when
John Spargo was speaking here on Karl
Marx.
Our eager young Socialist has
scarcely missed a meeting since. He always takes notes at the lectures and studies
afterwards the contents of his note-book.
The value of Ford Hall to him lies, he says,
in the fact that it shows :him where the
other fellow stands. That · so many excellent fellows stand in such ..ewidely separated
spots has undou·b tedly had •a very broadening and hence highly valued i-nfiuence upon
Berak. For to be as thoroughly' ·educated as
;possible is still his shi_
ning ,goal,,__ -~
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t"2~.. , Pearl Street, Boston, Mass.
E. L. Grimes Compuy, Printei ~i ~
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